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The Seattle Seahawks Week 14 victory over the Houston Texans was a much-needed win for a team that just refuses to throw in the towel on the 2021 campaign.
Despite a dismal start to the year, the Seahawks have now pulled off back-to-back victories and find themselves at 5-8. While the playoffs remain a longshot for Pete Carroll's squad, the improvements Seattle has made on both sides of the ball have not gone unnoticed, and they'll look to pick up where they left off in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 33-13 beatdown of the Texans was exactly the type of performance Seahawks fans had been expecting from this team all season long, and, while a bit later than fans would have liked, the team has begun to find its form. Here are three takeaways from the Seahawks Week 14 win over the Texans, in what was arguably their best outing of the year.
Seattle Seahawks Week 14 Takeaways vs. Houston Texans
3. Rashaad Penny can carry the backfield
It was a memorable outing for Rashaad Penny, who logged a career-high 137 yards on 16 carries, with two touchdowns to show for his massive efforts out of the backfield. Penny earned double-digit carries for just the second time this year and absolutely proved that a big workload is no issue for him. The Texans couldn't stop the 25-year-old who nearly averaged a first down every time he touched the football. There have been a plethora of questions at the running back position in Seattle following Chris Carson's season-ending neck injury, but Penny just showed that he's capable of becoming the go-to guy for this offense. The emergence of a true lead running back in Carson's stead would alleviate a lot of the pressure on Russell Wilson, and enable the offense to become more versatile down the stretch.
On the season, Penny has 43 carries for 215 yards and two touchdowns, so most of his yearly production came from the big outing on Sunday. That said, he'll look to pad those stats with a few more good games considering he's likely earned a steady flow of touches in the backfield.
2. The defense is finding its groove
While the offense had its share of problems to start the year, the most glaring issue in Seattle was the defense. That's changed over the past few weeks, and the team has surrendered just 17.7 points per game over the past three weeks. While they still give up yards in chunks, the Seahawks have prevented teams from getting points on the board and kept things close for the offense. The biggest improvement for Seattle's defense has come against the run, where they rank ninth in the league in terms of opponents' rushing yards per game over the past three weeks. The Seahawks defense was consistently getting run over to start the year, but they've finally managed to slow down their opponents' rushing attack, which in turn gives their offense more time to operate.
Bobby Wagner had a massive performance on Sunday, registering 15 tackles including one tackle for loss as he helped Seattle limit the Texans to 63 rushing yards on 25 carries, an average of just 2.5 yards per touch. Even with Jamal Adams unavailable for the clash with Houston, Seattle's defense came to play, as they have over the past few weeks.
1. Tyler Lockett is Russell Wilson's clear-cut No. 1 option
Ever since the bizarre DK Metcalf story involving his sexual encounters emerged, the third-year wide receiver has seemed like more of an afterthought in Seattle's offense. In that time, Tyler Lockett and Russell Wilson have completely rekindled their connection, with the duo teaming up for 12 receptions and 210 yards with two touchdowns over Seattle's past two games. Metcalf, on the other hand, has caught just 10 passes over the last three games and hasn't scored since Week 8, before the team's bye week. For whatever reason, the Wilson-Lockett connection in Seattle seems to be gathering steam, while Metcalf is seeing fewer looks in the team's offense.
Week 14 saw Lockett catch five passes for 142 yards and a touchdown, serving as the team's most targeted receiver and lead pass-catcher. The display was highly encouraging for Seahawks fans who had been longing for that type of performance from the Wilson-Lockett tandem. If the two can continue to build off their recent success, they can cause headaches for opposing secondaries in the weeks to come.
