Transcript
Tristan Amundson: Miles. in the final scene. In Lord of the Rings. or ah Or one of the final scenes, at least. Samwise and Frodo. there. They're ascending Mount Doom.
Tristan Amundson: There is. lava flowing all over the place. and the Eye of Sauron. is upon Frodo. He falls to the ground. It looks very uncomfortable He has a ah look on his face of complete loss.
Tristan Amundson: And Sam's trying to cons consult you know console him. And he looks at Sam and he says. Sam. I'm naked in the dark. And...
Tristan Amundson: And that moment with the eye of Sauron on him. All hope is lost. It's... it's It's over. And. Miles, I couldn't help it.
Tristan Amundson: as I'm watching. The game. Sunday night versus the Chiefs. Every time. The camera.
Tristan Amundson: Would. Give me a close -up. Of Patrick Mahomes. Every time. after a failed drive in the third or fourth quarter. and And there was specifically and anyone listening, i'm I'm hoping you can remember this. There was two or three times on the broadcast.
Tristan Amundson: and And one of them, by the way, if if you want me to help you out here a little bit, was after. um after Eamon Worry. um you know forced that interception.
Tristan Amundson: The camera just went on my homes and I have never. seen him I've never seen a great quarterback I don't think look quite like this before but specifically I'll just leave it at Patrick I he is one of the greatest of all time I have never seen the look.
Tristan Amundson: of demoralization. of confusion. And frankly, of can you warm up the plane? I would just like to leave Seattle as soon as possible.
Tristan Amundson: Naked. and alone. Alone in the Dark Miles. How you doing?
M dub: Tristan, it's great to be with you. Is that really a quote from Lord of the Rings? I don't remember that at all.
Tristan Amundson: It is. It is, yes.
M dub: Okay, okay.
Tristan Amundson: Naked in the dark. Naked in the dark. Yep.
M dub: ah It's great to be with you talking about a pretty emphatic Seahawks victory. A nice change of pace from some of the games we've talked about so far this year.
M dub: Tristan, that's... it I was watching this game. And I knew Patrick Mahomes was on the other side. I wasn't even noticing these expressions because I was bracing myself.
M dub: for We've seen the Seahawks team despite other errors. I mount some incredible fourth quarter comebacks. Some of them have worked out. Some of them haven't. And I was just waiting for that from the Chiefs. When this game actually, we had the ah insurance touchdown by Emmanuel Wilson in the fourth quarter.
M dub: That really put it away. But until that point, I was just waiting. And this is the Kansas City Chiefs here. They were 5 -0. I was waiting for it, but I guess you had the right interpretation. I wasn't. i wasn't quite reading the signs Things were.
M dub: Things were really amiss for this undefeated Kansas City Chiefs team in this game.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, I mean. To me... um To me, the turning point of this game really was. ah I mean, it it was the storyline going into it. It was it was the Ken Walker storyline. Right. And.
Tristan Amundson: There was a moment in the beginning of the game where they were able to be feeding Ken. a lot more and and then as it as it started disintegrate there and it just became on patrick's shoulders Um, completely and what i i guess what i'm saying is once they became one -dimensional i think this game was it was all over and i to me that just felt you could just feel this game kind of get away from them but do you want to maybe give a quick recap of of this puppy and then we can we can dig into it
M dub: Yeah, so Seahawks come into this game 3 -3, hosting the 5 -0 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. We discussed last time if this was a special 3 -3 team compared to a normal 3 -3 team.
M dub: to my surprise this is going a little bit before the game but i was very surprised to see After we recorded, I looked at it, and Vegas actually had the Seahawks as favorites in this game. which is not how I felt coming into it.
M dub: But we start off, I wrote down in the first quarter. Very high level game. ah we had ah We had a first quarter of punts. and field position But I just felt this was this was this was still a very good football game despite the kind of ah bland. looking maybe stat sheet at it, you know. punted in.
M dub: And whatnot. but um Seahawks get out to a three, nothing lead pretty early on that field goal felt very important. Seahawks kind of get their first break in the game, getting their one turnover.
M dub: Nick Emanwuri applies the pressure. Ty Okada scoops up the interception. Seahawks cash in the only touchdown for like the first 55 minutes of the game. Have a blooper going at into halftime, but they're still up 10 -0. And I don't know, Tristan, just shut off the faucet.
M dub: In the second half. Harrison Butker misses two out of his three field goal attempts. The bonus is they were all from very far away. they These were not close field goals, so it wasn't necessarily on him.
M dub: And in the end, Seahawks just kind of walk away with it 20 -3. 20 to 3. It was the kind of win. Despite everything that's happened this year. It was the type of win.
M dub: That only Super Bowl contenders put. on the field.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, I mean, it was. It was so impressive, man. my My biggest takeaway from this game, kind of going back to the one -dimensional thing. And I think this is the statement. i I would love your thoughts on this. I think this is true.
Tristan Amundson: I think this is a learning that we. can take away from the Seahawks team this year so far. This is maybe one of the first. learning moments I've had of. Okay, I think this is indicative of this team. So tell me if you agree with this statement.
