A Grip on Sports: Williams was impressive, the Seahawk offense was just good enough and Seattle is back atop the NFC West
A GRIP ON SPORTS • All was lost. The Seahawks were destined to fall. At home. To the NFC West-leading Cardinals. It was ordained when Geno Smith, in a fit of I-can-will-us-to-a-win hubris threw another NFL-leading pick. In the end zone. With a chance to salt the game away. Except one thing. They didn’t lose. Leonard Williams made sure of it.
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• When was the last time a Seahawk defensive lineman wrecked a game plan so thoroughly as Williams did Sunday against Arizona on a rain-drenched – is that redundant? – Lumen Field? And Micheal Bennett jumping offsides four or five times doesn’t count, because, technically, that would wreck the Hawks’ game plan.
When Cortez Kennedy was lining up in the Kingdome, maybe? Which is appropriate, because when Kennedy was in the midst of his Hall of Fame career, the Hawks were a fair-to-middling team at best much of the time.
And that’s what they’ve been this year, Sunday’s 16-6 win over the Cardinals notwithstanding. Their 6-5 record is emblematic of that.
Though, to be fair, their last two games, especially defensively, have been fairly eventful – in a good way, unlike that awful stretch of five losses in six games before Mike Macdonald salvaged the ship during the bye week.
They haven’t been a dreadnought recently, but they have been winning. At the 49ers. At home yesterday. With the defense leading the way. And Williams blasting his way into the Cardinals’ backfield time and time again.
The former Giant came to Seattle for a steep price – John Schneider loves his second-round draft picks – in draft capital and the financial kind. But he showed his worth Sunday by hitting Kyler Murray four times, sacking him 2.5 times – half the Hawks’ total – and adding another tackle for loss in the running game. He reset the line of scrimmage himself way too often for Arizona’s liking.
Seattle fans? They were ecstatic. And loud. Again. Even after Smith threw his ill-advised pick. Leading by 10 as the fourth quarter began, Smith once again tried to do too much, resulting in a momentum-swinging turnover. It was Smith’s 12th interception this season, more than any other NFL quarterback. (One mitigating factor explaining that stat? Smith has been sacked 37 times, third-most in the league – though this one was not of the-under-pressure variety.)
Garrett Williams’ endzone interception gave the Cardinals hope. The Seattle defense, despite letting Murray and Arizona push them down most of the field, snatched it back – a little – by only yielding a field goal. Then Smith and Co. put together a long-enough drive to kill it all together – thanks to Jason Myers’ 50-yard field goal.
Can the defense continue to play as it has the past two weeks? Maybe. The want-to seems more evident, with the new inside linebackers flying around and the defensive line – led by Williams’ best stretch in a Seattle uniform – closing down the running lanes.
If the offense only needs to score seven points to win … OK, that’s unrealistic. But 20? That’s possible. If that is all that’s needed, there is a good chance the Hawks can be in every one of their final six games – four of which are on the road. And they may win enough to claim the West.
• The two highest-profile women’s basketball teams in the area each played road games Sunday. One was playing an undefeated team in one of the best atmospheres in the game. The other? It was in an underrated venue against a team out to avenge a loss.
Only one won. Mainly because only Gonzaga has Yvonne Ejim.
Washington State? Its star foreign player decided to head south in the offseason, joining UCLA, which may just be the No. 1 team in the nation in the next poll.
But back to Ejim, who nearly pulled off a rare triple-double for an inside player. The All-American led GU to an 81-68 win in New Mexico’s historic Pit with 26 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. If you wanted a statistical example of what leadership looks like in a tough road game, that’s it. Score, board and help others shine.
The Cougars were bereft of that, playing before 14,998 folks in Iowa’s Carver Hawkeye Arena. Sure, Caitlan Clark has moved on but, in Iowa at least, tradition never does. The Hawkeyes rolled to a 72-43 rout – outscoring WSU by 20 inside and limiting the Cougs to 4-of-34 shooting in the second and third quarters.
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WSU: We can pass along some stories from Iowa on the women’s loss. … Greg Woods returned from Corvallis in time to put together this look back at the disappointing 41-38 loss to Oregon State. … Former Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew was having a good game Sunday until former Seahawk Cody Barton sacked him in the fourth quarter, landing on top of Minshew and breaking his collarbone. Minshew’s season is over. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has his Best of the West power rankings for the week in the Mercury News. … There is also this Athletic ranking of all 134 FBS teams. … The weirdest thing of a weird college football weekend? Alabama scored just three points. … OK, maybe it was the premature field rushes. … John Canzano spent time with Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould this weekend. That wasn’t weird. Just informative. … Despite OSU’s home win over the Cougars, the Beavers head into Boise to face the 11th-ranked Broncos as a heavy underdog. That actually makes sense. Oregon State will need even more gutsy calls to be successful to compete on the road. … Oregon is a unanimous No. 1 pick in the A.P. poll again. That also makes sense, though some think Ohio State’s recent run has moved the Buckeyes into the top spot. … Colorado still has a chance at one of two spots in the Big 12 title game. But the Buffs need help. … Utah has scored on an interception return for a record 21 consecutive seasons. … Even with all the evolution in college football, the USC vs. UCLA rivalry endures. … The Arizona State offensive line is improved. So is the team. … Arizona isn’t. But a win Saturday at home would make the season, well, palatable if not successful. … In the Mountain West, Utah State’s 41-20 win over San Diego State has the Aztecs asking questions. … It is still possible for Air Force to make a bowl. Really. … Colorado State lost a golden opportunity. … In basketball news, No. 5 UCLA hosted No. 1 South Carolina at Pauley Pavilion yesterday and handed the Gamecock women their first loss in 44 games.
Gonzaga: We mentioned Ejim’s performance above. Greg Lee watched the game – I wasn’t about to buy some feed, so I followed as I could on ESPN’s scoretracker – and has this story. … We can also pass along this story from New Mexico.
Idaho: The Vandals were awarded the No. 8 seed in the FCS playoffs, which, looking the resumes of No. 6 Incarnate Word and No. 7 Mercer, might be two spots low. But the NCAA likes to save travel expenses, and three Big Sky teams – No. 1 seed Montana State, No. 5 UC Davis and UI – are all on a collision course by the semifinals. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, five teams from the conference are in, including Montana and Northern Arizona. All but NAU are seeded, with the Griz No. 14. … In basketball news, the Sacramento State men lost at California. … Montana topped visiting Denver. … Montana State routed Southern Mississippi… The Griz women lost at Minnesota. … Host Utah upended Montana State. … Idaho State went to TCU and lost by 40 points.
EWU: The Eagle women were in Hawaii for a basketball tournament. They lost Sunday to the hosts.
Seahawks: Yep, Seattle is not perfect. But it can still win the West, which isn’t either. … The muscle up front was the key to the win. Especially Williams. … Smith stood up for his mistakes again. All well and good, but maybe not make them next time? … There are always grades. Impressions. Takeaways. … We can also offer coverage of the Cardinals loss from the Phoenix area.
Sounders: Seattle will face the L.A. Galaxy in the Western Conference final – another trip to Los Angeles for Saturday night’s matchup – after the Galaxy defeated Minnesota 6-2.
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• We had a hodge-podge of great food yesterday, from Kim’s crab won-tons to teriyaki chicken and rice. Sat and ate and then sat and digested and then sat and marveled in Williams’ play. Pretty good Sunday in my book. Until later …