The Seattle Seahawks didn’t play their best game of the year yesterday but they didn’t need to.  Matt Hasselbeck was a game manager yesterday completing 14 of 25 passes for 102 yards.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc) yesterday.  Justin Forsett was outstanding for the Seahawks yesterday with 22 carries for 130 yards (5.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Nate Burleson led the way in the passing game for the Seahawks in St. Louis with 4 grabs for 46 yards (11.5 avg).  The Seahawks finished up with 265 total yards on offense (170 rushing, 95 passing) despite only possessing the football for 26:28. 

The defense were in a bend but don’t break mode yesterday and they were led by a trio of players who were making huge plays the whole game long.  Safety Jordan Babineaux led the way for the Seahawks with 13 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit.  LB David Hawthorne also had a very solid game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  CB Josh Wilson had 2 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 1 QB hit and he returned a interception 65 yards for a TD!  The Rams finished up with 364 total yards on offense (113 rushing, 251 passing) in this game.  The Seahawks are now 4-7 on the season.

The Seahawks have won nine games in a row including a 28-0 beat-down in Seattle to open the season.  But, the Seahawks are 0-5 on the road this season and they have been outscored a combined 161-73!  Before Rams’ fans get too excited those games were against the Vikings, Colts, Cardinals, Cowboys and 49ers who are all superior teams to the Rams.  The Seahawks will likely try to jump the Rams early with the passing game in an attempt to get a quick lead which would force the Rams to throw more instead of handing the ball to Steven Jackson.  If Hasselbeck gets the time he needs to throw the ball he should be able to get it to WRs T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and TE John Carlson.  Justin Forsett had a rough first game as the starting RB for the Seahawks against the Vikings but he should be able to find a lot more running room against the Rams who are allowing 146.4 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry this year. 

The Rams have really played pretty well the last three weeks winning one of them (vs. Lions) and losing 2 of them (vs. Saints and Cardinals).  The Rams will likely feed the ball to Steven Jackson as much as possible in this game as the Seahawks are allowing 110.5 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  The passing game might be of the deeper variety this week for the Rams as Kyle Boller will be starting for the injured Marc Bulger (broken leg).  The Seahawks are allowing 236.8 yards passing per game so far this season and opposing QBs have a 96.5 Rating against them so the Rams could have some success throwing the ball.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 27, SEAHAWKS 23

The Seattle Seahawks (3-7) held the Minnesota Vikings (9-1) scoreless in the first quarter, but the Vikings’ offense figured things out quick and put up 21 points in the second quarter.  There wasn’t much the Seahawks defense did well on Sunday, as Brett Favre had a huge day at quarterback and the Vikings’ running backs ran all over the place.  Favre completed 22/25 passes for 213 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor combined for 155 yards on 35 carries.  The Seahawks defense looked lost out there and Favre took advantage of that.  David Hawthorne was the only one who really came to play for the Hawks’ defense, getting 15 total tackles, including 11 solo tackles.

The Seahawks offense was not much better than their defense.  They had 2 turnovers and Matt Hasselbeck failed to find the endzone.  Hasselbeck threw for 231 yards on 19/26 passes, but had an interception.  They didn’t put any points up until the end of the third quarter when Olindo Mare hit a 40-yard field goal.  They finally got a touchdown with 8 minutes left in the game when Justin Forsett ran it in from the 1-yard line, but the game was already over by then.  The Seahawks were completely over-matched in this contest.

24-year old linebacker David Hawthorne is stepping up big time for the Seattle Seahawks this year.  He has played in all 10 games for the Seahawks and he has 71 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 sacks, 5 passes defensed and he has 3 interceptions.  The Seahawks have been having issues on defense this season but it’s not been Hawthorne’s fault as he looks like a player the team can build a defense around.

The Seattle Seahawks (3-6) have a huge challenge this week, taking on the Minnesota Vikings (8-1) on the road.  The Seahawks are going to need their best game of the year if they want to come out with a win.  I’m not so sure they will be able to do that, as Matt Hasselbeck is going to get pressured all game by the Vikings front line.  Jared Allen leads that line and has been wreaking havoc on quarterbacks all season.  He has 35 tackles and 10.5 sacks so far this season, so Hasselbeck will need to get rid of the ball quick.  That limits what the Seahawks can do offensively, so they will need another big game out of Justin Forsett.  Forsett, who is replacing the injured Julius Jones, rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.  The Hawks still lost that game though, so they will need Hasselbeck to play flawless as well.

The Seahawks defense is in over their heads in this matchup.  The Vikings have a hall-of-fame quarterback in Brett Favre and the best running back in the game right now in Adrian Peterson.  The Seahawks give up too many yards on the ground (105 yard avg.) and through the air (233 yard avg.), so Favre and Peterson may put up some big numbers against them.  I just don’t see the Hawks having enough weapons to slow down the Vikings, and it could get it ugly.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Minnesota Vikings 38, Seattle Seahawks 17