Tristan Amundson: If you want to beat the Seahawks. You really got to score in those first couple of possessions because. it seems to me and this game is is the epitome of it but we've seen this in the past as well where this season i mean where we've seen teams be able to move the ball a bit in the beginning of the game the first couple possessions call it the first two to three possessions And.
Tristan Amundson: It seems to me as though every possession the seahawks defense gets a little tighter a little tighter adjustments are made And then once they know. kind of the the modus operandi of the opposing offense.
Tristan Amundson: That. once those adjustments have been made and it seems that it takes a couple of possessions to make those adjustments and Mike can Mike and, and. um And the whole defensive staff can kind of put this together.
Tristan Amundson: it It seems like that's... the the nails in the coffin do you agree with that do you think like have you seen that pattern kind of emerge. It certainly was the case in this game.
M dub: It definitely was in this game. you know I was thinking about it less. Less about the first few positions of the game and more about if the opposing ah offense gets a short field because of a Seahawks offensive turnover.
Tristan Amundson: Sure.
M dub: I think we've seen a lot of situations. Especially that Washington game happened in that Chargers game. Happened in the Niners. game Happened in a lot of games. When the opposing ah offense gets a short field, I think there's something really powerful and psychological at play where it's like...
M dub: Yeah, this is a really tough defense, but we can. We can drive 41 yards and get a touchdown here. You know, then they do. And then confidence builds. for the offense as the game goes on. Because that didn't happen in this game, and we could talk the Seahawks did have a terrible turnover, but we can talk about how it effectively got etch -a -sketched away almost immediately.
M dub: um So it still happened. But because the the Chiefs didn't get... The. really short field. There was never that moment of confidence like, oh, we can just go 40 yards and get a score here. They had to face the proper length of the field every time. And I think when that happens.
M dub: Then this exact thing that you that you're saying, the the the... The walls close in on the opposing ah offense after that.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, I mean... To your point, they never... they This is a crazy thing. ah Patrick Mahomes has. the leading rusher in the NFL right now.
Tristan Amundson: He has um yeah now admittedly. uh rashid rice not playing in this game right so so one of his weapons gone the The Chiefs?
Tristan Amundson: With a Hall of Fame quarterback. and the best rusher in the NFL. could not. Get to the red zone. the The Chiefs never made it into the red zone, Miles. And i it speaks to to what you're saying. Long field means that, yeah, we can give up a couple of these plays as we kind of figure out what you're trying to do in this game. And once we dissect it.
Tristan Amundson: then the game's going to keep getting shorter and shorter and smaller and smaller on you. But I mean, the idea that they never made it to the red zone. It's kind of hard to even. Like.
Tristan Amundson: conceptualize that that that that that really happened. I mean, that happens to really bad teams, right? I mean, we've watched. Over the years, some some rough Seahawks teams. way back in the day and i mean gratefully it's been a long time now since we've experienced this But, you know, we've watched games like that in the NFL in general where.
Tristan Amundson: Man, like the Jets or the Dolphins this year, they like they can just not get into the red zone like their offense looks silly. We've seen that a couple of times. All right.
Tristan Amundson: You don't see that with a Hall of Fame quarterback and with the leading rusher in the league. um And that's what this defense did. i I just this was obviously a signature. defensive win it's there's no other way to put it um Miles, let me ask you this. Do you think.
Tristan Amundson: Because I like the way that Sam played in this game. Do you think... that this is Sam's. um version of last year's first game against the rams where he kind of in my mind at least that was the come to jesus moment where sam realized man, like this defense is so good. Like if I just.
Tristan Amundson: If I just do my job and we don't turn the ball over, like everything's going to be fine. and That one turnover pretty rough. I would argue, I think, as much as I love Sheet, I think that that that turnover might have mostly been on. Rashid Shaheed and bringing two defenders. right to the party, right to an open JSN. like i i I don't think he ran his route correctly. I'm i'm not an expert. but um it really doesn't make a lot of sense to have
Tristan Amundson: your two best wide receivers meet in the middle. um four For a touchdown. like Um, I don't know. If that's how it was drawn up, then we need to really look at that play and and maybe you know throw it away.
Tristan Amundson: Um, besides that though i felt like he played such a clean and in control game Am I taking too much of this to say that that perhaps this is his moment, like the game where Sam realizes.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, just don't turn it over and we're going to be fine.
M dub: I definitely hope. That it was. And I thought it was last year, too. It has been. a definitely a very puzzling part of this year that we needed to learn this lesson again because we had it actually the team did learn it last year and it had really Powerful results. You know, I was just re -watching rewatching the highlights to refresh myself on this game. And before that first field goal...
M dub: That innocent little 3 -0 field goal in the second quarter. There was another play. the The Seahawks did have the ball with it with a few chances to score the touchdown.
M dub: Bayless Jones almost.
Tristan Amundson: Yep.
