How Week 12 impacted the Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks were bumped out of the playoff picture in Week 12 and anything less than a win over the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday will guarantee that Pete’s victory lap answer to the haters remains on ‘pause’ until the next one, at least. The Seahawks can’t drop any lower than “eighth” in the standings this week, even if they lose, but with Aaron Donald likely out for this one, Seattle could finally end their skid against Sean McVay.
Do that and the Seahawks are virtually guaranteed to be back in the wild card position: The 7-4 Giants play the 7-5 Commanders, so as long as one of those teams lose, a Seattle win puts them back into the postseason picture with five games left.
A win coupled with a 49ers loss to the Dolphins and the Seahawks would be back in first place in the division and holding the three-seed in the playoffs. Plenty remains at stake and the postseason should still be the priority over the 2023 draft. This is another edition of “How the week impacted the Seahawks” and while this is usually a bonus post for Regular Joes, I want to open it up to everybody and also give you a chance to be a Regular Joes member for absolutely FREE.
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There are a lot of places to read recaps. These are only recaps as they relate to the Seahawks.
Bills 28, Lions 25
The Lions dropped to 4-7 on Thanksgiving morning, but is the final score respectable enough to think that Seattle’s win over Detroit is still a good one? It’s the 45 points allowed to the Lions that hurts; as I wrote on Monday, the Seahawks have allowed 39+ as many times this season as they did in every season from 2011 to 2021 total. I find that remarkable, even if the number of points allowed is arbitrary. The one thing everyone can agree with, including Pete Carroll, is that the defense is much worse than his lowest expectations.
Since that Week 4 game, in which Detroit had 520 yards and 45 points, the Lions haven’t even had a single 400-yard performance. They scored six points total in the two games that followed. It took Detroit’s worst defensive effort of 2022 for the Seahawks to get that win but thankfully Seattle (and Rashaad Penny) had the juice that week.
Another interesting note here is draft order: The Lions are now slated to pick 13th, but they have only won one more game than the Chicago Bears, the team slated to pick second. The draft order could shift dramatically in the next six weeks.
A question for you: What do you think of the season that Josh Allen is having? He’s gone from MVP favorite to throwing six touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last five games, also fumbling the ball four times. Do you think that Allen has put draft doubts all the way behind him or could he still be inaccurate with too many mistakes?
Cowboys 28, Giants 20
Teams that Seattle has beaten went 0-2 on Thanksgiving. The Giants were 6-1 going into the Seahawks game, but they’ve lost three of four and sit at 7-4 with two matchups against the Washington Commanders in the next three weeks. Washington could sweep those games and sit the Giants firmly in last place in the NFC East. New York also has two games left against the Eagles. Every season has teams that start incredibly hot and miss the playoffs or lead to an instant wild card exit. Do you think the Giants will struggle to finish above .500? They are 7-4 with two games against the Commanders, two against the Eagles, one against the Vikings, and one against the Colts.
Final record prediction?
Vikings 33, Patriots 26
It’s only Week 13 and the Vikings could clinch the division title with one simple scenario: Beat the Jets and the Lions lose to the Jaguars.
The calamity of the NFC East could lead to Minnesota securing the NFC’s only bye week in the postseason. Do you buy that the Vikings are a real Super Bowl contender this time? There’s almost nothing standing in the way of Minnesota and 14 wins other than being overrated:
Panthers 23, Broncos 10
Seaside Joe has already covered the Broncos and draft order based on this loss. Up next, Denver goes to Baltimore to face a slumping Lamar Jackson. Interestingly, for the second week in a row, Seattle is playing a team that has a higher draft priority than the Broncos. If Denver loses to the Ravens and drops to 3-9, then a Bears win over Green Bay could have Seattle’s pick from the Broncos move up a notch. If the Rams win too, then the Broncos could be picking second as of Sunday.
Browns 23, Bucs 17 (OT)
I found this Browns fan on YouTube and I dig his style. Spoiler alert: He thinks Kevin Stefanski sucks.
Tampa Bay drops to 5-6 but stays in first place in the NFC South. I said this to a friend yesterday, which is that the NFL would love nothing more than Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl again. I cautioned people against believing NFL conspiracies in my post yesterday, but secretive planning or not, Roger Goodell wants Brady in the Super Bowl over Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, and even Jalen Hurts.
My question to you: How much money do you think Tom Brady is worth to the Super Bowl over an average starting quarterback? He’s the only player in the entire league who it seems everybody has an opinion about, including non-football fans. I’d bet that Brady brings in tens of millions per game and that includes the fourth quarter comebacks that make advertisers happy that fans aren’t turning off the TV in the final 30 minutes.
Jaguars 28, Ravens 27
Another thing I said to a friend (yes, I swear, I have a friend!) is that Trevor Lawrence has been and continues to be by far the best quarterback from the 2021 draft class. Run the draft 100 more times today and I’ll take Lawrence first overall all 100 times. Which is also a lesson in patience for any Seahawks fans who want Seattle’s first pick next year to be a superstar from Week 1: It doesn’t usually work that way.
