Seahawks at Midseason
At the midseason point, Seattle is 5-2-1 with an unbeaten 4-0 record at home. Looking at the schedule before the start of the season, I would have said anything below 6-2 is a missed opportunity, because the schedule is stacked with tougher opponents in the second half of the season. But half a game off the mark isn’t bad. The Seahawks are 1-1-1 within the division, having played Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco once each. They get Arizona, who they played to a tie; and Los Angeles, who defeated the Seahawks; at home in rematches. If they can’t sweep San Francisco when they go to Santa Clara for the season finale, that will be a disappointment. The 49ers haven’t won since Week 1, and Seattle has a 2-0 record at Levi’s Stadium.
The Seahawks have been surprising in two ways. One, they're winning with defense, which isn’t a surprise in itself, but consider that Michael Bennett and Cam Chancellor have missed a combined five games and the defense has had the pressure to keep the games low-scoring and you see a unit that has been the key to the season. They have not allowed more than 25 points, and have surrendered 20 points or more in only three games. The defense has held three opponents to 10 points or less. Consider that the Seahawks are 1-1-1 in those games then you get the picture about the offense. In the last game, a 31-25 win over Buffalo, Seattle’s leading rusher was Tyler Lockett, who picked up 13 yards on a reverse, his only carry of the game. QB Russell Wilson was second with 10 yards on three attempts. He had over 500 yards rushing in each of the past three seasons, but has only 54 at the midseason point this year due to a knee injury sustained in the second game of the year. Thus, he’s been unable to assist a running game that’s been affected by the retirement of Marshawn Lynch and the absence of the injured Thomas Rawls, who hasn’t played since Week 2.
If I were to hand out midseason hardware, I’d give the MVP to DE Cliff Avril, who has nine sacks, already matching his 2015 total. Rookie of the Year is much harder, but I would have to go with undrafted WR Tanner McEvoy, who scored a touchdown on his first NFL reception, and completed a 43-yard gadget-play pass on his only attempt so far.