M dub: Broke one off. Just that that one foot on the sideline. And because of that, Seahawks have a few chances at the goal line there. And there there is a pass that Sam just throws away. And that's's a it's a it's a play that you totally forget about.
M dub: because Seahawks get three points on the board after that, and yet you really wish. it the same quarter. Same second quarter, you... Do you just wish he did the same thing? You know, ah routes right or not, he was throwing it into a lot of traffic.
M dub: And you just wish that that was, you know, five feet higher and a clear throw away. Seahawks were up 10 -0 at that point. Get another field goal, that 13 -0 would have been really valuable.
M dub: And then... um Just because this game was so long ago. It ended up not mattering, even though the Chiefs return it 60 yards. They only have time to attempt a field goal, which they miss, and then we go into halftime. No point.
M dub: No points on the board for the Chiefs, but points taken off the board for the Seahawks. um So I think – so it was it was the – That was the same type of play that's led to all the problems this year. And and and I think the Seahawks were really lucky to get out of there unharmed.
M dub: And yeah, hopeful hopefully this lesson has been learned. i I still don't know why we're learning it again, but hopefully we have learned it. It did look like there was a. philosophical change in the team.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, just just really trusting. trusting that and Listen, a couple of things. One, I just want to talk about that interception because there was one good thing that came out of that interception, believe it or not.
Tristan Amundson: And in my opinion, it it was so impressive. the guy who got the tackle. that that stopped the Chiefs on that interception. um Can you, off the top of your head, can you think of who made that tackle, Miles?
M dub: Oh man, you got me. I don't know.
Tristan Amundson: He's huge.
M dub: I was so jacked up about Jason Myers almost getting a tackle. I didn't even at one point. I don't know, though, who who who put in the shocking and relentless effort to get this this guy down on the ground.
Tristan Amundson: ah Oh, Miles. Oh my gosh, you set me up perfectly. Thank you so much. cause shocking and relentless i mean you just nailed it man that's that's what we're looking for.
Tristan Amundson: And when you have Charles Cross. Running. Let's call it what? 55 yards at top speed. And he's the one that makes the tackle on the guy and and you know prevents that from from becoming a bad thing and becoming a touchdown.
Tristan Amundson: Um, That shocking and relentless. what What else could you say? except that your left tackle made a shocking and relentless play. I have to imagine that that was celebrated the next day when they're doing the film study. and just looking what Charles did. I mean, how cool is that?
M dub: That's a great call out because he he also has to make that play at the point in the field where he does in order for that, because I think it was a 58 -yard field goal attempt.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah.
M dub: and That's tough for Brandon Aubrey, you know. um Yeah, great call. I got to go back and watch that because that that is a points -saving play right there by Cross. Love that.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. And it's ah it' it's a statement, right? He's one of our leaders. And it's a statement that your left tackle is saying, yeah, this is this is what's expected. This is what we have to do. um and And frankly, there is a lot of those, man. I mean, I thought we saw that also from our running game.
Tristan Amundson: Um, you know we listen we've talked at nauseam everyone has this year about Emmanuel Wilson and what he can and cannot do. Emmanuel Wilson.
Tristan Amundson: brought a lunch pail to this game and he worked. And the offensive line worked. And according to coach. It's the best offensive line performance of the year so far.
Tristan Amundson: i thought that was really impressive and i i think that's another example of relentless. effort. Uh... Coming from. this team coming from the offensive line, coming from the running back.
Tristan Amundson: putting in the the kind of blue collar work that it takes to win a game like this. and Pretty impressive stuff. I just i thought that was. Really neat to see.
M dub: I was thinking about the offensive line because one of my big takeaways from this offense was the the high number of third down conversions. Converted 11 third downs in this game.
M dub: I took a look. It looks like the all -time NFL record for any team is 15 in one game. So this is approaching.
Tristan Amundson: Wow. Wow.
M dub: the record of of number of third down conversions.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah.
M dub: And I took a look back because that that NFL Pro deep in your NFL Plus subscription, that film room will just break them out for you. I was taking a look and trying to figure out the theme here and I couldn't.
M dub: Really? Figure out. the, the theme, except, you know, Steve Spagnuolo is bringing, he he's a. look He's been dreaming all week about those third downs. third And they were not short third downs either.
M dub: Steve Spagnuolo has been in the league for a long time, one of the best defensive coordinators ever. He's ready. He's been dreaming about these situations for decades. And. And the Seahawks really picked up everything that with the offensive line.
M dub: And it seems to me like the back and forth was. Okay, if you send extra men to Blitz... That means there's less guys on JSN. And then it seemed like as the game went on, the the Chiefs stopped stopped bringing so much pressure.
M dub: And then Sam picked up a couple with the wheels, which was really nice. So anyway, but I think it all comes down to the offensive line because. a lot of clean pockets on those third down plays that's a lot of plays
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, a lot of clean pockets and then. we saw the same thing happen that we noted. I think we said this but during the. um During the San Francisco 49ers game where.
