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21 November 2024

• Seahawks have relatively light Wednesday injury report for Week 12 game vs. Cardinals

  Several of the Seahawks who did not practice were resting.

  Amid a devastating and deadly storm that ripped through the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Seahawks held an altered practice at team headquarters in Renton on Wednesday.

  Tight ends Noah Fant and Brady Russell remain out with their respective groin and foot injuries, while return specialists Laviska Shenault Jr (back) and Dee Williams (ankle) were DNPs after getting hurt in the Week 11 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Mike Macdonald indicated both men are day-to-day with a chance to practice later this week. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams was a DNP with a foot injury, although that was the case last Wednesday so it’s nothing that should alarm anyone.

  Jarran Reed, Tyler Lockett, and Laken Tomlinson all were effectively given veteran’s rest days, while Johnathan Hankins took Wednesday off for personal reasons.

  The big news is that right tackle Abe Lucas, who made his season debut last week, was a full participant in practice. That’s a good sign for not only playing again this week, but ramping up his conditioning to not need a snap count restriction. Pharaoh Brown, Dre’Mont Jones, and Rayshawn Jenkins were also full participants, with Jenkins designated for return to practice. We could see the veteran safety come off IR this week.

  Here’s the full practice report for both the Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals:

• Deadly ‘bomb cyclone’ knocks out power at Seahawks headquarters

  Torrential rainfall and strong winds on Tuesday left over 600,000 residents without power.

  A massive and deadly storm that tore through the Pacific Northwest and Northern California on Tuesday, with many homes and businesses expected to be without power for several days.

  At least two Washington residents were killed and more than 600,000 residents throughout were left without power following a ‘bomb cyclone,’ which brought heavy lowland rainfall, blizzard-like conditions in the Cascades, and strong inland winds gusting as fast at 80 MPH.

  It’s the most widespread power outage experienced in the Puget Sound region since the 2006 Hanukkah Eve windstorm, which notably occurred the same night as the Seattle Seahawks’ nationally televised home game against the San Francisco 49ers.

  The Seahawks’ preparations for this Sunday’s pivotal home matchup with the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals were affected. The Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC) in Renton was without power for Wednesday’s practice, forcing the facility to run on limited backup power.

  ESPN’s Brady Henderson, longtime Seahawks beat reporter, described the scene at team headquarters.

  The Virginia Mason Athletic Center was using limited backup power Wednesday after a “bomb cyclone” caused a mass outage that affected hundreds of thousands of people in the western part of the state.

  The Seahawks adjusted their Wednesday schedule and held positional meetings in the same room. Several players used the flash lights on their cell phones to supplement the dim lighting in the locker room while it was open to reporters.

  At Wednesday’s media session, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald opened with a message of support for those affected by this catastrophic weather event.

  “Good to see everybody,” Macdonald said. “Good to be in the building. I know there’s a lot going on in our city right now with the power going out, the storm and everything. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody. Everybody hopefully stays healthy and we appreciate everybody on the scene helping everybody out. But, good to see everybody in person.”

  DK Metcalf, the only other Seahawk coach or player with a media session, also began his statement by saying, “Weather-wise, hope everybody’s fine and everybody gets their lights back on very fast and swiftly.”

  As far as how the Seahawks’ schedule was impacted, Macdonald added, “We pushed some things back. There are some things we don’t have in the building, but we’re just fine.” Seattle practiced outdoors on Wednesday afternoon.

  Another storm is slated to hit Washington later this week, albeit not nearly as strong as Tuesday’s, but the potential for more damage and more power outages is still there.

  Field Gulls also extends its best wishes to everyone impacted by this historic, wide-ranging storm.

• Earl Thomas named Hall of Fame semifinalist, but not Marshawn Lynch

  Thomas’ ‘Legion of Boom’ teammate, Kam Chancellor, did not reach the semis.

