INGLEWOOD, Calif. — So who could possibly have seen this coming two weeks ago?
When the Seahawks left New Orleans on Oct. 9, losers to a Saints team with a backup quarterback who had just played in London, the season looked dead in the water. Seattle had a defense that seemed impossible to fix and an offense without its leading rusher in Rashaad Penny.
Now here the Seahawks are, winners of two consecutive games against teams that had winning records a year ago and seemed to be ascending — Arizona and the Los Angeles Chargers — only to find themselves dominated by a Seattle team somehow thriving even without Russell Wilson, in first place in the NFC West at 4-3 following the 37-23 victory over Los Angeles.
It might not mean much yet, as player after player said after the game Sunday, but it means something considering the low expectations that greeted Seattle this year.
On to the grades.
Quarterback
Take out the tipped interception on a play the Seahawks thought featured pass interference and Geno Smith would have had a passer rating of 120.91. As it was, he was at 105.5, another really efficient and largely mistake-free performance in which Smith seemed to make all the right moves and two perfect passes on his touchdown throws to Marquise Goodwin.
Grade: A.
Running back
You can’t say the Seahawks don’t miss Penny. But Kenneth Walker III is sure doing his best to pick up where Penny left off. That 74-yard touchdown run at the end was a sight to behold, and the early 12-yard TD run shouldn’t be ignored. Between Walker and DeeJay Dallas, the Seahawks had 203 yards on 29 carries from their running backs. This is Pete Carroll football at its best.
Grade: A.
Receiver
Can the Seahawks survive for the long term without DK Metcalf? That’s a question they might have to confront, though immediately after the game it was unclear how serious his injury was. The good news is Goodwin showed why the team signed him, displaying some veteran 32-year-old savvy to haul in his two touchdown passes. And Tyler Lockett gutted out his hamstring injury to lead the team with seven receptions for 45 yards, several in key situations to convert first downs. The one downside was a tough day for Dee Eskridge with a fumble and a costly penalty.
Grade: B.
Tight end
Another decent day here receiving with six receptions for 80 yards combined from Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant. Even better was their blocking, with the combo work of Dissly and Parkinson helping spring Walker free for his 74-yarder that clinched the game. That will matter more to coaches than anything they did in the passing game.
Grade: A.
Offensive line
Smith was sacked just two times, hit just four and the Seahawks averaged 6.3 yards per carry. That pretty much says it all for the job of the offensive line. But as another example, Khalil Mack, who entered the game with six sacks, had just two tackles and the recovery on the Eskridge fumble in largely being a non-factor as Seattle’s two rookie tackles — Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas — again played well. Center Austin Blythe paved a huge hole for Walker on his 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Grade: A.
Defensive line
Was it just two weeks ago the Seahawks seemed to have the worst run defense in the NFL, if not NFL history? Sunday, Seattle held the Chargers to 53 yards on 15 carries, Los Angeles so defeated that it largely gave up running the ball as the game wore on. The Chargers had just 10 yards on three carries by running backs in the second half. Everyone on the defense deserves credit for that, but it starts with the line, which has seemed rejuvenated the past two weeks after the team went largely away from its two-gap scheme and allowed the linemen more freedom to attack at the line of scrimmage. Seattle also had three sacks, all from players on the front — Darrell Taylor (a strip sack and recovery), Quinton Jefferson and Al Woods.
Grade: A.
Linebacker
Those gaudy run stats also don’t happen without good play from the linebackers, and especially the inside duo of Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton, each playing much better the past two weeks. Brooks seemed especially good in pass coverage, forcing a fumble by Austin Ekeler on the Chargers’ second offensive play of the game, which seemed to set a fitting tone for what was to come, and finishing with a game-high eight tackles. Outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu had a team-high two QB hits in a fun return to where he began his career.
Grade: A.
Secondary
OK, so there were a couple of rough moments — Tariq Woolen appeared to be beaten for the Mike Williams touchdown that cut the lead to 17-14 in the second quarter and Michael Jackson dropped an interception that might have sealed the game. But overall this was a solid effort considering the competition. Ryan Neal had maybe his best game as a Seahawk, sharing a tackle on fourth down on the first series with Boye Mafe and then getting an interception on the second series as Seattle took a lead it never gave up, finishing with four pass defenses overall. Rookie Coby Bryant also had six tackles and didn’t allow Keenan Allen to do much (two receptions for 11 yards).
Grade: A-minus.
Special teams
Finally, a game where there wasn’t a really big mistake by the special teams other than the penalty by Joey Blount on the fair catch — which didn’t come back to hurt Seattle. And kicker Jason Myers also continued a solid season with field goals of 34, 46 and 50 yards and now is 15 of 16 for the season.
Grade: A.