Travon Walker was a slightly unusual number one pick because he wasn’t even a standout in college, but he’s also a case in point: Walker is helpful this season, but also an afterthought. Him and Aidan Hutchinson are both “fine” defensive linemen this season and that’s typical of rookie campaigns for top defensive line prospects. It really is! Another example would be Earl Thomas—don’t block out his rookie season, it had a lot of miscues!
Dolphins 30, Texans 15
Houston is 1-9-1 and holds the number one pick in the draft. How hard would it be for the Broncos to “catch” them? Let’s put out a hypothetical scenario in which Denver loses out: The Broncos would finish 3-14. So then the Texans would need to finish 3-13-1. Could Houston win two more games? They face Deshaun Watson’s 2022 debut this week, followed by Cowboys, Chiefs, Titans, Jaguars, and Colts. It could be difficult to win two games.
Do you think the Dolphins could actually win the Super Bowl with this roster? I’ve never in my life even been able to imagine Miami in the AFC Championship game, let alone winning a Super Bowl with Tua.
Jets 31, Bears 10
Yet more examples of high draft picks who do not help their teams, and I have greatly admired Zach Wilson! Others have greatly admired Justin Fields. Neither has been especially valuable to NFL teams through a year and a half. Mike White is somebody who I mentioned in the offseason as a potential target for the Seahawks if the Jets were open to letting him go, but New York kept him as QB3 and now he’s QB1 again: 22/28 for 315 yards and three touchdowns.
It’s easy to forget that White did something similar in a win over the Bengals last season and then fell apart. Speaking of Mike White, are you watching White Lotus season two?
Chicago is now 3-9 and slated to pick second overall. Many Seahawks fans are dreaming of a draft pick high enough to select Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, but Bears fans are doing a better job of manifesting that into reality so far. Chicago would appear to be one team that’s all but guaranteed to not use their pick on a quarterback. The Bears can force Aaron Rodgers into retirement with a win this week.
Bengals 20, Titans 16
I don’t think that the 2021 Bengals looked especially more dominant than the 2022 Seahawks, so let’s not give up all hope yet on a playoff run. Cincinnati has now won seven of nine and are expected to get back Ja’Marr Chase this week.
Commanders 19, Falcons 13
One of my bold pre-season predictions was Washington winning the NFC East. That’s unlikely, but the Commanders (I still wish they were called “The Moons”) have won six of their last seven games and they could be the team that keeps Seattle from making the playoffs. Washington’s next two games—yes both of their next two games—are against the New York Giants. NYG/BYE/NYG.
Washington has done all of this without their most prized pass rusher and Chase Young could return this week.
Simple question: Do you think Washington is good?
Chargers 25, Cardinals 24
The return of DeAndre Hopkins has done nothing. The Cardinals have lost four of five. Arizona is on a bye this week. The Chargers next game is against the Raiders and it would be best for Seattle if L.A. loses this week. Please go Brandon Staley yourself, Brandon Staley.
Chiefs 26, Rams 10
It’s been an absolutely absurd season in the NFL, with L.A.’s collapse being among the most ridiculous things to have happened. Maybe not entirely surprising, but definitely without precedent. The Rams are starting a quarterback named Bryce Perkins and from personal experience of watching all of Perkins’ preseason reps in two years, he’s definitely not an NFL player. Nor is the other backup, John Wolford. But L.A. is using players off the street as offensive linemen, put their top two receivers on IR, and now Aaron Donald is likely to miss a month or more.
The Rams could go 3-14 and their top pick is going to the Lions. The Rams and Seahawks meet for the first time this season and a win by Seattle would increase their playoff odds but slightly lower their odds of getting a higher draft pick than Detroit. I’ll still take the win, thanks.
49ers 13, Saints 0
Talking to my friend (yes, the real one) and he asked my top four teams right now. I answered: Chiefs, 49ers, Bengals, Eagles.
I don’t feel necessarily “good” about any of those answers other than Kansas City (which is why I say you never completely disregard drafting a quarterback) but I think that the Super Bowl is more likely to include two of those teams than teams not on that list. Who are your top-four teams right now?
The 49ers play the Dolphins this week, followed by Tom Brady’s Bucs, and then it’s the Seattle rematch.
The Saints are 4-8 and their pick going to Philadelphia is currently seventh overall. New Orleans can’t be ruled out of finishing with a top-three pick for the Eagles.
Eagles 40, Packers 33
Aaron Rodgers convinced DeShone Kizer that 9/11 doesn’t exist.
Steelers 24, Colts 17
Sorry, not every Monday Night Football game is required viewing.
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Seahawks should have utilized the Dicky Maegle defense on the final play of overtime:
https://youtu.be/rAHbE3LFfTU
Josh Allen hurt his throwing elbow a couple of weeks ago. Of course, we don't really know what's wrong with the elbow, but he's not playing as well. I also thought the team mishandled the snow storm and two games in Detroit in five days. They waited and flew out on Saturday. Neighbors had to plow and shovel players out of their houses. Practices were impossible. They should have flown out before the storm hit and and had a mini-training camp in Detroit.