The overtime magic seems to keep flowing for the Seattle Seahawks. Only a week removed from their dramatic overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks found themselves in yet another thriller when they needed an extra period to take down their rivals by the bay, the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle vs. San Francisco on “Monday Night Football” was being billed as the game of the year, and it didn’t just live up to expectations, it exceeded them. In one of the wildest, climactic, back-and-forth wins one will ever see, the Seahawks delivered the previously unbeaten 49ers their first loss of the year in a game that came down to the final play of overtime.
The 49ers may still be in first place in the NFC West, but their margin for error was severely diminished as the Seahawks clearly demonstrated they are more than capable of taking back a division crown themselves. Here are four Studs and two Duds from Seattle’s Week 10 win.
No. 1 Stud – Jadeveon Clowney
If there was ever a time and a player to make an argument for a midseason extension, it’s Jadeveon Clowney for what he did to the 49ers.
Acquired prior to the start of the season from the Texans, Clowney has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, season thus far. On Monday night, Clowney took over and finally had the breakout performance Seahawks fans have been clamoring for all year long.
Clowney abused San Francisco’s defensive front all night long with relentless pressure on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He finished the night with five tackles, five quarterback hits, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for Seattle’s only first-half points. Clowney is the only front-seven defender in the NFL to have multiple touchdowns this year.
It was a suffocating performance overall from a Seahawks defensive front that has struggled mightily this year. They racked up five total sacks and 10 quarterback hits, and it all started with Clowney.
No. 1 Dud – Seahawks’ first-half offense
For as remarkable as Clowney was, and for as great as the defense played to keep Seattle in the game, the Seahawks offense was unable to do much of anything in the first half.
Seattle’s offense was shut out at the half and could barely move the ball. The Seahawks had a whopping 89 yards on 20 total plays.
While game-winning kicks in overtime make for better headlines and entertainment, the reality is if the Seahawks were able to even score anything in the first half they likely wouldn’t have needed the extra 10 minutes of play.
No. 2 Stud – Jason Myers
Just when you thought Myers couldn’t be more of a letdown, he turns around and has a performance like this and totally redeems himself.
Last week Myers missed three critical kicks, including the potential game-winner at the end of regulation, and faced the wrath of Seahawks fans everywhere. Pete Carroll stood by him, and Myers rewarded the coach for his faith.
In the span of a week, Myers went from fans calling for his job to a hero on Monday night as he kicked two crucial field goals late. His true redemption came when he sailed the 42-yard game-winning kick as the clock ran out in overtime.
Now Seahawks fans will be hoping these two kicks will be enough to help Myers regain his confidence and Pro Bowl form from last season.
No. 2 Dud – Seattle’s ball security
Last year the Seahawks were one of the best teams in the NFL at holding on to the ball. They simply did not give opposing defenses many opportunities with turnovers.
It’s an entirely different story this year, and Monday night could have been disastrous had the Seahawks lost. They ended the night with five fumbles and four total turnovers.
Rookie DK Metcalf lost the ball at the goal line right before halftime, and Rashaad Penny fumbled on the first drive of the third quarter. Chris Carson lost control, but center Joey Hunt was able to recover. Wilson fumbled as well on a sack. It was recovered by Germain Ifedi, who then fumbled himself and saw the ball returned by the 49ers for a momentum-shifting touchdown.
Last but not least was Wilson’s stunning interception in the red zone during the first overtime possession for Seattle.
No. 3 Stud – Jacob Hollister
What a pleasant surprise Hollister has turned into. As Seattle keeps losing tight ends — Will Dissly lost for the year with a torn Achilles, and Luke Willson leaving Monday’s game early with a hamstring injury — Hollister continues to come through.
Hollister put forth a second straight performance worthy of a second straight appearance on the Studs list as he hauled in eight passes on 10 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.
With Dissly and Willson hurt, Hollister is the only healthy true tight end on the Seahawks roster. While they will certainly make moves during the bye week, especially regarding veteran Ed Dickson, it appears a player who was on the practice squad only a few short weeks ago is now TE1 for Seattle.
No. 4 Stud – Russell Wilson
It wasn’t entirely pretty. It wasn’t as explosive as Week 9’s five-touchdown performance. It wasn’t as clean as he has been almost the entire season. Yet Wilson simply got it done once again.
In a week when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson posted his second perfect passer rating of the season, Wilson needed another statement to stay at the top of the MVP race. Wilson finished 24 of 34 for 232 yards a touchdown, an interception, and six carries for 53 yards on the ground.
While he did throw an uncharacteristic red zone interception in overtime, Wilson eventually led his 28th game-winning drive — tied for the most in the league since 2012 — as his Seahawks walked away from the Bay Area with an 8-2 record.
In his career, Wilson is now 6-0 against opponents who are at least eight games over .500.
