As expected, the struggling Seattle Seahawks went to Georgia to take on the surging Atlanta Falcons and a blowout ensued.

Oh wait, the Seahawks won?!

Damn right, the Seahawks won. They never trailed and shut down a team that didn’t trail through multiple possessions the whole season. What makes Seattle such a superior road team than the home team (especially in indoor stadiums) is a mystery, but it felt like a Seahawks home game with all the “SEA!” HAWK!” chants you could hear all afternoon.

Let’s get to the winners and losers from the Seahawks’ big 34-14 win in the South.

Winners

Boye Mafe and Derick Hall

This is the tandem we hope will wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks for years to come, and they had the play of the game and perhaps the season. Kirk Cousins ​​held the ball too long when he tried to make a play, and Mafe’s elite closing speed got him for the forced fumble. Hall, who had a push that led to a sack for Dre’Mont Jones, was on the scene for the scoop and score and his first NFL touchdown.

Order has been restored and it’s another week of one from Hall of Mafe recording a sack. I also liked that Hall made a stop in the run defense, a significant area of ​​improvement.

Dre’Mont Jones

That was the Dre’Mont Jones the Seahawks had hoped they would get when they signed him to that big contract. Jones had a sack, a pass defensed and a tackle for loss against the run in one of his best games (if not his best) in a Seattle uniform.

Julian Love

Love had the game-clinching interception, which was paired with a solid day of tackling in the open field and limiting big plays deep down the field. That’s what you want to see from your best (and only healthy) starting safety. It wasn’t a great week for Love against the San Francisco 49ers, but he was great today.

Coby Bryant

Finally, Bryant has an interception that counts! He had two picks recalled due to penalties against other players in his rookie season, but the third time was the charm. Bryant will have a lot more responsibility on his shoulders in the coming weeks with Rayshawn Jenkins out, but I’m intrigued by what he can do under Mike Macdonald in that hybrid nickel corner/safety role.

Leonard Williams

“Big Cat” had a sack, two QB hits and was at the center of some of Seattle’s better moments in run defense. He is as healthy as can be and remains a force along the defensive line.

Jos Jobe

Guess who defended two passes today? Josh Jobe, who played well on the practice squad, held up well in coverage and his only “negative” was a pass interference call that I’m not sure was a good call. We don’t know if Jobe will be called up again anytime soon pending the health of Riq Woolen and Tre Brown, but that’s good work in an emergency situation.

Kenneth Walker III

It’s Ken Walker’s flu game. A touchdown was taken away early, but he made up for it by scoring a rush and receiving a touchdown later in the day. Walker finished the day with 93 yards from scrimmage on a stunning 24th anniversary for Seattle’s best running back. He has seven touchdowns this season, putting him on pace to have the most TDs of his young career.

Geno Smith

Did Smith throw for over 300 yards? No. Did he have gaudy stats in terms of strokes completed and attempts? No. Did he play very well? You bet he did, and that’s it another day of pressure behind this offensive line. His 18/28 day for 209 yards and 2 TDs could have been better if not for a few drops, and he made some great throws and improvised plays to keep drives alive.

Smith doesn’t have to throw the ball 40-45 times because of the game state/behind/can’t run the ball, which is exactly what you want. It protects him and maximizes his efficiency.

DK Metcalf

Hopefully that knee injury is as minor as the one he suffered against the Los Angeles Chargers two seasons ago. Once again, Metcalf destroyed the Atlanta Falcons in the form of four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. He had one near-touchdown that was slightly off his fingertips and one semi-drop on an underthrown ball, but that catch on Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s pass went so smoothly. This was a very good game from Metcalf and that makes it as brilliant as it is frustrating.

And you better believe Metcalf owns the Falcons.

Noah Fant

Outside of Metcalf, Fant was the team’s next leading receiver with 4 catches for 65 yards. His play of the game was pulling in an impromptu Geno flip during a scramble drill and a fumble from 28 yards, setting up an eventual touchdown. He was great as a receiver and the only thing missing is getting him back in the end zone.