Tristan Amundson: And I'm I can't remember if it was that game or a different one. Maybe you will, Miles. But we noted it that. It was great to see that even though the running game wasn't working. that we stuck with it. They continued to kind of stick to that game plan of running the ball, running the ball, running the ball.
Tristan Amundson: And again, I think that's a massive story in this game. that ah They just kept running the ball. ah I'm looking at Wilson's stats right now, 24 for 100 yards, obviously. But that's a 4 .2 average. that's That's pretty great. I mean, that's that's kind of exactly.
Tristan Amundson: almost the the best case scenario i think for emmanuel wilson is what he delivered which I mean, again, hats off to him. I think that's a really. um It speaks a lot to to the workmanlike process.
Tristan Amundson: um of this game. But you know you you go to that, that those 24 carries, a total of 41 times we carried the Rock in this game. ah compared to 28 attempts.
Tristan Amundson: That's sticking with a philosophy and that's saying we're going to continue to do this and put. ah Sam in in good. um positions to succeed that said a lot of those third down conversions were third and long you know so you got to give sam some credit here too he was able to perform in some pretty ah tight, pressurized situations.
M dub: And what's really important on those plays is is don't create a turnover -worthy play. I mean, in this game, I think the Seahawks still win if ah there was only two punts in this game from Seattle.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah.
M dub: I think the Seahawks still win, even if there's way more puns. I mean, the score is probably not as big of a margin, but. That's how you grind out a victory. By the way, that was a great stat line for for Wilson.
M dub: K -9, you and I were both afraid. We we we feared his return to Seattle.
Tristan Amundson: Man.
M dub: ends up with 14 carries for 36 yards. Just totally shut off. I was curious. I mean, this him against this defense, that's... That's... A lot of practice battles against one another. I bet they everybody on the field had a sense of what was going to go on because nobody had anything hidden from one another. And you're at 14 for 36.
M dub: K9 was still so good in the early part of the year. He is still the league's... leading rusher in yards per game even after this performance but Man, pretty much erased him at in this one.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, it goes to show that in the NFL, elite defense really does change everything. and it It really does. it It matters who you play. you You can only play your schedule. So, you know, if you're 5 -0, 6 -0, whatever it is.
Tristan Amundson: um you get complete credit for that. you've you've what You've won the games you're supposed to win. But it's also true that yeah not all defenses are created equal. Yeah.
Tristan Amundson: It seems pretty clear to me that this is now the best defense in the league. And this isn't just a one week. you know, shining moment that this has been. a very consistent throughout this entire year.
Tristan Amundson: So it's it's cool to to see that and and interesting to see. um their ability to to really just box him up and and keep him under control um and and ultimately make them one dimensional. I don't know if you listened and watched um the the interview after the game.
Tristan Amundson: I rarely do, but I watched it this time and it was kind of fun because it was Devin Witherspoon with the. um Sunday night crew. And Devin, like he does, like he will just tell you.
Tristan Amundson: Maybe more information than Mike McDonald would like him to to share. but he said man like our number one goal was to stop k9 and make them throw it that That was our goal going into the game.
Tristan Amundson: Think about how crazy of a statement that is. Our number one goal was to stop canine. and to make a Hall of Fame quarterback. Throw it. they were If they were going to win, it was going to have to be because of Patrick Mahomes. that's Like.
Tristan Amundson: That's it. That's a pretty incredible statement, and it speaks to... ah The. confidence obviously they have in that secondary and the ability to just confuse and and make.
Tristan Amundson: a mess of a game.
M dub: I got some numbers here about what happened to Kansas City. So the Chiefs came into this game averaging 414 yards of offense. Get out of this one with just 213.
M dub: As you mentioned, the team didn't get into the red zone. That is the first time that happened in 132 career games. From Patrick Mahomes of the regular season.
M dub: And I think the most shocking stat might be the simplest one here. So this is the ninth. Season. that Patrick Mahomes has been the full -time starter of the Chiefs. i'd see I can't tell that year. Patrick Mahomes has already written himself into football history. That nine years doesn't seem right somehow. I don't know if it's too little or too much. but um This is his ninth year as the starter.
M dub: And in those nine years, between the regular season and the playoffs combined, This was only his 36th loss. Something about that number just really...
Tristan Amundson: That's wild.
M dub: Who am I? It is... Pretty rare to defeat this guy under any circumstances. He's gotten through entire calendar years. with just one loss before, so. anyway i know that's a really simple stat but That was still the one that kind of stuck out to me the most, actually. it's Pretty rare to beat Patrick Mahomes.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, that's incredible. No, it really is um I mean, he's he's been prolific, right? I mean, he he has been absolutely magical, and he's been good this year. I mean, he's been playing.
Tristan Amundson: back to his high level so to be able to um to put up a performance like this. I looked at this stat. I think this is crazy. Only seven quarterback hits. Does that sound right to you? that It didn't look like seven to me.
M dub: You know, I felt like the seas the Seahawks don't really like... we've We've got... I feel like the Seahawks and the Vikings are on a collision course here with these two defenses. These are the two best defenses in the NFL, and they're so different from one another. The Vikings are just so ah they're so ultra -aggressive.
