He has been hobbled all season behind a awful offensive line, but are we sure that Russell Wilson is a good quarterback in 2016?
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The Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas recovered a fumble on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and duly returned it for a touchdown.
“It doesn’t really have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective”, Payton asserted.
So quickly recapping the Saints win let’s look at the keys to victory. Usually. Against the Saints he was mostly stationary, and he’s much easier to defend that way: New Orleans showed him plenty of dense zone defenses, and it’s much easier to play man-to-man if you’re relatively sure the QB won’t be taking off at any moment.
Finally, there was a play that cost the Seahawks a timeout late in the game. Saints wide receiver Willie Snead plowed into and pushed cornerback Jeremy Lane backward into the end zone, which freed space for Cooks. I think he’ll get through it.
“That last drive was a testament to our resilience”. The first three possessions of the game the Saints drives ended in a punt, fumble return for a TD and another punt. But it was effective.
Seattle’s run scheme only works if Wilson is a true threat to keep the ball and run.
“At the end of the game we stood up and made plays when we had to”, said linebacker Nate Stupar, whose second-quarter interception led to the Saints’ first touchdown. Seattle was flagged 11 times for 76 yards while the Saints were penalized twice for 10 yards.
Carroll and Wilson said the team got the matchup it wanted when the Saints went in man coverage on Kearse on the right side, with Wilson quickly changing a protection that allowed for the time to make the throw.
The Saints entered the game averaging 73.17 penalty yards (27th).
Lutz’s 53-yard field goal – his third plus-50-yard field goal of the season – moved the Saints within 14-6. Those field goals, along with a botched snap by Seattle at the end of the first half, were another difference in the game.
A false start penalty pushed Seattle back to the 10 and they could only get back to the three before a Steven Hauschka field goal made the score 22-20. Kirk Cousins (Michigan State) couldn’t connect downfield and tossed his final desperate pass tamely into the sideline to preserve the draw. RB Christine Michael led Seattle with 40 and scored a touchdown that put Seattle in front 14-3 in the second quarter. Shaq Barrett blocked Josh Lambo’s extra point, keeping the score 17-13.
They had to stay on the field mostly because the offense has been inept with Wilson less than 100%. He improved to 26-3 against Buffalo, and matched a record set by Brett Favre, who went 26-9 against Detroit.
Week 8 saw four NFC South home games.
Nick Foles threw two TD passes after Alex Smith left with concussion symptoms in a 30-14 win over the Colts. But at the 10-yard line with no time remaining, his potential game victor to Kearse didn’t work.
Specifically, the Seahawks had an issue with two pick plays that the Saints ran on offense during the second half.
Instead, the Seahawks ran just 19 plays and had 3 yards rushing in the first half; finished with 74 yards rushing; and for the second straight week left their defense on the field for far too long.
Cleveland has its worst start since the 1975 team dropped its first nine games. Ingram was stripped in a crowd, and Earl Thomas ran the ball in for a 34-yard touchdown.
Over the past two weeks, Seattle’s been pushed to the limits defensively. The Panthers also limited running back David Johnson to 24 yards rushing.
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Graham had three catches on five targets for 34 yards. Undrafted rookie George Fant made his first National Football League start instead.
