The Seattle Seahawks have been on a roll, but they need another win Sunday to remain atop the NFC West standings. Byron Murphy II is willing to help the Seattle Seahawks … on offense They’ll have to do it against the toughest team they’ve faced in over a month during a primetime clash with the 9-4 Green Bay Packers, who will present an array of challenges for the surging 8-5 Seahawks. NBC Sports football analyst and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms broke down how Green Bay will challenge Seattle’s rising defense and what a strong finish to the season would mean for the Seahawks during a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday. “Green Bay is a super talented football team,” Simms said. “I would say Green Bay roster-wise is up there with the best teams in football as far as talent throughout the football team. So that’s one thing you can expect with them. Off of that, they’re also a young team, so they make mistakes. It’s not always smooth and it’s a little immature at times because they are young on both sides of the football.” Major challenge for emerging defense Seattle’s four-game winning streak has been keyed by a massive, midseason turnaround by the defense. A big part of that turnaround has stemmed from improvements against the run. After surrendering 164 yards on the ground during an embarrassing 31-10 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 27 sent the Seahawks to their fourth loss in five games, they were 29th in the league while allowing 148.4 rushing yards per game. Improvements started to show the following week in a 26-20 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, as Seattle allowed just 68 yards to a Los Angeles run game led by talented second-year running back Khyren Williams. The Seahawks then hit their bye week and continued to keep the positive momentum going on the other side. In the four games since the bye, Seattle has surrendered just 97.5 yards per game, which would rank seventh in the league as a full-season average. The improvements started soon after the team sent starting linebacker Jerome Baker to Tennessee for new starter Ernest Jones IV, and they continued after it cut former starter Tyrel Dodson and inserted rookie Tyrice Knight into the starting lineup. Simms also highlighted a fully healthy defensive line as a part of the fix. “When you talk about what they’ve looked like after the bye week – the D-line getting healthy – it’s hard to run on that front when all those guys are in there,” Simms said. “It’s one of the better safety tandems in all of football. You got long, athletic corners on the edge. They seem like they’re figuring out (head coach) Mike Macdonald’s defense. So it seems like Seattle is starting to peak as far as that’s concerned.” However, the Packers and standout running back Josh Jacobs present a major obstacle for the Seahawks’ improved defense. Green Bay ranks fifth in the league in rushing yards per game (144.7), seventh in yards per carry (4.8) and sixth in rush attempts per game (30.5). Jacobs is one of six running backs to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this season, ranks fourth in the league with 1,053 rushing yards and tied for fifth with 11 rushing TDs. “They can really run the football. It’s one of the best pure running teams in football,” Simms said. “I’m talking about running the ball with the running back up the middle, not teams that have quarterbacks that can scramble and add to the running stats that way. Green Bay is one of the best at the traditional run game, so you have to worry about that.” The Packers also have a number of young playmakers in the receiving game with second-year receiver Jayden Reed, third-year receiver Christian Watson, second-year tight end Tucker Kraft and third-year receiver Romeo Dobbs leading a balanced receiving corps with at least 483 receiving yards apiece. Reed leads the group with 693 yards. There has been some in consistencies in the passing game, though, due the play of quarterback Jordan Love. Love ended the 2023 season on a red-hot run while leading the Packers to divisional round of the playoffs, but started 2024 with at least one interception in his first eight games, including a three-interception performance in a Sept. 29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Love also missed two games due to injury September. “Jordan Love is really the biggest issue with Green Bay right now,” Simms said. “This is how good they are. They’re 9-4 and their starting quarterback’s really played kind of B-minus football the whole year. He’s been injured, he hasn’t been able to practice a whole lot. He’s never really hit that stride that we saw him hit the end of last year and into the playoffs and all that. They’re hoping for him to regain that because if he does, they’re going to be dangerous.” Love has cleaned things up a bit and gone without an interception in his past three games, but Simms views his usage last week against a banged-up Detroit Lions defense as a telling sign about the fourth-year signal-caller. “They only threw the ball 20 times,” Simms said. “Those are signals, to me, that they don’t totally trust him to just unleash him right now, so there’s that.” What a strong finish means for Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks have rugged path to close the season with the sixth-toughest remaining schedule, per Tankathon. After playing Green Bay, Seattle faces the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings, the 4-9 Chicago Bears and the 8-6 Rams. The season finale against the Rams could end up deciding who wins the NFC West. Simms was asked what a strong finish against that closing stretch would mean for the team. “Right now I look at them and go, ‘They’re dangerous,'” Simms said. “If you can win, let’s say, three out of the last four with the schedule that you guys got, I do think it’ll take me to a spot of going, ‘Hey, they’re more than dangerous. They’re starting to play really good football on both sides of the of the ball.’” What Simms wants to see down stretch is more consistency on offense. “I’d like to see them continue to improve the run game like we saw last week. That was encouraging. So hopefully that’s on the up and up,” Simms said. “The passing offense is extremely explosive, but the thing you want to see is (quarterback) Geno Smith taking care of the ball a little bit. And does it always have to be feast of famine? And that’s, to me, one of the issues with the Seattle offense.” “They got to find a little bit more of a way to move the ball consistently down the field and not always rely on the big play or the big pass from Geno and those damn good receivers you got up there,” Simms added. Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. More Seattle Seahawks coverage • How Seahawks rookie LB Tyrice Knight is impressing Wyman• Seahawks Injury Report: The latest on Kenneth Walker III• How Macdonald’s first year with Seahawks has impressed NFL insider• Stacy Rost: 3 keys for a Seahawks win over Packers• Bump: A matchup Seahawks can exploit in huge game vs Packers Follow @ZacHereth

The Seattle Seahawks have been on a roll, but they need another win Sunday to remain atop the NFC West standings. Byron Murphy II is willing to help the Seattle Seahawks … on offense They’ll have to do it against the toughest team they’ve faced in over a month during a primetime clash with the […]

The Seattle Seahawks have been on a roll, but they need another win Sunday to remain atop the NFC West standings.

