What a difference a QB change can make as the offense looked really crisp with Matt Hasselbeck back under center.  He completed 18 of 30 passes for 241 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Hasselbeck also carried the football 3 times for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) in this game.  Edgerrin James wound up being the leading rusher for the Seahawks with 46 yards on 16 carries (2.9 ypc).  Justin Forsett didn’t get a lot of playing time in this game but he still rushed for 43 yards on 6 carries (7.2 ypc).  Julius Jones pitched in with 34 yards on 12 carries (2.8 ypc).  WRs Nate Burleson (6 rec, 98 yards, 16.3 avg) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (5 rec, 77 yards, 15.4 avg) each caught 2 TD passes apiece in this game.  The Seahawks finished up with 379 total yards in this game (143 rushing, 236 passing) as they had possession of the ball for 34:44!

The defense was awesome in this game for the Seahawks.  Rookie LB Adam Curry led the way for the Seahawks on defense in this game with 10 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and a QB hit.  DE Darryl Tapp was living in the Jags’ backfield as he finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and 4 QB hits.  Backup DE Nick Reed had a huge play in this game as he returned a David Garrard fumble 79 yards for a TD.  The Jaguars finished up with only 199 total yards on offense (38 rushing, 161 passing) in this game.  The Seahawks are now 2-3 on the season.

This should be a entertaining, high scoring football game in the Upper Northwest.  These are two teams going in opposite directions as the Jags have won two in a row outscoring the opponents 68-41 while the Seahawks have lost three games in a row by a combined score of 82-46!  The Jaguars will likely come out running the ball in this game with Maurice Jones-Drew (296 yards rushing, 4.7 yards per carry) against a Seahawks’ D which is allowing 124.0 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry.  When the Seahawks sneak up to defend Drew look for David Garrard to hit them over the top to Mike Sims-Walker and Torry Holt.  The Seahawks have 9 sacks this season and they will need to put pressure on Garrard on passing downs or they will be in deep trouble.

The Seahawks would be served well in this game if they came out running the ball with Julius Jones (251 yards rushing) against a Jags’ D that is allowing 98.8 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  They don’t want to get into a shootout with the Jaguars especially if Seneca Wallace is starting again.  He is solid on the short stuff but he can’t stretch the D like Matt Hasselbeck can.  If Hasselbeck can return in this game the Seahawks will have a fighting chance as he can get the ball to the receivers down field.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 30, SEAHAWKS 24

The Seahawks got pushed around in this game as they were down 34-3 late in the 4th quarter before getting a couple of garbage TDs at the end of the game.  Seneca Wallace tried hard but he wasn’t good enough to go to war with Peyton Manning.  He completed 33 of 45 passes for 257 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 8 yards (2.0 ypc) with a TD run.  All was not good for Wallace however as he lost two fumbles in this game.  Julius Jones led the way for the Seahawks on the ground with 25 yards rushing on 11 carries (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg).  T.J. Houshmandzadeh led the way in the passing game for the Seahawks with 8 grabs for 103 yards (12.9 avg).  Deion Branch helped out with 6 catches for 49 yards (8.2 avg) in this game.  The Seahawks finished up with 279 total yards of offense in this game (49 yards rushing, 230 passing).

Linebacker Lofa Tatupu (11 tackles, pass defensed) and safety Jordan Babineaux (10 tackles) led the way for the Seahawks in this game.  The Colts finished up with 431 total yards of offense in this game (78 rushing, 353 passing).  The Seahawks fell to 1-3 on the season with this loss.

The Seattle Seahawks should come into this game with one thing in mind….run the football!  Seneca Wallace’s best asset as a QB is his feet so the Seahawks should let him roll out and run the ball a few times.  The blueprint the Dolphins had is the one the Seahawks should follow in this game which is to try to run the ball often to control the clock.  Julius Jones (226 yards, 4.9 ypc) should have success against a Colts’  D which is allowing 125.7 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  Ex-Colt Edgerrin James could also be motivated against his old team despite rushing for only 43 yards this year (2.5 ypc).  The Colts will be without Dwight Freeney in this game so if the Seahawks choose to run a lot of play action, Seneca Wallace could have a lot of time to throw the football.  The Colts’ safeties must be ready to deal with TE John Carlson (15 rec, 169 yards, 2 TDs) on the underneath stuff.  WRs Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh give Wallace a couple of nice targets when he tries to go downfield.

The Colts might try to get the running game going against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 139.3 yards rushing per game and 5.6 yards per carry.  Joseph Addai and Donald Brown will likely share the P.T. in this game.  Make no mistake however, Peyton Manning is still the straw that stirs the drink for the Colts.  The Seahawks like to bring the heat in the passing game as they have 9 sacks already this season but Peyton Manning has only been sacked 2 times this season.  Manning makes teams pay when they blitz as Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon are all having huge years. 

PREDICTION:  COLTS 27, SEAHAWKS 17

The Seahawks have suffered a lot of injuries at linebacker and 24-year old David Hawthorne has really stepped up as he leads the team in tackles.   He has 23 tackles, one tackle for a loss, he has defensed 1 pass and he has 1 interception.  Even when the linebackers get healthy that are out of action it might be hard to take Hawthorne out of the lineup but having that kind of depth is a good problem to have.

Nate Burleson is really stepping up this season for the Seahawks.  He has caught 20 passes (leads team) for 229 yards (14.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also has returned 5 punts for 41 yards (8.2 avg) this season for the Seahawks.  The Seahawks have been waiting for a couple of years for Burleson to step up in the passing game and he has done that now.  He will eventually start losing catches to T.J. Houshmandzadeh but the Seahawks now have a high flying passing game.