Is Seahawks’ latest loss just another slip-up?
The NFL has passed the midway point in the season, but there’s plenty up in the air after a surprising set of games.
Here are four overreactions from Week 9.
Seahawks can be Super Bowl contenders even with mental mistakes
The Washington Redskins beat Seattle in a stunning 17-14 upset, but this was a loss the Seahawks (5-3) could have avoided.
Kicker Blair Walsh missed three field goal attempts. Seattle was penalized 16 times for 138 yards. In the last-minute drive that could have tied or even won the game, quarterback Russell Wilson took an inexplicable sack that left Seattle to try an ill-fated Hail Mary. Pete Carroll opted to go for a pair of two-point conversions in the fourth quarter, both of which failed.
These are all self-inflicted errors and ones the Seahawks can correct. As receiver Doug Baldwin said, “We beat ourselves.”
But this has become a theme of Seattle’s season, and it’s surprising to see from a veteran group. In their Super Bowl-winning season, the Seahawks were the most-penalized team in the NFL. But as the year progressed, Seattle improved.
The Seahawks are talented enough to continue winning in spite of errors such as this, at least in some games. Before thinking about championships, though, the Seahawks first have to get out of their own way.
49ers aren’t playing newly signed Jimmy Garoppolo because they’re tanking
Some might find it curious that San Francisco did not play Jimmy Garoppolo in Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals after trading for the former Patriots quarterback last Tuesday.
The 49ers, though, were being prudent.
Garoppolo had only two practices in his first exposure to Kyle Shanahan’s offense. That wasn’t nearly enough acclimation time to merit a start.
So rookie C.J. Beathard started and struggled again, completing 24 of 51 passes for 294 yards with an interception while adding a rushing score.
But the most important reason Shanahan opted not to play Garoppolo was because the offensive line is in shambles. Offensive tackles Joe Staley and Garry Gilliam were both inactive, and the Cardinals collected five sacks and 16 hits on Beahard.
Throwing Garoppolo out there would only set him up for failure.
Three fights gave NFL some much-needed buzz
Three scuffles broke out in games Sunday, leaving a total of five players — though it very well could have been six — ejected.
Bengals receiver A.J. Green and Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey were ejected after a heated matchup bubbled over.
Elsewhere, 49ers running back Carlos Hyde and Cardinals defensive tackle Frostee Rucker and linebacker Haason Reddick left the game after a fourthquarter fight sparked by a late hit on Beathard.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans leveled New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore with a cheap shot in the middle of a dust-up. Afterward, TV cameras caught Evans with a look on his face that appeared to show even he was surprised that he had not been ejected.
Fights generate replay highlights and drive buzz on social media, but that’s shortsighted. When players are ejected, it robs fans of some of the best matchups and removes talented players from potentially big games.
Cam Newton showed he can carry Panthers on his own
Perhaps no player is more essential to his offense right now than quarterback Newton is for the Panthers.
He is responsible for 82.3% of the offense’s total yards from scrimmage and is 10 yards shy of being the team’s leading rusher despite having 52 fewer carries than running back Jonathan Stewart.
Even though Newton willed Carolina to a 20-17 victory against the Atlanta Falcons, he’ll need much more help down the stretch.
Rookie running back Christian McCaffrey posted career highs in carries (15) and rushing yards (66), but Stewart, the team’s starter, is averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
The Panthers traded No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills, and younger targets didn’t step up Sunday in his place. Carolina ranks 24th in the NFL with 204 passing yards per game.
The return of tight end Greg Olsen from a broken leg will help.
But if Carolina remains too dependent on Newton in both the rushing and passing games, the formula won’t be sustainable late in the season.