  I read the news today, and oh boy, Seattle Seahawks greats Marshawn Lynch and Shaun Alexander didn’t even make it to the semifinals of the NFL Pro Football Modern-Era Class of 2025 Hall of Fame balloting. The semifinal list of 25 was released live on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday morning.

  NEWS
  
  The 25 Modern-Era Player Semifinalists have been selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, presented by @visualedgeit. #PFHOF25
  
  Full story: https://t.co/L1lRJPdXKv pic.twitter.com/GU09irfPYB

  — Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) November 20, 2024

  The list, which was originally released in September with 167 nominees on it, had most recently been whittled down to 50 last month. That list of 50 included Seattle Seahawks legends Marshawn Lynch, Shaun Alexander, Ricky Watters, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor. Now, only Ricky Watters and Earl Thomas remain.

  Marshawn Lynch and Earl Thomas were the only Seahawk first-time nominees in the list of 50; now Earl Thomas, alone, stands as a potential first-ballot Hall of Famer. Ricky Watters has been a semifinalist five times.

  Earl Thomas, of course, most famously known for his pivotal role in the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl-era smash-mouth defensive hit-squad ‘Legion of Boom,’ finished his NFL career as a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. Over 10 seasons, Thomas had 713 tackles, 30 interceptions, and 71 tipped passes. With Thomas at the helm, the Legion of Boom and the Seattle Seahawks defense was the only team in the Super Bowl era to lead the league in scoring defense for four straight seasons (2012 – 2015). He was also named to the NFL Hall of Fame All-Decade team of the 2010s.

  Ricky Watters only played in Seattle for four seasons. Prior to joining the Seahawks, Watters was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for three seasons and the San Francisco 49ers for three seasons before that. San Francisco selected him in the second round of the 1991 draft, though he sat out his entire first season with injuries. He helped take the 49ers to a Super Bowl win in 1995 (1994 season), scoring three touchdowns in the contest.

  Watters signed on with the Eagles in 1995 as a free agent and rushed for over 1,000 yards all three seasons he was there. After which, Watters joined the Seahawks and rushed for over 1,000 yards for another three seasons in a row. This brought his total to six seasons straight of rushing for over 1,000 yards – for three different teams. Watters called it a career as a Seahawk in 2001 with 10,643 rushing yards, 4,248 yards receiving, and 91 touchdowns during the regular season. He was a 5x Pro Bowler and member of the Seattle Seahawks 35^th anniversary team. He also played the star running back of the Dallas Knights in Oliver Stone’s timeless masterpiece, Any Given Sunday.

  Along with Earl Thomas, the first-ballot semifinalists also include Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, and Marshal Yanda.

  The list of modern-era players will be reduced to 15 finalists sometime in December. The selection committee will then vote on the 2025 Hall of Fame class ahead of Super Bowl LIX in February.

  Seriously, how is Marshawn Lynch not a semifinalist?

• Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins designated for return to practice

  Seattle’s safety is set to return and compete with Coby Bryant for his starting job.

  Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins is close to a return.

  Jenkins was designated to return to practice on Wednesday, ahead of Seattle’s first practice for its Week 12 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

  Jenkins started the first six games of the 2024 season after signing a 2-year, $12 million contract with Seattle this past offseason. After Week 6, Jenkins opted to have surgery on his injured hand, which placed him on injured reserve. Similar to the PUP list, for Jenkins to return to the 53-man roster, Seattle would have to designate him to return to practice. From here, Jenkins has a 21-day practice window open where he can practice with the team, but not count against the 53-man roster. By the end of this 21-day window, the Seahawks must either activate Jenkins to the 53-man roster or end his 2024 season.

  There is a chance that Jenkins could return this week, according to head coach Mike Macdonald. However, Seattle may not be looking to rush Jenkins back either. In Jenkins’ absence, Coby Bryant has been filling in admirably. It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks deploy their safeties once Jenkins does come back. Last week against the San Francisco 49ers, practice squad call-up Ty Okada acted as the third safety. With Jenkins’ imminent return, would he take over that third safety role, or relegate Bryant to that third safety position.

