Tag Archives: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

#INDvsSEA

Hawks barely survive Colts to make Rams rematch matter

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“Games are going to be like this coming down the stretch. You’ve got to figure out ways to win them, and I’m proud that we did.” – Mike Macdonald, after the Seahawks beat the Colts 18-16 in the final seconds

Even with Old Man Rivers at quarterback, the Colts gave the Seahawks all they could handle Sunday – but the Hawks survived and are still in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

If the Hawks had embarrassingly lost to Philip Rivers (the newly unretired 44-year-old), their rematch against the Rams on Thursday would not have carried the same meaning. But it remains as big as they come — both teams tied atop the NFC at 11-3, with the winner taking the lead for the No. 1 seed. If the Hawks win, their odds of getting the bye and home field in the postseason will jump from 26% to 51%.

They are going to have to come to that game a lot more prepared than they were for the Colts. Shane Steichen outcoached Mike Macdonald in the first half, the defense seemed to be looking past Rivers to the Rams, and the offense continued its recent pattern of slow starts and its seasonlong trend of bad third-down play.

Macdonald told his team afterward: “We’re gonna have games like that coming down the stretch, OK? They can come in all shapes and sizes. All we gotta do is just go to the next play and figure out a way to win.”

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#MINvsSEA

Bears, Rams, Hawks lead frantic NFC race for top seed

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“We’re in the death zone now. The NFC’s jumping, it’s popping, there’s great teams all around. You’ve got to win these games.” — Ernest Jones IV

The Seahawks’ defense was not happy that it did not hold down the lowly Titans properly in Seattle’s Week 12 win at Tennessee. Well, DeMarcus Lawrence, Ernest Jones IV and the rest more than made up for it in Week 13, leading a 26-0 shutout of Minnesota.

That helped the Seahawks catch the Rams, who lost 31-28 to surging Carolina (6-3 in the last nine) on Sunday. The Hawks, Rams and 49ers (who beat Cleveland) all have nine wins – matching the current top seed, Chicago, which beat Philadelphia on Friday and has lost just once since an 0-2 start.

The Packers and Eagles have eight wins, so the race for the NFC’s top seed is going to be fast and furious over the final five weeks.

Continue reading Bears, Rams, Hawks lead frantic NFC race for top seed →
Contracts, The roster

JSN is earning a big payday — let’s look ahead to 2026

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With every passing week that he helps the Seahawks notch another win, Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes himself a lot more money.

He had perhaps his best game of the season in a 30-24 win over Tennessee in Week 12, catching eight passes for a season-best 167 yards and scoring twice, including a season-long 63-yarder.

JSN set the franchise record for receiving yards in just the 11th game. His 1,313 yards are 10 more than DK Metcalf had in 16 games in 2020. JSN is on pace for 2,029 yards, which would break Calvin Johnson’s record of 1,964 from 2012 (in 16 games). JSN is just 0.4 yards per game behind Johnson’s pace through 12 weeks.

With JSN eligible for a contract extension after this season, it is time to start looking at what he will cost — and how it all fits with the rest of the roster.

Continue reading JSN is earning a big payday — let’s look ahead to 2026 →
#SEAvsLAR

Blowout wins send Hawks, Rams into huge Week 11 clash

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The Seahawks and Rams are clearly the class of the NFC West and among the very best in the NFL as well, as they both proved by eclipsing 40 points in blowout wins against division opponents Sunday.

They have been on a collision course for division dominance for weeks now – and that head-on clash is coming in Week 11 as the pair of 7-2 teams finally square off.

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#ARIvsSEA

By the numbers: Hawks put together back-to-back blowouts

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The Seahawks are playing dominant football right now — following up a blowout of Washington on Sunday Night Football last week with a 44-22 blasting of Arizona this week.

This sets up a monster matchup with the also 7-2 Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.

Before we look at that game, let’s look at the best numbers from the big win over Arizona.

