The Orion Report week 16

[hawkfannj]

Orion Report – Week 16

Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams
Thursday Night Football
Final: Seahawks 38 – Rams 37 (OT)

Opening Take

This was a Thursday night classic one of the most dramatic regular season games you’ll ever watch. Two division rivals. Two teams entering the night with 11 wins apiece. The division and NFC seeding hanging in the balance. Matchups like this almost never happen, and by record alone, this was believed to be the first time two 11 win teams had ever faced each other head to head.

The Rams controlled large portions of this game. Seattle was pushed to the edge. And yet, when everything was on the line, the Seahawks refused to fold. This was messy, emotional, high pressure football exactly what a prime time December division game is supposed to be.

Seattle didn’t dominate.
They endured and they finished.

Turning Point

Down 30–14 early in the fourth quarter, Seattle desperately needed life and got it via a momentum shifting punt return touchdown that cracked the door open. From there, the defense tightened, the offense steadied, and belief returned.

The defining moment came in overtime. After matching the Rams touchdown, Mike Macdonald chose aggression over safety, sending his offense back onto the field to go for two and the win instead of attempting to tie the game. Sam Darnold delivered big time. Huge moment for Sam Darnold, and confidence going forward.

Notable Seahawks

Sam Darnold . Not a flawless night, but an important one. He made mistakes, he flirted with disaster, and the inconsistency still exists. But this time, he finished. Winning a game of this magnitude division rival, prime time, season defining stakes matters. For the first time Darnold got the monkey off his back by delivering in the biggest moment when it mattered most!

Rashid Shaheed . The punt return touchdown changed everything. Without it, there is no comeback.

Defense . Bent early, but clamped down late. When the game demanded stops, they answered.

Stat Box

Category SEA LA

Total Yards 441 581

Pass Yards 270 457

RushYards. 171 124

Comp %. 64.9% 59.6%

Turnovers. 3 0

T.O.P 26:14 40:33

Final Thoughts

This win carries massive weight. It reshaped the NFC West race, reinforced belief inside the locker room, and showed that this team can survive chaos when the stakes are highest. Games like this forge identity and Seattle passed the test.

That said, honesty matters. Sam Darnold’s turnover problems cannot be ignored. They continue to show up, and against elite playoff defenses, those mistakes become fatal. The hot and cold nature of his night remains the single biggest concern standing between this team and the Lombardi Trophy IMHO.

And yet when the moment demanded it, he delivered. Overtime. Two points. No hesitation. In your face Hawkfannj!!! Crow eaten gladly yum!

Seattle didn’t just win a big game it showed the makeup of a championship caliber team, one that can absorb chaos, trust its preparation, and rise when everything is on the line.

They proved Thursday night that they can beat anyone and the Lombardi trophy is a good possibility.

Go Hawks

All stats verified by ESPN.com Seahawks.com

 

[evergreen]

What he said.

 

[CallMeADawg]

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

Thinking about both LA matchups, the results are very odd to me. The last game Seattle outgained LA by roughly 200 yards and this game LA outgained Seattle by roughly 200 yards. The combined score in both games is LA by 1. Yet somehow the Seahawks have 7 turnovers in both games and are playing to roughly a draw against LA.

Watching that game last night, it felt like McVay was out scheming Macdonald up until it was 30-14. After that it was more of a draw.

This team pulled out a miracle come back last night and almost did the first game as well. It sure would be nice to not have to do that moving forward. If the offense can clean up it's play, anything is possible.

 

[Dallashawksfan]

Honestly, the defense wasn’t that good
Zero pressure on Stafford and the secondary, especially Jobe was useless

But they came up big after down 30-14

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

To build on that last post a little more I actually did the math. In both matchups LA has 1 more yard and 1 more point than Seattle combined. And again, Seattle has 7 TO.

 

[GemCity]

Beautiful

 

[Bobblehead]

IDK.. Love this pic... says it all

 

[Palmegranite]

Saubert is this season's Kearse!

 

[chris98251]

Read an artical, what we did had never been done against a team that we gave 3 turnovers too and gained 581 yards, history has shown that the team with all the yards and receiving turnovers not just wins but blows out the other team. This has happened like 6 times and each time before the team winning the statistical values walks away decicively. Again we have done something in Primetime to make all those Mediots and experts scratch their heads along with I bet Vegas odds and line bets blew up last night as well.

 

[keasley45]

Thinking about both LA matchups, the results are very odd to me. The last game Seattle outgained LA by roughly 200 yards and this game LA outgained Seattle by roughly 200 yards. The combined score in both games is LA by 1. Yet somehow the Seahawks have 7 turnovers in both games and are playing to roughly a draw against LA.

Watching that game last night, it felt like McVay was out scheming Macdonald up until it was 30-14. After that it was more of a draw.

This team pulled out a miracle come back last night and almost did the first game as well. It sure would be nice to not have to do that moving forward. If the offense can clean up it's play, anything is possible.

I don't know that McVay out-schemed MM. We were up by 1 for a good bit of the 1st half. We turned them over on downs and held them to FGs. A defense simply cannot be left to stay on the field as long as we were this game and especially in the first half and be expected to bring the same violence they do when they are rested and fresh. The first thing to go when you are gassed and getting burned over and over on long, ball control drives and clock draining runs is the explosiveness of you pass rush. Credit to McVay for running right at us for a good bit of the first half and wearing down our strength.

The middle to the end of the game saw us trying to cobble together a back-end against the league MVP and aside from JSN, the most explosive WR in the league... with a fatigued D line and D that had overall been on the field far too much.

Which brings us to WHY that was the case. Sure, you can say the D shoould have gotten more stops on its own. OK, but when they werent gassed, they held. It was the disjointed offensive gameplan and untimely errors by Kupp and Darnold (credit to him for bringig us back) that contributed to our D getting blasted. Those 11 guys and their reserves are playing both a physical and emotional game. Its one thing to be tired but strengthened by the other factes of the team who are carrying you. Its quite another to be exhausted and then have morale take a blow because other aspects of the team are offering you no support or worse, making your job harder.

Our D held strong for about as long and well as you can expect, especially with starter going down. MM did just enough with the group that he had to stop a monster of an offense from walking all over us and running away with the game. Kupp killed 2 drives. Darnold killed 2. and Kubiak's / MM's 'lets call the game to save Sam from himself' approach killed another couple or so.

This win was incredible. one of the best i have ever witneseed. And... as i look forward i can only hope that when more responsibility gets pushed back into Sam's plate that he performs like the guy who closed out the game for us and NOT the one who AGAIN threw two dumb balls right to the opposing team on plays he should have known better to let fly. The issue with it is it can be forgiven if the defense just makes a great play and gets one of his passes. Happens to great QBs all the time. Its the remedial nature of the decision making that gives pause with Sam and gives one the uneasy feeling that he cant be trusted.

But lets hope he turned the page, has confidence, and that the entire team, from coaches down are emboldened by what they just accomplished, against all odds.

 

[Sperrydogg]

Way to power through @hawkfannj

 

[seafence82]

I understand the 2nd pick, it was 3rd and goal and we needed a TD, there was quick pressure. I thought almost immediately that would be a sack with the pressure and Sam probably knew also and just tried to get huck it to his first read. That was a masterful defensive play

 

[glenwo2]

I understand the 2nd pick, it was 3rd and goal and we needed a TD, there was quick pressure. I thought almost immediately that would be a sack with the pressure and Sam probably knew also and just tried to get huck it to his first read. That was a masterful defensive play

It was 3rd and Goal but at that point a sack would've been preferable.