  In his six games starting, Jenkins has 38 total tackles, and one 102-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. In comparison, Bryant, in his last four starts has 26 tackles, one interception, and three passes defensed.

• Seahawks add dual-threat rookie quarterback to practice squad

  John Rhys Plumlee visited with the Seahawks prior to the NFL Draft.

  The Seattle Seahawks have made a few changes to their practice squad over the past few days. Let’s get you caught up on who has been added and who’s been removed since Monday.

  Which Seattle Seahawks players were added to the practice squad?

  Nose tackle Brandon Pili, who was claimed off waivers last week, cleared waivers after he was let go from the active roster and has now joined the practice squad. Pili was most recently with the Miami Dolphins.

  Tight end Tyler Mabry, who’s often gone back and forth between the practice squad and active roster, is back on the practice squad after he was briefly signed to the active roster for the San Francisco 49ers game.

  Lastly, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee becomes the second quarterback on Seattle’s practice squad, joining one-time Minnesota Vikings starter Jaren Hall.

  Who is John Rhys Plumlee?

  Plumlee played his college football at Ole Miss and the University of Central Florida. He was a one-year starter at Ole Miss and a two-year starter at UCF. He threw for 34 touchdowns and 19 interceptions during his collegiate career, while rushing for over 2,500 yards on 453 attempts.

  With the Seahawks set to face Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals over the next two weeks, Plumlee provides much more mobility than Jaren Hall and is perhaps the “Kyler Murray scout team” quarterback.

  Plumlee had a pre-draft visit with the Seahawks, but ultimately went undrafted and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was waived in late August and picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who let him go from the practice squad earlier this month.

  Which Seahawks players were removed from the practice squad?

  Signing Tyler Mabry and wide receiver Cody White to the active roster gave the Seahawks two open spots after last Sunday. With Pili, Mabry, and Plumlee all signed, someone had to be removed.

  Popular preseason standout and undrafted free agent rookie Jamie Sheriff was placed on practice squad injured reserve, which means he’ll miss a minimum of four games. Sheriff’s injury was not disclosed. Sheriff and fellow UDFA rookie George Holani are the only practice squad players on IR.

  Latest Seattle Seahawks Practice Squad (Nov. 20)

  Offense

  • QB Jaren Hall (No. 15)
  • QB John Rhys Plumlee
  • RB Brittain Brown (No. 34)
  • WR Miles Boykin (No. 81)
  • TE N’Keal Harry (No. 84)
  • TE Tyler Mabry (No. 85)
  • OL Jason Peters (No. 73)
  • OL McClendon Curtis (No. 66)

  Defense

  • DL DeVere Levelston (No. 56)
  • DT Quinton Bohanna (No. 92)
  • NT Brandon Pili (No. 76)
  • OLB Tyreke Smith (No. 59)
  • DE Kenneth Odumegwu (No. 77) - International Pathway Player
  • LB Patrick O’Connell (No. 52)
  • S Ty Okada (No. 39)
  • CB Faion Hicks (No. 30)
  • CB Damarion Williams (No. 37)

• Why the Seahawks weren’t awarded a turnover on final play vs. 49ers

  This wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game, but it might have impacted fantasy football scores, prop bets, and Derick Hall’s stat line.

  On the final play of the Seattle Seahawks’ 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, outside linebacker Derick Hall intercepted a lateral attempt for what would ordinarily be a fumble recovery and turnover.

  Seahawks win 20-17 in San Francisco to split the division series with the 49ers and to improve to 5-5 pic.twitter.com/B1dXUnnXxL

  — Live Seahawks Scores (@seahawkscore88) November 18, 2024

  Except this won’t go into the gamebook as a turnover.

  Referee Brad Rogers announced a penalty for offensive pass interference on 49ers tight end Erik Saubert (who was very clearly blocking downfield before Brock Purdy threw the ball). He said the penalty was declined, which logically would suggest a turnover as the final play of the game. In the gamebook, the penalty was listed as accepted, which would make no sense from a Seahawks perspective. Evidently, Rogers misspoke, and the rule indicates that this is an automatic “no-play” and therefore no fumble recovery for Hall.

  Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio examined this sequence through the lens of Deebo Samuel 4.5 receptions prop bettors—Samuel had four catches, and the last play would’ve been his fifth—but this statement from the league nevertheless explains what happened.

  “As per NFL scoring rules, when an offensive foul occurs on the last play of a half and the offensive team gains yardage on the play, the play is nullified in its entirety. There is no declining of a penalty. The half or game is over. The announcement was incorrect as it should have declared the game over instead of saying the penalty was declined.”

  Had the Seahawks had run the lateral back for a touchdown then the play would’ve stood.

  Obviously, this isn’t as important as say, consecutive timeouts that may or may not have been called. This is just to clear up something that might have been a bit confusing for some who had a little more riding on the outcome of this game, whether for gambling or fantasy football purposes. There’s no stat correction coming; Samuel finished with four catches, Hall didn’t get his second fumble recovery of the season, and the Seahawks didn’t add to their takeaway total. The most important stat? Seahawks 20, 49ers 17.

• Seahawks All-22 Film Breakdown: The good and bad from Seattle’s vital win vs. 49ers

  The Seahawks kept their playoff hopes alive with a narrow but desperately needed win over the 49ers. Here are the good and bad moments from the game, through the All-22 lens.

  The Seattle Seahawks got their first win in the division. Many analysts attributed the victory to mistakes and absences by the San Francisco 49ers, but in this sequence of so many losses by the Seahawks to the Santa Clara team, weren’t there also mistakes and absences for Seattle?

  The victory was crucial for Seattle’s future this season. Let’s look at the best and worst things that happened in this game.

  All data used in this article was taken from PFF.

  The Bad

  Charles Cross concerning game

  At the beginning of the season, I wrote an article about how important this year was for Charles Cross. He was a young NFL prospect, but he is now in his third season. He had a fantastic game against the Broncos in Week 1, one of the best by a Seahawks OL in recent times.

  However, as the weeks went by, his level dropped significantly and he was one of the worst players on the unit in the last two games. This puts the negotiations for the fifth-year option in doubt. He was the player who gave up the most pressures (4), 1 sack, 1 hit and 2 hurries, against the 49ers. He also didn’t do much in the running game.

  This was the TD play and it might go unnoticed, but Cross misses the block and forces the puller to get to the defender and prevent him from reaching the backfield.

  One of Cross’s biggest problems in his early years was his problem against power moves. This play is embarrassing for someone at the NFL level. He loses his balance and is thrown to the ground.

  Another snap that ends with Cross on the ground. It takes him a while to realize that the stunt is happening and he is caught off base, losing his balance again.

  He gives way to the inside move and when he tries to compensate he is pushed into the QB’s lap. Geno manages to escape and improvise.

  A basic alignment error. He starts the snap at a disadvantage and arrives late to block, messing up the timing of Geno Smith’s throw.

  This play would have been a big gain for DK Metcalf deep, but Cross quickly gives in to the pressure and Geno has to leave the pocket. Then Cross recovers and throws the defender to the ground.

  Despite the improvement, the defense still needs to improve

  It is undeniable that the defense has performed better in the last two games. But, it is clearly still a work in progress and still needs adjustments.

  On this play, there is a huge communication failure. The Seahawks buy the run and no one follows Jauan Jennings who is free for the TD.

  A problem that the Seahawks had at the beginning of the year and now returned was the ability to keep the QBs inside the pocket. The team failed to keep Brock Purdy, who is not the most athletic QB in the world, inside the pocket, giving him the exit, even with the pressure from Boye Mafe. The play ends with a bad error by Ty Okada being fooled by a pump fake after the line of scrimmage.

  Derick Hall is unable to follow Purdy’s boot action and if he had not slipped, he would have had good yardage.