M dub: And then if the Seahawks feel so opposite to me. they They're just in the right place. They don't let you get behind them. I didn't feel like there was that much pressure. Honestly, but but there's three guys tackling the ball every time, which... is pretty rare in the NFL.
M dub: But anyway.
Tristan Amundson: and everything.
M dub: Talk about the quarterback pressure.
Tristan Amundson: No, I was going to. I was going to agree with you on that. Yeah, no, I mean, to your point, though, like they're they're rallying to the ball. um And to me, I think the pressure showed up here. I think the reason why there was only seven quarterback hits in this game by the Seahawks, which seven isn't bad, by the way, that's ah like not like that's a bad number. We're just kind of used to seeing like 10 and 11 from them, which I think is a.
Tristan Amundson: you know, starting to be kind of an absurd number. um But I think. What? what stood out to me more than anything. was the ability to make Patrick throw off platform and throw.
Tristan Amundson: Not where he wanted to throw and and have to make that decision a little sooner and get rid of the ball sooner. obviously it counts as a quarterback hit, but the best example being Nick's, um you know, forced interception there where he. he runs him down. And I mean, you, you watch that play a couple of times.
Tristan Amundson: It really doesn't make a lot of sense that ni Nick Imanori was able to put himself in that position. And I think you almost see that in the play. where Patrick looks back and he's like, wait, how? How are you here? Like, how did you, um you know, make up this five or six yards? And suddenly now I'm running as hard as I can to to get it. rid of this football.
Tristan Amundson: um I just think there was a lot of. I think off platform is probably the. um the the answer to it just constantly being harassed constantly having pressure coming from all places and so yeah they they don't always show up as sacks and hits but they certainly It's certainly affecting the game. And to your point.
Tristan Amundson: It is a beauty of this defense that it doesn't. It doesn't need to blitz. It's able to. kind of play with with this high level of discipline. and still get all of the pressure that it wants.
M dub: I... I do think. I... i um i I started pulling on a thread of a stat that I think shows how special this defense is. And we're talking... some big improvements over last year's super bowl winning defense so In the first quarter, there's a little graphic that got my attention that...
M dub: The 2026 Seahawks are allowing the fewest yards per pass completion ever in the NFL. And that sounds interesting, but if... That's actually not a very useful stat. I don't think like yards per pass completion. almost doesn't it tells you very little actually uh because I don't know, ever since Bill Walsh and the 49ers.
M dub: It's 8 .3 yards per pass completion. So I don't know. it It doesn't really matter. Because teams can can stack up a lot of those. Okay. what does what is What does say something, though, about how great the Seahawks team is?
M dub: It's just yards. passing yards given up per game. And I was a little bit surprised looking at this on both Pro Football Reference and ESPN. They tabulate this number and they take the...
M dub: The yards lost due to sacks out of it. So they're there's they're actively subtracting the the sack yardage. when they're when they're calculating passing yards per game by defense. Which I wouldn't have thought to do myself, but that's how I do it.
M dub: Here's what I'm getting at. 2026 Seahawks, almost halfway through the year here. They're giving up. 144 .4 passing yards per game. That is... Nothing. And their high on the season was 176. That was against Washington. so It's a little crazy. They haven't given up 200 net passing yards in a game.
M dub: But because of all these turnovers, there have been two games where the the opponents put 30 points on the board. which this has happened two times without the opponents getting to 200 Passing yards.
M dub: So that number, 144 .4 passing yards per game. That is the best in the NFL, if it holds, since 1980. Which, when when the rules were completely different. And what's what's really crazy about, anyway.
M dub: that That's the best since 1980. Game was completely different. That's something I'll be looking for all year. That is such a low number. And last year, the team was actually 10th best.
M dub: in the NFL and passing yards given up per game at 193 .9. So that is that's a 50 -yard improvement.
Tristan Amundson: Oh wow.
M dub: per This is a different... level of the defense that we are seeing. It really is.
Tristan Amundson: That's incredible. well And maybe a good example of that, again, they made this broadcast a lot about Nicki Minaj, which I mean, he's he's unbelievable, obviously. um But man, one of my favorite plays was when he went into coverage.
Tristan Amundson: Um, Who was it? Was it on Worthy? I think it was on x Xavier Worthy. He just dropped right back in coverage and was stride for stride with him. And you just think like, wait, this guy is.
Tristan Amundson: around the line of scrimmage, stopping the run. He is pressuring the quarterback. and getting sacks. And he's also... Stride for Stride with x Xavier Worthy, who Collinsworth mentioned. It's ah it's a great thing to remember.
Tristan Amundson: Set the record for the fastest 40 time. in the NFL Combine history. And. Nick can do all of those things. he can Stop the run.
Tristan Amundson: He can pressure the quarterback. And then, yeah, hey, if you need me to, I can just run stride for stride with one of the fastest players in the league. So like like to your point. If you think about.
Tristan Amundson: Some of the marginal, I shouldn't say marginal. Some of the improvement. from key players in this defense that are going from year one to year two. Nick being a great example.
