Week 8 Game Changing Plays: Throwback Seahawks Soar
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Seahawks WR Jackson Smith-Njigba
The idea of the Seattle Seahawks winning the NFC West seemed borderline inconceivable before the season started. Heck, it seemed unlikely just three weeks ago. But with the San Francisco 49ers stumbling their way into their bye week, the Seahawks have taken advantage, placing their claim atop the division after Week 8.
Decked out in resplendent ’90s throwbacks, the Seahawks slipped past the Cleveland Browns to improve to 5-2 and at least momentarily place themselves in the cream of the NFC’s crop. While it wasn’t a complete game by any stretch of the imagination, they’re the ones with all the momentum in the division, doing what the 49ers could not and putting a common opponent away despite trailing late. Their final drive, with the offense waking up after stumbling through most of the second half, puts them firmly atop Week 8’s Game Changing Plays.
We’ll get to their comeback victory in a moment, but let’s run through some of the other most impactful moments of Week 8 first.
Panthers Find a Win!
Alright, it’s excessively unlikely that Carolina plays any significant role in the playoff race, but Bryce Young finally getting his first win of the year is worth at least a tip of the cap. And the Texans are, of course, very much in the midst of the AFC wildcard race, just a game out of playoff position. They’d be tied (though out on tiebreakers) if their defense could have held on at the end of the game, however.
You shudder to think what this Panthers offense would be like without Adam Thielen. Thielen had yet another productive day, picking up eight receptions for 72 yards including a huge fourth down and ballgame conversion with 3:21 remaining to keep Carolina’s final drive alive. Young, dodging pressure, led Carolina on a 15-play, 86-yard drive that ate up all 6:17 remaining on the clock and ended up with a chip-shot game-winning field goal. And so, for the first time, Carolina does not find itself at the very top of the draft order, watching their first overall pick fly to Chicago. Instead, they’re currently second in the draft order. Baby steps.
49ers In Purdgatory
What a difference a month makes. The 49ers were at 5-0 and atop the world, looking unstoppable. The Browns loss could be chalked up as just one of those weird things that happen in the NFL, but back-to-back games where Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow shredded one of last year’s top defenses have alarm bells flailing in San Francisco, as the 49ers enter their bye week needing to figure out just what has gone wrong and how to fix it before it’s too late.
For a moment there, it looked like the 49ers were going to pull themselves together. Down just 17-10, the 49ers marched 67 yards into the red zone and were looking good. And then Germaine Pratt made a hell of an interception on what would have been an easy walk-in touchdown for Elijah Mitchell, tipping the pass from an indecisive Brock Purdy and coming down with a back-breaking pick. The next time San Francisco was in the red zone, they were down multiple scores and in desperation mode, and their defense just couldn’t slow things down enough.
After that 1-3 start, Cincinnati is now in the midst of that 4-3 tie for the sixth and seventh wild card seeds; they’re still in last because they have yet to have a conference win, but better to be ninth on tiebreakers than 13th, right? As for the 49ers, a win would have righted the ship, had them atop the NFC West, and in second place in the conference. Instead, they’re hanging on to sixth place as they ask some serious questions during their week off.
Patrick Mahomes’ Flu Game One to Forget
Kansas City had won their last 16 games against Denver, the third-longest streak in NFL history. That streak is over and done, with Denver pulling out a 24-9 victory. Yes, it helped that Patrick Mahomes had the flu and never looked comfortable, but part of the reason that he never looked comfortable was Denver’s defense forcing three turnovers.
The biggest Mahomes turnover came at the end of the second quarter, when Baron Browning broke through with a strip sack. We’re all used to the script, right? Chiefs get down early, Mahomes shuffles around in the pocket, puts together a magical throw, and the Kansas City comeback is on. Instead, what could have easily been a 14-13 lead and a sense of creeping dread for Denver instead ended up as a 14-9 lead going into the half, as the Chiefs never found the end zone.
Kansas City’s fumble luck was atrocious. They put the ball on the ground three times, and lost all three.
All three of Denver’s touchdown drives started in Kansas City’s territory, none deeper than the one that started after Mecole Hardman’s muffed punt. Denver cashed this in for six, took the 21-9 lead, and never really looked back.