  On the next play, the Seahawks have the same problem. Mike Macdonald calls a blitz on the left side and drops both DTs. Derick Hall can’t seal the edge again (even though he appears to have been held) and Jarran Reed doesn’t seem to need a herculean effort to get to Purdy before the TD.

  Offensive Line still a problem

  The OL has been a problem (and looks like it will continue to be) all season. Geno Smith was pressured 13 times, including 4 sacks and 1 hit.

  Charles Cross has been a problem, as listed above, but not the only culprit. This has cost Seattle dearly. Tyler Lockett is 1v1 against the safety and it would have been free to pass for a TD on the corner route. However, as you can see here, he didn’t get a chance to make the pass.

  This is because there is a confusion in the protection scheme. Zach Charbonnet has his eyes fixed on the stunt that is happening on the left side of the line. Laken Tomlinson arrives late and Charb is expected to help until the last moment. This takes the RB out of position to help Abe Lucas with Nick Bosa and the sack happens.

  The Good

  The defense still impressed

  As I said in the introduction to the article, you might want to dismiss the defense and say that this was just a result of the 49ers’ injuries. Obviously, this helped, but the defense has fixed some important flaws and is improving.

  The Seahawks called the same blitz that resulted in Brock Purdy’s rushing TD; Spoon’s blitz and the DTs dropping into coverage. This forced Purdy to throw the ball to the hot read, Jauan Jennings, before the first down mark. Coby Bryant did what almost no other Seahawks defender did that night and prevented Jennings from getting a first down.

  The Seahawks were in prevent defense. They used Boye Mafe dropping into the mark. He made a good read and deflected the pass. Note that he had helped with a sack two plays earlier and had a batted pass on the previous play.

  The Seahawks have been trying to build an imposing DL for a long time. It seems that they are on the right track. Dre Jones gets the sack, but all the players here deserve to be highlighted. Boye Mafe imposes a long-arm on Trent Williams, Leonard Williams throws an OL to the ground, Byron Murphy forklifts his opponent and Dre Jones uses a rip move to get to Purdy.

  This was the approach that Mike Macdonald used in Baltimore, a team effort. Tyrice Knight comes in on the blitz and favors the numbers for the Seahawks. Derick Hall makes the TE in motion miss the block and forces the RB to move horizontally. Ernest Jones boxes the RB and together with Hall and Knight makes the tackle.

  Leonard Williams controls his OL, maintaining the possibility of defending both gaps. Roy Robertson-Harris seals the edge and forces the cutback to Ernest Jones, who escapes Trent Williams with excellence in the open space and makes the tackle.

  Boye Mafe controls his block and keeps a free hand, forcing CMC to keep moving horizontally. This gives Coby Bryant and Devon Witherspoon time to arrive and make the tackle.

  First time starters stand out

  It wasn’t Abe Lucas and Olu Oluwatimi’s first starts, but it was their first for 2024. Both were in difficult conditions. Lucas had been recovering from a knee injury for a long time and Oluwatimi became a starter in the middle of the week after the unexpected announcement of Connor Williams’ retirement.

  The Seahawks struggled in the first matchup, with Nick Bosa lining up against Stone Forsythe. Things were more complicated for the EDGE with Lucas’ arrival. The RT waits patiently, positions his punch well and throws the defender to the ground.

  Oluwatimi has excellent footwork that allows him to stay in front of the DT. He uses leverage to maintain the anchor and not allow pressure. In fact, according to ESPN Research, he did not lose any of his matchups.

  Olu Oluwatimi, who took over at center for the Seahawks after Connor Williams' retirement, had a perfect pass block win rate in his first start of 2024. ESPN Research credited him with 27 wins/zero losses on qualifying pass-block plays. Here was one of his wins on the last drive. pic.twitter.com/50XN78m0DB

  — Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) November 18, 2024

  In this play, the RT and the C execute the reach block masterfully. They show athletic ability and strength. Oluwatimi throws his opponent to the ground and Lucas takes the DT for a long walk.

