The Seattle Seahawks secured the NFC West division and No. 1 seed in the conference after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Nonetheless, with the playoffs beginning, the question is whether the Seahawks, who have a bye week during this Wild Card Round, are the favorites to reach the Super Bowl.
Seattle have been able to count on Sam Darnold and lean on a fantastic defense to get to this point where they are two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl. With the road to the Super Bowl running through Lumen Field, former NFL coach Bruce Arians weighed in on why he believes the Seahawks can get to the big game.
“I think right now [Sam Darnold has] figured it out,” Arians said on the Jan. 6 edition of the “Pat McAfee Show.” “He’s put on the Superman cape. They got that running game rolling, showed up big last week against San Francisco. This may be the facilitator, get the ball out to the right guys, make some big plays with his legs.
“He and [Jaxon Smith-Njigba], man, that’s a dangerous combination. But when they got that running game going, with the defense they’re playing right now, and then the 12 up there in Seattle, watch out. It’s going to be tough.”
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Darnold went 20-for-26 on his pass attempts for 198 passing yards and leaned heavily on the Seattle run game as the Seahawks ran for a total of 180 rushing yards in the Week 18 win over the Niners. Moreover, the road team’s ground game allowed the Seahawks to milk the clock late and accumulate a time of possession of 37:48.
After Seattle won the NFC West and secured the No. 1 seed in the conference, Smith-Njigba didn’t hold back on Darnold’s form for that game as they head into the playoffs.
“Sam led us [on Jan. 3],” Smith-Njigba told reporters. “Sam was an absolute dog today. His demeanor, his approach, everything about what he did today was great. Of course, we want to fix some things.
“Of course, there’s always going to be things to fix, but just from the time that we got here yesterday, really, the way we prepared, the way he prepared all week to make sure his guys were ready is one of one stuff. Super happy for him.”
Seahawks’ Defense Is Hitting the Playoffs In Amazing Form
The Seahawks defense is also peaking at the right time, as Arians mentioned. In their last six games, the Seattle defense has allowed only one team, the Los Angeles Rams, to score over 20 points. As a result, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones didn’t hold back on his praise of the Seahawks’ defense for putting together a performance that allowed for the road to the Super Bowl to run through Seattle.
“This was a fantastic performance by a defense that I know we talk a lot about, the Houston Texans,” Jones said on the Jan. 3 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “We have talked a lot about the Denver Broncos. But what this defense did [on Jan. 3] is what they have been doing.
“We’re all waiting on the clock to strike midnight, and us not believing we’re going to get to Sam Darnold, and us not believing in the Seattle Seahawks, because it’s not the Legion of Boom, and we don’t have some nickname for this defense. I’m telling you what, they are arguably one of the best defenses in the NFL.”
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