Continue reading By the numbers: Hawks put together back-to-back blowouts →
The roster, Trades

The promising future of the Hawks this year and beyond

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As the Seahawks take a week off to rest, self-evaluate and prepare for the final 10 games, they are in great position – both for this season and beyond.

At 5-2, they are one of seven NFC teams with a winning percentage over .700 – and right where we thought they would be, positioned for a second-half run into the playoffs.

By DVOA, they actually are rated the best team in the league – thanks to the top-ranked special teams and the No. 2 defense. Their net point differential (plus-57) is fifth.

The Hawks are blowing away Vegas projections, which had the Hawks finishing with seven or eight wins (a 7.5 over/under). We had predicted at least 11 wins. Well, this team is on a pace for 12. Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Hawks look capable of a 7-3 finish – thus a 12-5 record for the season.

This is clearly a playoff team. The bigger question: What happens once the playoffs arrive? Do the Hawks have what it takes to go all the way?

Let’s look at what they have and what they might need to make a Super Bowl run this year and beyond.

Continue reading The promising future of the Hawks this year and beyond →
#HOUvsSEA

Defense dominates; Mike Mac dreams of ‘all three phases clicking’

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“Just imagine when it’s all three phases clicking.” – Mike Macdonald to his team after a mistake-filled 27-19 win over Houston

If you had told us the Seahawks would score 27 points and beat Houston by eight on Monday night, we would have taken that. Heck, we still will – since the Hawks moved to 5-2 and kept pace with the NFC leaders with a 27-19 win.

But, as the quote above shows, even Mike Macdonald was dreaming about the blowout that should have been – and the day his team plays a complete game.

Early on, it looked like this might be one of those. The Hawks jumped to a fast 14-0 lead and kept threatening to blow the game wide open in the first half. But they kept turning the ball over, committing penalties and having other odd things happen. What should have/could have been a 24-0 halftime lead instead was just 14-6. And despite their dominant defense, the Hawks never could put away the Texans until the final seconds.

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#HOUvsSEA, X's & O's

Hawks are winning with play action, not giving up on run game

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“We need to improve on our run game. It’s pretty cut and dry.” – Mike Macdonald

The Seahawks have the NFL’s No. 5 scoring offense (27.7 ppg), the No. 10 offense by EPA and the No. 4 offense by DVOA – all without any consistent running attack.

There are two schools of thought about the Seahawks’ struggling running game – and both have their merits.

The first is what Mike Macdonald said on his radio show Monday: The running game is not good enough. The second is that the threat of the running game via play action has enabled the passing game to thrive and it’s a fair sacrifice to make.

Continue reading Hawks are winning with play action, not giving up on run game →
#SEAvsJAX

The formula for winning: Darnold, JSN and D-line

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The Seahawks’ most reliable factors so far this season have been their QB1-WR1 connection, their defensive front and their special teams. They lost to the Bucs last week largely due to a rare bad game by the defensive line.

They won 20-12 in Jacksonville today because that unit returned to dominance and helped out Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who continued to play as well as any QB-WR duo in the NFL.

Last week, Mike Macdonald said Baker Mayfield had too many “Mississippis” (a reference to the old backyard football pass rush rule). Well, the Seahawks got to Trevor Lawrence after one “Miss” on half of his dropbacks today.

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#TBvsSEA, Franchise history

It’s a full-circle weekend for Egbuka, the Bucs, Hawks and Mariners

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This weekend is all about the past meeting the present as the Seahawks face the Bucs in their 50th anniversary seasons and the Mariners host their first playoff games since 2001.

Emeka Egbuka apparently ties it all together.

Before he was Tampa Bay’s first-round receiver this year, Egbuka was a youth baseball star who threw out the first pitch at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in 2011. Then he was on the same Ohio State team as Jaxon Smith Njigba.

Egbuka will return to Seattle to face JSN as the Bucs and Seahawks square off in a big battle of 3-1 teams on Sunday, before the Mariners play Game 2 of their division series.

Continue reading It’s a full-circle weekend for Egbuka, the Bucs, Hawks and Mariners →