Tristan Amundson: um This this improvement and just in my mind, I think we're seeing the best version of Byron Murphy, which is an incredible. thing for this defense obviously spoon is spoon and and he's doing his thing we're We're seeing obviously like our superstars are playing at a superstar level, which your stars have to be stars.
Tristan Amundson: um little brock brock huardism there your stars got to play like stars But then beyond that. Um, Having some of these second -year guys really come into their own and make these massive impacts, I think that's what you're seeing, right? You're just seeing... this evolution of of these key contributors.
Tristan Amundson: I don't know how many teams have a Tyrese Knight, right, that will just suddenly, oh, our our starting linebacker went down. Our backup is. Maybe. either just as good maybe just slightly not quite as good but but in some ways better because no one stops the run quite like Tyrese Knight, and you saw that in this game. so i mean yeah to your point they're just
Tristan Amundson: the The right players are ascending at the right time. and superstars are playing like superstars and and that's just culminating in Um, in something pretty special i mean this this defense right now is looking pretty great
M dub: It is special, and I think it's a historically great defense, really. And. and Just... they're They're fourth in the league in points given up per game because we just had so many of those games with all the turnover problems. But I think that's really hiding how great they are.
M dub: as As the season goes on. uh, You know when the games get tougher.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. um All that to say, Miles, like... We're talking a lot about the defense. We've talked about Emmanuel Wilson. We've talked about Sam Darnold. Oh man, is there a guy? that we're forgetting to talk about it's he's kind of unassuming um I think he won, did he win the defensive player of the year or the offensive player of the year last year? I can't i can't quite remember, and and sometimes people struggle to say his last name.
Tristan Amundson: but um It seems like there's a guy we're missing.
M dub: What's incredible about this team, Tristan, sitting at four and three, I talked about their pursuit of of ah some NFL history and yards allowed ah per game. there's some There's some NFL history going on.
M dub: With the offense, I think you might be thinking of a wide receiver named Jackson Smith and Jigma. He had one of the greatest receive greatest years by wide receiver ever last year. He averaged 105 .5.
M dub: receiving yards per game. So far in 2026, he is averaging 123. .9 yards per game. That's on pace for a 2 ,106 -yard season.
M dub: And he's also scoring more touchdowns than he did last year. So that's by far the best in the NFL. He has a 231 -yard lead on second place. 231 -yard lead on second. place.
M dub: in total yardage. And he scored eight touchdowns. When you look at wide receivers number two through five in in yardage. They have as many touchdowns combined as JSN does, and he scores another one in this game.
M dub: It is one of the best years ever by a wide receiver.
Tristan Amundson: o i I'm a broken record when I say this. We're so lucky. I mean, it's I don't know. If Seahawks fans fully grasp how lucky we are to have. Mike McDonald.
Tristan Amundson: How lucky we are to have guys like Leo Williams and Byron Murphy. Um, What we're witnessing from JSN. From Jackson, Smith & Jigba.
Tristan Amundson: May his name. rain on forever. Um, It's historic. It's unbelievable. he's He's doing things we've never seen before. And he's doing it in an unassuming way. It's it's pretty incredible.
M dub: It is incredible. And he scores that touchdown. I was really impressed by Mansoor Delane's play the entire game, that the rookie ah secondary player for the Chiefs. And he played... Pretty much.
M dub: there's I don't think there's a single coaching point you could give. on how he defends that touchdown. He is. Not committing a penalty. he's He's got his hand on the ball. Right in jackson you know right in the the catch area. And somehow.
M dub: Jackson comes down with it and makes an incredible touchdown.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, man, it's pretty incredible. You heard my voice wavering. it is It's starting to fall apart on me over here, Miles. I'm going to admit it. um The game's speeding up here. the the The baritone vocals.
Tristan Amundson: The cold's starting to win, I'm just going to tell you.
M dub: No worries. Can we move ahead? we So we we've discussed Sunday night football. we're Um, We're a few days behind our normal schedule here. It has been an explosive.
M dub: week from front offices around the NFL in the days. Since this game. The Seahawks get it started as the Indianapolis Colts start a fire sale. Tristan, we've been talking a lot about acquiring a running back, or that's where my mind has been. and The move that Seahawks made, really, it was another example of just how I kind of get stuck on one track mind. You know, with the Colts losing a few games, I start thinking, oh, are the Seahawks going to acquire? Jonathan Taylor.
M dub: No, what the Seahawks do, they trade for... Quinton Nelson left guard. This is his ninth year. He's made the Pro Bowl in all eight years before this one. The price is very reasonable. It's a 2027 third round pick.
M dub: Let's remember the Seahawks also have a number of compensatory picks at the end of the rounds. uh in this draft so they'll still be in the third round And also a 2028 fifth round pick.
M dub: Quentin Nelson has a contract that will expire. at the end of this year so this this may just be a few month rental but Once this move got made, I immediately saw the vision. I think it's a great move. I think it's a great way to...