And so the Chiefs are in a four-way tie at 6-2 atop the conference, with their Sunday matchup against fellow 6-2 Miami in Germany looking as huge as huge can be; one of two enormous matchups that Week 9 will bring us. We’ll dive into the various ramifications of that one later this week.
Eagles take Command of the NFC
For some reason, Philadelphia always seems to have their hands full with Washington. For the second time this season, the Commanders took the Eagles to the brink, only for Philadelphia to end up slipping away with a victory when all was said and done. And, with the 49ers losing later in the day, Philadelphia was able to establish a two-game lead over the rest of the conference; a hugely luxurious position when you consider the mess atop the AFC at the moment.
Down 17-10 at the half, however, it didn’t look like the Eagles were going to be enjoying a dang thing. Philadelphia lost two fumbles inside their own three yard line, so even when they got a huge boost — say, a massive defensive pass interference call on Benjamin St. Juste on a fourth down incompletion…
…they ended up fumbling the ball away anyway. No harm, no foul, yes?
But Philadelphia would not be denied. That DPI doesn’t technically count as a fourth-down conversion, but Philly did pick up a big one on their ensuing drive, with Jalen Hurts finding DeVonta Smith on a big 4th and 4. It’s easy for Nick Sirianni to attempt fourth downs when they’re in Tush Push range; it’s more daring to do it at midfield, down seven points, stuck in no man’s land. It was the right call, too — ESPN had the win probability of a “go” at 34.8% a punt at 32.3% and a field goal at 30.6%. If anything, Smith’s 17-yard gain was even larger than that, setting up an A.J. Brown touchdown three plays later that tied things up at 17.
Of course, on replay, it turns out Smith likely did NOT catch that pass. The ball fairly clearly hits turf, and Washington would have gotten the ball, up seven, at midfield. But Ron Rivera chose not to challenge, the Eagles kept going, and the dam began to break.
Washington fought back a bit more, answering Philadelphia’s touchdown with one of their own. But in a span of one minute of game time, the Eagles put things away. First, Hurts hit a wide-open Smith on a 38-yard touchdown strike to re-tie the game at 24…
…and then, three plays later, Sam Howell airmailed a pass, and Reed Blankenship was in perfect position to capitalize.
Howell played a great game, avoiding the sacks that have been his downfall, but that pick was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Philly would score off of the interception and never trail again.
Washington would have been tied for the final playoff slot in the NFC at 4-4, losing out to the Vikings on tiebreakers. Instead, they fall to 11th, and are hanging on to the very fringes of the playoff race.
One Drive for Glory in Seattle
The Seahawks had done nothing in the second half. Their drive log:
- Three-and-out — ESPN’s model suggested a “go”.
- An athletic Maurice Hurst interception
- Three-and-out — ESPN’s model suggested a “go”.
- A punt on 4th and 17 from the Cleveland 47 — ESPN’s model suggested a punt, because, I mean, 4th-and-17 is tough.
Cleveland, however, was unable to put the game away themselves, just kicking pair of sub-30 yard field goals to take a 20-17 lead. Those decisions cost Cleveland a combined 3.4% win probability, per ESPN, but they at least had the Browns with a lead with 1:57 to go. But Geno Smith and the Seahawks started their final drive on the Seattle 43, needing just a field goal to tie, thanks to a Julian Love interception. You’d definitely rather be Cleveland in that situation, but Seattle had about a 1-in-3 chance of winning, which isn’t nothing.
It would have become nothing, however, had Noah Fant not pulled down a 27-yard catch to move the Seahawks inside the 20, into chip shot field goal range.
Smith had averaged a paltry 3.1 yards per attempt on the seven drives leading up to the game-winning drive, but that jumped to 10.4 after finding Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Fant to drive the Seahawks into field goal range. Not willing to leave things to overtime, though, Smith found Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a little screen…
Must be the uniforms. You look good, you play good.
As mentioned, Seattle’s win puts them in first place in the NFC West. They’ll need to beat the Ravens next week to hold on to it, as they’d fall behind the 5-3 49ers on the divisional record tiebreaker if they lost, but for now, they rule the nest. As for Cleveland, they fall from fifth to seventh in the AFC, into a four-way tie at 4-3. They’re third in the wildcard race and third in their division, as the AFC North looks like a slugfest the rest of the way. But then, what else is new?
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