Hes baaaack!
He's baaaack! Corky Trewin, Seattle Seahawks

There was no reason to think the Seahawks were going to have a comfortable Sunday at CenturyLink Field against the Philadelphia Eagles. Going up against Fletcher Cox and the Eagles great pass rush boded ill for the Seattle Seahawks and their oft-maligned offensive line. The continued absence of Michael Bennett meant that they could not count on harrying Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. The Eagles have the best special teams unit in the league while the Seahawks’ special teams unit is just OK. Plus, this Seahawks team has a unique ability to make any matchup too close for comfort.

So, it was a lovely surprise that the Seahawks took care of business in a fairly comfortable 26-15 win. Despite leaving some points on the field in the kicking game, the Seahawks otherwise executed in every possible way. They contained Wentz and forced him to throw two interceptions. They avoided turnovers, and hit on a number of explosive plays. It was mostly perfect Seahawks football, and aside from an unfortunate number of injuries, we were rewarded with a comfortable win. Let’s break it down:


• Russell Wilson played out of his mind, extending plays with his legs in order to make some ludicrously great throws in the face of immense pressure. He again avoided throwing an interception. He also managed to catch the first touchdown of his career.

• Because this deserves its own bulletpoint, RUSSELL WILSON CAUGHT A TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM DOUG BALDWIN AND IT WAS GOOD IN A YEAR THAT IS NOT GOOD.

Wilson’s rapport with Baldwin on and off the field is my favorite thing. Baldwin seems bottomlessly smart and authentic, while Wilson’s authenticity is… umm… questionable. Yet the two of them seem to be in such perfect sync in the passing game, while also being a hilariously awkward mismatch off of it.

• The Seahawks are in perfect playoff position. The Cardinals and Rams lost today, giving the Seahawks a three-game edge in the division with six games to go. They also now have a 1.5 game lead on third place in the conference, giving them an inside track to a first round bye. In the NFC, only the Dallas Cowboys are out in front of the Seahawks right now, and they look terrifyingly good on offense. The Seahawks have likely put themselves in a position where we cannot see the Cowboys until a hypothetical NFC Championship Game (which would be an awesome battle) is very, very good.

• Steven Hauschka is broken and I don't know why and it makes me sad to even acknowledge the problem. [Ed note—Dan Savage’s football boyfriend is not broken! He’s still third in the entire league!]

• Seahawks general manager John Schneider has never won the league’s Executive of the Year award. And while I assume the Oakland Raiders Reggie McKenzie will win it this year for the rehabilitation job he’s done down there, fuck that. Schneider deserves it. Maintaining the Seahawks level of success for five straight years is ludicrous; the fifth year is almost the hardest because you have to really start replacing key players and knowing exactly whom you can afford to pay. Schneider has been goddamn incredible. With Wilson looking great behind his patchwork offensive line since regaining his mobility, you can see how Schneider’s plan to punt on the line to build the roster’s strength elsewhere has worked. Give the man a damn award.

• Given the amount of significant injuries the Seahawks have suffered this year to crucial players (Wilson, Bennett, Lockett, Willson, Chancellor, Morgan, Ifedi, Rawls and Prosise, before this week, and now Thomas, Shead, Pope and Prosise again this week) it’s amazing how few of these guys are out for the year. Linebacker Mike Morgan was forced onto the IR, but will return in the next week or two. Bennett had knee surgery and will also be back soon.

All that said, Prosise may be out for the year, and that’s really bad. Prosise had a 72 yard touchdown run today. Crucially, he provides an extra passing dimension for the Seahawks third down offense. Pete Carroll said they aren’t anywhere close to ruling him out yet, but his absence is a damper on an otherwise great game.

• We’ve talked DVOA in this space before. It’s an all-encompassing efficiency metric that Football Outsiders developed to show who the best teams in the NFL are adjusting for opponent. And the Seahawks have had the best team DVOA for four straight years. It’s kind of a big deal (amongst a very small subset of the fanbase).

As of this week though, the Eagles—despite a middling record—were leading the league in DVOA and the Seahawks were stuck behind them in second place, making Sunday’s game a de facto DVOA Super Bowl. Special teams was a big reason that Philly was ranked so highly. And they flashed on Sunday with a blocked kick and a savvy short kickoff/coverage combo that brought down Tyler Lockett at the 8.

But the Seahawks won the game, and positioned themselves to move up the DVOA charts. Also helping their cause was another solid game from the Dolphins (whom the Seahawks beat week one) that will only help the Seahawks strength of schedule. Does this statistical minutia matter?

Yes, yes it does, as much as anything about sports matters right now.

There’s been a great deal of talk circulating about us living in a post-fact society now that Donald Trump has been elected president. In that sort of environment quantifying our reality, keeping things real, measurable and non-phantasmagoric, serves as an act of defiance. Caring about the DVOA Super Bowl is, in a very tiny way, political. Saying that an efficiency metric ought to carry more weight than raw wins and losses is political. How we care about sports matters just a tiny bit as we try to hold onto reality while staring down the forces of fascism.