M dub: Capitalize on a Super Bowl window without... but by staying in a balance with with the amount of draft capital you have. And it made me think that the team is actually really trust Zach Charbonnet.
M dub: To me, this is about running interior. That's what Charbonnet does. you know right up the gut i think they're going to be really counting On him. for the rest of the season. And i'm I'm really excited to see this. It's very it's very interesting because we've seen...
M dub: There have been comments from John Schneider over the years. that he almost has a contempt. for guards he doesn't want to give there's some times where he didn't want to give draft capital or large contracts to guards Very interesting now that the Seahawks have a pair of guards. ah One of them was a first -round pick.
M dub: And the other is one of the most applauded NFL guards of the century. And it will be very interesting to see.
Tristan Amundson: so you
M dub: Hopefully this team really turns it up with how they're able to run the ball. right up the middle. And I'm very interested to see the impact Quentin Nelson has. This isn't the only move made. This week that impacts the Seahawks, but...
M dub: I'm pretty excited about this one what What were your thoughts?
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, I mean, listen, I fully sign off on that. We're all learning. We're all getting better at our jobs. And I think. i bet john would be the first to say that that potentially you know the way he was looking at guard was was a little myopic at the time I agree with you, man. I think that I think that having...
Tristan Amundson: a solid interior the way that we do now. I was thinking about this I don't think it's going from a weakness to a strength I think it was going from average, going from good. to great I think that we had a pretty good offensive line already.
Tristan Amundson: I mean, if you think about it. Same five starters from last year. Like there's a lot of good things to be said about the offensive line. And I think that this is just saying. Let's make it really, really good. Let's let's make this a strength and potentially.
Tristan Amundson: and What I'm curious about is the ripple effects of this. So to your point. with uh with with jadarian and with uh zach coming back here pretty soon having having our number one and number two running backs whatever order that happens to be in Great.
Tristan Amundson: Giving them. more clear lanes to run through. Excellent. Does that the ripple effect I want to see as we're talking about how great Jackson is? I also hate to see him getting used so much, and I would i would just like to see him have a few more easy games if possible, just thinking about his body.
Tristan Amundson: and so you know does this give us the opportunity to to take some pressure off of Jackson. um And I think it it probably does. So that's a that's kind of an exciting. hopefully like ripple effect of this move. I couldn't be more excited about it. I think it's the exactly the kind of move we want.
Tristan Amundson: I think the value was great. And I will say, if the if his track record is anything... you know, to say about this move. If you look at Dwayne Brown, if you look at.
Tristan Amundson: Rashid Shaheed, if you look at um Leonard Williams, for that matter, right, like any number of midseason trades that John has done for. really good players.
Tristan Amundson: There's a high propensity that he's going to re -sign Quinton. Quinton's 30 years old. In guard years, I would argue like he's he's in the prime of his career. He's got many, many good years ahead of him.
Tristan Amundson: So yeah, pretty exciting.
M dub: It is exciting. Some domino effects from this is the team will be moving Gray Zabel from left guard to right guard. And. you know, Seahawks. Obviously, a lot of positivity in their building. Teaching everybody.
M dub: This does mean that the team lets go of Christian Haynes. That's a tough one. If if I'm Christian Haynes, I'm thinking. Hey, I was the second right guard here when Anthony Bradford was out.
M dub: I got the majority of snaps, more than Bo Stevens, but... With just Bo Stevens being a rookie this year and Haynes being in his third year. That's just kind of the way it breaks in the NFL sometimes. so Christian Haynes gets let's go. There is a battle for him, though, on the waiver wire. There was a report that the Ravens were picking him up. but The Dolphins actually have first dibs because of their worst record. So Christian Haynes.
M dub: goes diagonally across the entire country to be a dolphin just just on the at the drop of a hat there so that That's kind of the dominoes that fall. And. Yeah.
M dub: Yeah. There we go.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. Yeah, man, it'll it'll be exciting to see him out here playing and to see. Hopefully we get Charbonnet back this week. That would be great. um and I heard that our opponent might have made kind of a a rather large move as well.
M dub: Yeah, great for the NFL. The NFL is delighted here because Seahawks are going into a Monday night game hosting the Chicago Bears. And just a day after. The Seahawks make this move to improve the interior of their offensive line.
M dub: The Bears make it a bigger move. to improve the interior of their defensive line. sending away two first -round picks. to the Tennessee Titans to get Jeffrey Simmons.
M dub: who is one of the great players at his position. I know Jeffrey Simmons. is... Is. a top tier defensive player, but I had two thoughts about this move that I'm probably underscoring.
M dub: uh the value here and i should probably be a little more afraid but My thought was we we just had a preseason game where we saw Jeffrey Simmons and the rest of the Titans first stringers out on the field. and The Seahawks second stringers were were just torching everything we saw. Jakardia Wright and Elijah Arroyo get big touchdowns. so I know the Bears defense is a much better unit, but.
M dub: i That's the last time we saw Jeffrey Simmons. It is. And it also made me think. Two first -round picks for an elite defensive tackle. Hey, Leo Williams is also an elite defensive tackle. It's probably pretty difficult to say Who is actually the better player between Leo and Jeffrey Simmons?