  Ryan Grubb’s Ups and Downs

  Grubb continues to fluctuate from game to game. Some calls are very good and creative and others are very questionable, and this game was no different.

  As explained in the rookie analysis article, AJ Barner lost the block on the play and made Zach Charbonnet’s life even more difficult. However, what I question is that in a game in which Charbonnet was completely unproductive, he received the ball that could’ve decided not only the game, but the rest of Seattle’s season.

  As I warned in the preview, the screens were important in the game. The Seahawks isolate DK on one side of the formation and have four players running routes on the other. In fact, Pharaoh Brown and Tyler Lockett have their routes only to create space. JSN has the left side of the attack as something of a thing, where there are fewer defenders. Note that the OLs don’t make any fantastic blocks, but JSN’s ability to find space and yards puts us on the verge of a TD.

  Excellent concept by Grubb. Lockett runs an inside route to create separation and AJ Barner’s route is designed to create a shield for JSN to receive without problems. The WR still manages to add good yards in the process.

  This T-Formation has become Grubb’s trademark on fourth downs. For one detail, the play doesn’t fail. Zach Charbonnet misses the block on De’Vondre Campbell and if it weren’t for Walker’s speed and Laken Tomlinson’s good pull, we wouldn’t have converted.

  Geno Smith saves himself at the end of the game

  I think Geno’s start to the game was not good. He seemed very still inside the pocket and this ended up favoring the pressure. As the game went on, he started to move more and this had an effect.

  Geno moves well to escape the pressure, but he plays the snap and not the play. He doesn’t throw the ball away and tries to force a pass and is intercepted, helping him lead the league in this criteria.

  Here we have a QB doing the simple thing well. The pressure comes from the left side and Geno quickly processes it with the hot route to JSN. No need to invent anything. This was one of only two blitzes by the 49ers defense all game.

  For me, this was his best pass of the game. Anthony Bradford quickly gives in to the pressure (as usual) and Geno has to move. He tries to find JSN and has a small window to escape the excellent LB Fred Warner.

  In this play, Geno navigates between his progressions. First at the top of the screen, then he passes to Barner, where he manipulates LB De’Vondre Campbell with his eyes and creates space for JSN to catch.

  Cross quickly gives in to pressure and forces Geno out of the pocket. He starts to show good synergy with JSN, which helps the QB improvise and makes a great catch.

  In addition to making a great pass under pressure, Geno shows great arm strength. Going backwards and without a stable base, he sends a laser to JSN.

  Finally, his TD that decided the game. The 49ers were in a version of Quarters coverage. DeVondre Campbell should pass Charbonnet to Fred Warner. Even if Geno made the pass to him, it would be inside the field and would waste the clock, the main thing would be to defend the end zone. This hesitation is enough to take him out of the play and Geno decides the game.

  Final Thoughts

  It was a crucial victory, and the Seahawks can now control their destiny. However, that doesn’t make the road any easier. The next three weeks can only be about winning. Arizona will be a very tough challenge.

  Night, Night, baby!

• All aboard the Jaxon Smith-Njigba hype train?

  JSN is hot right now, but will he stay that way the rest of the season?

  I hadn’t really realized it before, but the Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s name is oddly similar to a name from the 2012 Key and Peele skit: East/West College Bowl - hyphenated and everything.

  For the record, "Xmus Jaxon Flaxon-Waxon" was the player who said he was from "California University of Pennsylvania", a name I found to be a great joke at the time, and not a real 172-year-old institution pic.twitter.com/MwfPcopp1o

  — ℳatt (@matttomic) March 22, 2024

  It’s really too bad the nickname “The Law Firm” has already been taken; it really would’ve been perfect for him.

  Wild name and all, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has finally linked two impressive games together for the Seattle Seahawks for his best consecutive showing as a professional football player yet. This past Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, JSN caught 10 of 11 passes for 110 yards – including two huge grabs on the final game-winning drive – earning him PFF’s highest offensive grade for the Seahawks that week with an 88.2.

