The Seattle Seahawks are 4-0 after yet another close game, grinding out a 31-23 win on Sunday morning against a surprisingly competitive Dolphins squad. Although the Seahawks never trailed, the Dolphins stayed hot on their heels for all 60 minutes in a game that was in equal turns brilliant and messy. Here are just a few of the standouts – good, bad, and ugly – from the Seahawks’ Week 4 victory.
THE GOOD
CB Shaquill Griffin: After a disappointing start to the season, Griffin appeared to be back to his old self against Miami, returning an interception for 16 yards and defending three passes. His red-zone defense was positively lights-out, which prevented multiple Dolphins touchdowns and forced them to stick to field goals. Griffin will look to carry the momentum from his performance into Week 5, where he will face an offense that features talented receivers Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.
DB Ryan Neal: In his first-ever NFL start, Neal was quick to show fans why the Seahawks called him up from the practice squad. He followed up last week’s late-game interception with another pick on the Dolphins’ very first drive, taking advantage of a high-flying tip from Cody Barton at the line of scrimmage. He also defended two passes and made six tackles, including an incredibly powerful hit on Miami RB Myles Gaskin on a screen play. With Seattle’s secondary as banged-up as it is, expect Neal to be a major contributor for the Seahawks in future weeks.
RB Chris Carson: There were a number of outstanding offensive players in the Seahawks’ win, including DK Metcalf and David Moore, but Carson was especially noteworthy for his gutsy performance following last week’s leg injury. Seattle’s top running back ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and also contributed 20 receiving yards on three catches, despite leaving the game briefly in the second quarter to be evaluated for a potential concussion. “He’s an animal,” said Metcalf of Carson after the game, echoing several other teammates’ sentiments.
THE BAD
Late-down efficiency: Seattle’s offense, which has been one of the league’s best this season, was surprisingly anemic on third and fourth down. The Seahawks converted just four of 10 total third-down opportunities and also failed to convert their lone fourth down. Although Seattle only punted twice, each of its punts was followed by a Miami score (as was the turnover on downs).
Line play: Neither the defensive nor the offensive lines were particularly impressive on Sunday. The Seahawks’ defensive line allowed 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick to scamper for 47 yards and a touchdown, while the o-line consistently allowed the Dolphins to create pressure that resulted in two costly sacks and a red-zone interception from Russell Wilson. Seattle will need to figure out a way to tighten things up at the line of scrimmage, lest opposing teams decide to focus on creating problems in the trenches.
THE ALMOST UGLY
The officiating: Fans of both teams had reason to be displeased at times with the referees presiding over Sunday’s game. First, they penalized Ryan Fitzpatrick for an illegal forward pass despite him not crossing the line of scrimmage, turning a critical first down into a fourth down. Later, Seattle was flagged for a pair of iffy defensive penalties – unnecessary roughness on Quandre Diggs and pass interference on Ugo Amadi – although neither foul was enforced.
The Seahawks arguably received a gift from the officials in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Chris Carson’s fourth-down run appeared to be just short of the first-down marker, based on the spot of the ball and the chain measurement, but the Seahawks were nevertheless awarded a fresh set of downs to put away the game. It was a fortunate break for Seattle, but fans may feel disconcerted that the officiating crew potentially made the difference in a one-score game.
Still, this marks the first time since 2007 and only the fourth in team history the Seahawks had no enforced penalties in a game.