M dub: John, John Schneider. at the 2023 trade deadline. Gets Leo from the Giants for just a second round pick and a fifth round pick the next year. Mike, I mean.
M dub: My goodness. well That is one of the... i was i was It wasn't a great team that year, so I was hesitant about the draft capital moving out the door. but in retrospect that is one of the all -time trades i mean that is crazy
Tristan Amundson: It really is. Yeah. I mean it. Yeah, and to have Leo and and everything he's meant more than just a defensive tackle. but one of the great leaders on the team. It's it's pretty incredible to see. um I'm excited to see this matchup. Jeffrey Simmons is a war daddy. I mean, he is.
Tristan Amundson: Top five, one of the absolute best defensive tackles in the league. Um, I think at his level, it's hard to even quantify, you know. who's quote unquote the best, right? I mean, there's just.
Tristan Amundson: There's some really, really great D tackles in this league. and And like the the elites are different than everybody else. There's there aren't. a lot of the absolute elites. um There are a lot of good defensive tackles. the elites, the the list is pretty short. And I think.
Tristan Amundson: When you get to that level, you kind of just say. hey yeah like i'll it just take one of those right you don't you don't need to get super picky on on which one you get which flavor you get But he's so well respected. It's going to be a really fun matchup. And we instantly get to see.
Tristan Amundson: um you know, a top five guard going against a top five defensive tackle. So I'm really glad that we have that top five guard now. It makes it makes going into this game, facing Jeffrey Simmons, all that all that much.
Tristan Amundson: um I'm not going to say easier. That's not the right word, but. um yeah we We can at least see like. Um... uh an opportunity to neutralize how about that you know that that uh that that addition on on the Bears side.
Tristan Amundson: um And another primetime game, Miles. So, you know, we go from Sunday night to Monday night. I feel like our friends down in Los Angeles, the Rams, did this to begin the season where every Rams game was was a ah primetime game, kind of ad nauseum. And now we're seeing the same thing. The Seahawks are kind of having their.
Tristan Amundson: string of primetime games you know back to back to back
M dub: Yeah, primetime games and get to stay at home. this I... i It felt wrong, but this is actually the third straight home game all in prime time. It's great to see that stadium. And and shout out to...
M dub: Just wearing, I don't know what that fish the term is, but. In this game against the Chiefs, the Seahawks were wearing the correct uniforms. And... Bye. The sky blues, the baby blues, I don't know. what do What do we call them? But the Seahawks were wearing the correct uniforms it and boy, did it look good. I can only hope to see it again.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, you know, those uniforms are feeling less and less like retro throwbacks and more and more like. Just the uniforms, aren't they? Like, it's just it feels as though they're kind of. inching that direction.
M dub: It does. It does. And this ends. you know Hopefully with ah a win. Now, look, we've talked a lot of great things about the Seahawks. This is a very quality opponent in the Bears, and a loss in this game puts you at 4 -4, which is a tough...
M dub: that's a tough situation to be in when when you want to be a Super Bowl contender. so This is a very important game. this is This is about as important as it gets in week eight, I would say.
M dub: And. I'm very interested to see the Bears have one of the best running attacks in the league. two -headed monster attack and That's a a matchup I'm really interested in seeing.
M dub: Seahawks won this one against K -9, one of the best rushing attacks in the league. and I'm very interested to see how this one goes against Chicago.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, and Caleb Williams is playing at an elite level, Roma Dunes A. great wide receiver in this league they They have some great weapons right um ah across the board um on this on this Bears team. It's a good team. So yeah, it'll be a super fun matchup. Looking forward to Monday night.
Tristan Amundson: in seattle it's going to be a beautiful night i'm sure
M dub: Yeah. Yeah.
Tristan Amundson: Yes.
M dub: I think i think as i think we about tapped out there.
Tristan Amundson: is Is that?
M dub: That's all I got.
Tristan Amundson: Now, now here's here's, this is. really unfair for me to say. It's Monday night. um Day of the Dead. Is that Dio Des Morses?
M dub: That will be this Saturday.
Tristan Amundson: Oh, that'll be Saturday. Okay. No, no that Saturday is Halloween.
M dub: Oh, sorry, sorry. That'll be Sunday then.
Tristan Amundson: oh so is it the next day okay well then never mind i you know was i was going to try to make some sort of a connection you know some
M dub: It would be the deal.
Tristan Amundson: Some Seahawks greats maybe visiting the. um visiting the the the home. the home field that night or something like that but um Yeah, no luck.
M dub: Well, i i think I think we could say one more thing to the people.
Tristan Amundson: ah I have no idea what you're talking about.
M dub: Well, I would just add this is the last thing on my notes here that I just want to add
Tristan Amundson: ah this Is this deep in the notes? Is this kind of some new stuff?
M dub: Well, ah let me know what you think here ah What I would say is go Hawks.
Tristan Amundson: Go Hawks.