  In the Seahawks’ Week 9 loss against the Los Angeles Rams (Seattle had a bye in week 10), JSN went 7 for 13 for 180 yards and two touchdowns – including a 46-yard bomb. That gives JSN a two-game tally of 17 receptions for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He’s currently at 678 yards for the season, which already bests his 2023 total of 628 yards. And he’s just coming on.

  And he’s all over the interwebs right now.

  Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s last two games for the Seahawks:
  
  17 receptions
  290 yards
  2 touchdowns
  
  JSN has arrived pic.twitter.com/KV16BMvqS6

  — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 18, 2024

  At his Monday press conference, Mike Macdonald said about the blooming Geno to JSN connection: “We’re always going to have stuff in the game plan where [JSN’s] the primary guy. You see some of the stuff that’s on time, or he’s getting the right spots. How running some of the routes is able to free him up. I think the cool part is the stuff that’s happening like later in the downs of like him and Geno. I talked about this last night, but after watching the tape, you kind of feel it. There’s a chemistry going between those two guys.”

  There aren't many quarterbacks who are going to complete this pass while getting blasted, but Geno Smith has enough arm strength and touch to somehow loft a perfect strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 15-yard gain. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/cjKgVdfGfM

  — Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) November 19, 2024

  Of course, DK Metcalf was absent for JSN’s big game against the Rams in week nine. But he was definitely present this past weekend in Santa Clara for the Seahawks’ win against the 49ers. Have Ryan Grubb and Geno Smith finally figured out how to feed DK and JSN both the ball? If so, whoa, boy, watch out.

  Combined, DK and JSN went for 180 yards against the 49ers in week 11, which, if they keep it up, could creep the duo that much closer to the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and Amon-Ra St. Brown and an emerging Jameson Williams for one of the best tandems in the league.

  And, speaking of those guys, check out how clutch JSN has been on first downs:

  #NFL Most Receiving 1st Downs - 2024
  
  Ja'Marr Chase 47
  Amon-Ra St. Brown 45
  Justin Jefferson 40
  Garrett Wilson 40
  Drake London 39
  Brock Bowers 38
  Terry McLaurin 36
  Zay Flowers 34
  CeeDee Lamb 34
  Darnell Mooney 34
  Malik Nabers 34
  Jaxon Smith-Njigba 34
  
  (Thru First 11 Weeks)

  — NFL Analytics & Stats (@gofbanalytics) November 19, 2024

  There he is, right next to Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, and Zay Flowers. I love what I’m seeing - and the interwebs are excited to hype him right now - but I also want to pull the reins in a bit. Prior to his big Week 9 game against the Rams, JSN hadn’t gone for over 69 yards since week 2 against the New England Patriots.

  But I’d like to think it’s taken him half a season to shake the Shane Waldron off and rub some Grubb on. Of course it was always going to take a little time for this new coaching staff to click. Are they clicking now? You bet they are. But I’d like him to string a few more big games together with DK alongside him. They were a huge duo in Week 2 against the Patriots and also again this past weekend against the 49ers. They didn’t share a big game together once in 2023, and they’ve already got two this season. Let’s see if they can grab a few more.

  Clutch third-down conversions? JSN’s shifting. Slanting the slot? He’s slotted. Bombs? He’s a soldier. Edgy grabs on the line? He wasn’t praying, he was kneeling. It’s hard not to get excited about the guy.

  JSN is 9th in receptions (and can climb up the ladder since Drake London has 61 catches and is on a bye this week), 13th in receiving yards, and 8th in first downs. https://t.co/nC1pdwTXbE

  — Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) November 19, 2024

  There’s a prize waiting for JSN, but let’s not get excited and present it to him preemptively... the prize is handed out at the end of the season, as always. I’m gonna call it the Consistency Cup - which I truly believe he will get. Unlike Jackmerius Tacktheritrix, who completely faded into obscurity.