Michael Jerrell

Well done to the newbie. Well done. He allowed just one sack, had just one penalty, and while there were a few rookie snap pressures allowed, Jerrell looked like an NFL right tackle in his debut. His highlight was working with Christian Haynes to open up the express lane to the end zone for Kenneth Walker. George Fant might return next week, but if he doesn’t, I want to see Jerrell over Stone Forsythe on the depth chart.

I think All-22 will confirm the positives and negatives of Jerrell’s debut, but I came away encouraged by the former Division II player. Findlay University, stand up!

Special teams

The Seahawks haven’t had a good special teams unit this season, perhaps unusual given all the success under former ST coach Larry Izzo. Jay Harbaugh’s group has made too many mistakes to count, but they were flawless today. Dee Williams had a nice kick return before halftime and a good kick return in the second half, Michael Dickson had three of his four kicks inside the 20, Jason Myers made a 59-yard field goal and Laviska Shenault Jr provided the momentum when a tackler.

Outside of the New England Patriots win, which was the only other time the Seahawks’ special teams have been positive this season, this was by far their best performance of the year.

Losers

Devon Witherspoon

Not one of ‘Spoon’s better days. He remains ineffective as a flashy corner, something I didn’t see coming after his success as a rookie. Witherspoon also had several missed tackles defending the run and was fortunate to have Kirk Cousins ​​convert a big play to Ray-Ray McCloud, who converted it deep downfield.

But even as a “loser,” there is one play that stands out as an embodiment of Witherspoon: the Hall touchdown. He got his butt up to try to throw a block to an offensive lineman to clear the way for the big guy. Witherspoon is like a rocket that needs to be aimed a little better. I will never doubt his commitment and enthusiasm, and I think he will do well as the season progresses.

Jake Bobo

That was a rough drop from his only target of the day. It would have been a first and the normally confident Bobo missed his only chance.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the receiver

Only 3 catches for 8 yards for JSN, and he was a bit unlucky not to receive a defensive pass interference penalty while his arm was clearly restrained. I have to admit, I wonder if Smith-Njigba’s depth of field remains low because he’s not generating consistent separation downfield. He’s a short-area and mid-range option, but so far he doesn’t look like another receiver who can get to the top of a defense. By the way, this is why you don’t trade DK Metcalf.

At least he can say he’s averaging 35 yards per pass attempt. MVP numbers!

Jeroen Bakker

Baker’s run defense remains an issue. Bijan Robinson rushed for over 100 yards and Baker (and to a lesser extent Tyrel Dodson) aren’t doing their job of filling in the gaps. It seems that the second level is the main culprit for the successful runs, and that it will have to be cleaned up sooner or later.

Final comments

• Byron Murphy II had a tackle for loss and I think he was the one with the late pressure on Kirk Cousins’ INT against Julian Love. He is a clear difference maker on this defensive line.
• Speaking of difference makers, a pair of well-run defensive reps for newest Seahawk Roy Robertson-Harris, who had a whirlwind week after being traded in London from the Jacksonville Jaguars, which led to a flight from Britain to Seattle and then Seattle to Atlanta.
• Tyler Lockett remains stuck in third place and is about as confident as it gets. He had 4 catches for 45 yards.
• Mike Macdonald went for it again on 4th down and it led to a conversion and eventual touchdown. Play to win. Also a great 22-man play call from Ryan Grubb to get Zach Charbonnet the inside handoff for a first down.
• After a three-game losing streak, the Seahawks are back at the top of the NFC West after the San Francisco 49ers’ latest loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The next two weeks before goodbyes are as important as they can get. The Buffalo Bills are an elite team with Josh Allen playing at an MVP level, while the Los Angeles Rams are getting healthier and may have one last run in them. Even a split in the bye week and staying above .500 would be great. If the Seahawks can build on this win and play the kind of clean football with few penalties (only five allowed against Atlanta) and no turnovers (zero!), optimism is back on the menu.
• Do you know what else is on the menu? Enemy response, with the bonus of a Niners Nation meltdown.