Seahawks Reclaim Crown of NFC's Most Complete Team With Win Over Falcons
There are a number of surprises in the NFC six weeks into the 2016 season. The conference's lone unbeaten team lost both its starting quarterback and star tailback and keeps winning anyway.
The defending conference champions, on the other hand, have already lost five times as many games as they did all of last season. At 1-5, the Carolina Panthers are toast.
For all the things that have changed, however, one thing has stayed the same: The Seattle Seahawks are perched in their usual spot atop the NFC West. After downing the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, 26-24, Seattle served notice to the rest of the NFC.
The Minnesota Vikings may have the better record as of now, but the Seahawks are still the team to beat.
Heading into Sunday's matchup, the dominant storyline was the matchup between the NFL's top offense and Seattle's Legion of Boom secondary—or more specifically, the battle between superstar wide receiver Julio Jones and cornerback Richard Sherman.
Jones told reporters he wasn't about to shrink from the challenge:
"If that's what they think is going to slow me down or give them the best chance at being successful, that's what they're going to do. I'm not their coach to decide that. It's whatever they do. I'm not calling anyone out or anything; nor am I going to shy away from competition. I'm definitely going to compete every play, it doesn't matter who's guarding me.
"
If all you did was glance at the stat sheet, you would probably assume Jones (7 REC, 139 YDS, 1 TD) got the better of Sherman and the Seahawks on Sunday. But the stats don't tell the whole story.
Jones did the overwhelming majority of his damage during Atlanta's 21-point third quarter. However, he also let the ball carom off his hands to Seattle safety Earl Thomas (via Sherman) that set up Seattle's game-winning field goal, courtesy of the NFL on Twitter:
That play, in which the ball pinballed from Jones to Sherman and then Thomas, is a metaphor for what makes the Seahawks so dangerous. They are a team in every sense of the word.
On a day when the defense, short several key contributors (safety Kam Chancellor and defensive ends Michael Bennett and Frank Clark), came off the rails in the third quarter, the unit's leaders in Sherman and Thomas still found a way to make the play that saved the day.
Yes, Sherman interfered with Jones on Atlanta's final offensive play. But it wasn't called, so it ultimately didn't matter.
On a day when the Seattle passing game sputtered a bit, running back Christine Michael came up big, finding the end zone twice. And while Russell Wilson didn't throw a touchdown pass, he also didn't turn the ball over. (Matt Ryan did, twice.)
With wide receiver Doug Baldwin bottled up, tight end Jimmy Graham went off with six grabs for 89 yards—his third straight big game. And Wilson's patented ability to avoid pass-rushers helped set up Steven Hauschka's game-winning 44-yard field goal.
When one guy falters, another comes through. And the Seahawks keep on keeping on.
Vikings supporters likely wouldn't agree that the Seahawks are the NFC's most complete team. After the Dallas Cowboys dismantled the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, fans in Big D probably wouldn't either.
| Dallas Cowboys | 397.0 (3) | 355.6 (16) |
| Minnesota Vikings | 287.6 (2) | 302.6 (30) |
| Seattle Seahawks | 264.0 (1) | 355.6 (16) |
The Vikings defense has generated almost as many headlines in 2016 as it has pressure on opposing quarterbacks. And after the Falcons' big day on offense against Seattle, Minnesota will likely enter Week 7 tops in the league in total defense. But coming into this week, that honor belonged to (wait for it)...
The Seattle Seahawks.
In other words, even if you believe the Vikings have the better defense, it isn't that much better than Seattle's. While Rod Marinelli's depleted defense in Dallas has been playing better than expected, it isn't in the same weight class.
The Seahawks don't have the Cowboys' NFC-best ground game or dominant offensive line. In fact, it's no stretch to say Seattle's O-line is its weak link. But the Seahawks also don't have the Vikings' league-worst rushing attack—a unit averaging a pitiful 70.6 yards a game.
And while Dak Prescott has shown promise under center for the Cowboys and Sam Bradford has played some of the best football of his career for the Vikings, neither signal-caller is Wilson, who has already started 10 playoff games, brought Seattle to two Super Bowls and has now led the Seahawks on as many game-winning drives as any quarterback in the team's history, per Football Outsiders' Scott Kacsmar:
The Seahawks may not have the Cowboys offense or the Vikings defense. But what they do have is more balance than either of those teams, along with a roster filled with players who have been there and done that. Players who have shown the ability time and again to overcome adversity and get the job done.
It's that last quality that spurred the Seahawks to come back and down the Falcons in Week 6. That intangible has helped the team win at least one playoff game in four straight seasons.
And it's that presence, experience and balance, much like with the New England Patriots on the other side of the bracket, that makes the Seahawks the most dangerous team in the NFC.
Or Danger-Russ, as the case may be.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Draft Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Best Remaining Players on 2026 NFL Draft Big Board")
