A few dispatches from the couch on Seattle’s wild 36-25 win over the Giants today:
–What’s more surprising isn’t that the Seahawks won in New York—though that is quite an accomplishment—it’s that they did it despite a ton of mistakes. Seattle turned the ball ove
r three times, twice in the red zone, and committed 10 penalties, yet still managed an 11-point win on the road against a pretty good team.
–Charlie Whitehurst played well, but there shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy. Unlike last season, when Whitehurst struggled badly in a blowout loss to the Giants, he played well in relief of Tarvaris Jackson, who left with a pectoral strain. We don’t know yet how long Jackson might be out, but with the bye next week, it’s entirely possible that Jackson won’t miss any time. And when he’s healthy, Jackson should still be the starter. He played very well last week, and did enough this weekend to show he can run this offense, though he did throw one pretty bad interception late in the first half.
–Pete Carroll and John Schneider have a knack for finding talent in unusual places. Two of the biggest heroes on Sunday’s win were receiver Doug Baldwin, who had a team-high 136 yards and caught the go-ahead touchdown, and cornerback Brandon Browner, who put the game away with a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown. Baldwin signed with Seattle as an undrafted rookie, and Browner spent the past four years in the CFL.
–The Seahawks go as their pass rush goes. Seattle’s two wins have come in games where DE Chris Clemons and the pass rush as a whole have been at their best. It’s no coincidence that Eli Manning had his worst game this season in what was also a game in which he was under pressure for much of the afternoon.
–The outlook for the season changes a bit with that victory. Instead of heading into the bye 1-4, Seattle is now 2-3 with what look like winnable games against Cleveland and Cincinnati next on the schedule. Grated the 49ers are playing good football right now—they’re up big on Tampa Bay right now, looking like they’re heading for a 4-1 start—but you can’t count Seattle out of NFC West race after that win.
–Injury updates. Jackson has a pectoral strain, LB Leroy Hill has a hamstring injury, DE Jameson Konz sprained his knee and TE Zach Miller has a head injury, presumably a concussion. We’ll find out more on those injuries tomorrow, but it’s safe to say the bye is coming at a good time for Seattle, which already started the game minus starting WR Mike Williams (concussion), CB Marcus Trufant (back) and LG Robert Gallery (groin).
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