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Hawks Playbook Podcast Episode 43 – Seahawks Defense Delivers Win vs Dallas

Open: Hello and welcome to the Hawks Playbook Podcast. Join Hosts Bill Alvstad and Keith Myers as we delve into the dominant defensive performance on the road against the Cowboys, and how the 3 turnovers paved the way for the offense to eek out a must win performance.  The playoffs unofficially started in earnest last Sunday in a do or die game where the winner lived to see their season hopes for playoffs continue, while the loser would be eliminated from playoff contention.  Justin Coleman had a 30 yard pick 6, and Byron Maxwell and KJ Wright had key defensive turnovers that led directly to offensive touchdowns, and that were the difference in this game.

After Keith and I discuss the Dallas game, we look forward to next Sunday’s match up at home vs the Arizona Cardinals.  Again, this is a must win game for the Seahawks, winning alone will not determine the playoff destiny of this team. Seattle will need help in the form of an Atlanta Falcon loss. Atlanta and Seattle both have identical 9-6 records, but by virtue of Atlanta’s win over Seattle, it holds the head to head tie-breaker.  This week we are rooting for Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to win.  A Seahawks victory, combined with an Atlanta loss gets Seattle into the playoffs as a 6th seed Wildcard.

Featured Segment One: Seattle Seahawks Defense comes through

The Seahawks defense delivers a dominant road victory for the team in a win or go home for the playoffs game.  The Seahawks only allowed 4 field goals and held Elliott to under 100 yards and harassed Dak Prescott all game.

  • Coleman had a 30-yard pick 6, his second interception returned for a touchdown on the season.
  • KJ Wright had his first interception on the season that led directly to a Seahawks Touchdown.
  • Maxwell’s forced fumble on Dez Bryant was one of the best plays on the year for the newly returned to the team corner.
  • Seattle had 142 yards of penalties, out gaining the total offense which only had 136 yards. This is the first time that has happened since 1976 – and we won. Crazy.
  • Russell Wilson now needs just 238 yards passing to become the first player in NFL history to have multiple seasons with 4000+ passing yards and 500+ rushing yards in the same year.
  • Is there anything worse than listening to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman drone on and on about the Cowboys? No, there is not.

Featured Segment Two: Final Regular Season Game Match Up vs Cardinals

This game is do or die. We win, and have a chance to be the 6th seed wildcard in the playoffs, or we lose, and the off-season begins immediately after the game.  Stark, hard cold truth. It didn’t have to be that way, with at least two winnable games in our grasp, that we let go of earlier in the season.  Wins against either Washington (3 Blair Walsh misses), or the loss vs Atlanta where Blair missed a 52-yard field goal in the closing seconds to force overtime.  Sigh.

This game is no gimme. The Seahawks have lost 3 of their last 4 home games…. unheard of the last 7 years until this season. They have also lost 3 out of the last 4 home games against the Cardinals.  The Cardinals are on of the best teams in the NFL on Defense. They are ranked 3rd in yards allowed per rush and 4th in not allowing explosive runs of 12+ yards. They are ranked 8th in not allowing explosive pass plays of 16+ yards.

With that said, the Cardinals are polar opposite on offense. They are ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in the following categories: Points scored, Total Yards, Yards per Play, 3rd Down %, Red Zone %, Rush Yards, Yards per Rush, Completion % and Turnovers.

As you can see, we have two very good defenses going up against two underperforming offenses. So as per the norm with these kinds of games, it will come down to turn overs and special teams.  Add one or two big plays and there’s your game.  Both Keith and I feel like Seattle has the edge here, but it may be closer than anyone hopes for considering the stakes of the game.

Close: Thanks so much for joining us for the show! Please be sure to tell your friends and your Twitter family. We sure do appreciate that. You can find Keith on Twitter @MyersNFL and I am @NWSeahawk, and you can find the podcast page @HawksPlaybook. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show on iTunes, and be sure to look for us on all of your favorite podcast apps.

Go Hawks!