Byron Murphy II is willing to help the Seattle Seahawks … on offense

They’ll have to do it against the toughest team they’ve faced in over a month during a primetime clash with the 9-4 Green Bay Packers, who will present an array of challenges for the surging 8-5 Seahawks.

NBC Sports football analyst and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms broke down how Green Bay will challenge Seattle’s rising defense and what a strong finish to the season would mean for the Seahawks during a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday.

“Green Bay is a super talented football team,” Simms said. “I would say Green Bay roster-wise is up there with the best teams in football as far as talent throughout the football team. So that’s one thing you can expect with them. Off of that, they’re also a young team, so they make mistakes. It’s not always smooth and it’s a little immature at times because they are young on both sides of the football.”

Major challenge for emerging defense

Seattle’s four-game winning streak has been keyed by a massive, midseason turnaround by the defense.

A big part of that turnaround has stemmed from improvements against the run. After surrendering 164 yards on the ground during an embarrassing 31-10 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 27 sent the Seahawks to their fourth loss in five games, they were 29th in the league while allowing 148.4 rushing yards per game.

Improvements started to show the following week in a 26-20 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, as Seattle allowed just 68 yards to a Los Angeles run game led by talented second-year running back Khyren Williams. The Seahawks then hit their bye week and continued to keep the positive momentum going on the other side. In the four games since the bye, Seattle has surrendered just 97.5 yards per game, which would rank seventh in the league as a full-season average.

The improvements started soon after the team sent starting linebacker Jerome Baker to Tennessee for new starter Ernest Jones IV, and they continued after it cut former starter Tyrel Dodson and inserted rookie Tyrice Knight into the starting lineup.

Simms also highlighted a fully healthy defensive line as a part of the fix.

“When you talk about what they’ve looked like after the bye week – the D-line getting healthy – it’s hard to run on that front when all those guys are in there,” Simms said. “It’s one of the better safety tandems in all of football. You got long, athletic corners on the edge. They seem like they’re figuring out (head coach) Mike Macdonald’s defense. So it seems like Seattle is starting to peak as far as that’s concerned.”

However, the Packers and standout running back Josh Jacobs present a major obstacle for the Seahawks’ improved defense. Green Bay ranks fifth in the league in rushing yards per game (144.7), seventh in yards per carry (4.8) and sixth in rush attempts per game (30.5).

Jacobs is one of six running backs to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this season, ranks fourth in the league with 1,053 rushing yards and tied for fifth with 11 rushing TDs.

“They can really run the football. It’s one of the best pure running teams in football,” Simms said. “I’m talking about running the ball with the running back up the middle, not teams that have quarterbacks that can scramble and add to the running stats that way. Green Bay is one of the best at the traditional run game, so you have to worry about that.”

The Packers also have a number of young playmakers in the receiving game with second-year receiver Jayden Reed, third-year receiver Christian Watson, second-year tight end Tucker Kraft and third-year receiver Romeo Dobbs leading a balanced receiving corps with at least 483 receiving yards apiece. Reed leads the group with 693 yards.

There has been some in consistencies in the passing game, though, due the play of quarterback Jordan Love. Love ended the 2023 season on a red-hot run while leading the Packers to divisional round of the playoffs, but started 2024 with at least one interception in his first eight games, including a three-interception performance in a Sept. 29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Love also missed two games due to injury September.

“Jordan Love is really the biggest issue with Green Bay right now,” Simms said. “This is how good they are. They’re 9-4 and their starting quarterback’s really played kind of B-minus football the whole year. He’s been injured, he hasn’t been able to practice a whole lot. He’s never really hit that stride that we saw him hit the end of last year and into the playoffs and all that. They’re hoping for him to regain that because if he does, they’re going to be dangerous.”

Love has cleaned things up a bit and gone without an interception in his past three games, but Simms views his usage last week against a banged-up Detroit Lions defense as a telling sign about the fourth-year signal-caller.

“They only threw the ball 20 times,” Simms said. “Those are signals, to me, that they don’t totally trust him to just unleash him right now, so there’s that.”

What a strong finish means for Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have rugged path to close the season with the sixth-toughest remaining schedule, per Tankathon. After playing Green Bay, Seattle faces the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings, the 4-9 Chicago Bears and the 8-6 Rams. The season finale against the Rams could end up deciding who wins the NFC West.

Simms was asked what a strong finish against that closing stretch would mean for the team.

“Right now I look at them and go, ‘They’re dangerous,’” Simms said. “If you can win, let’s say, three out of the last four with the schedule that you guys got, I do think it’ll take me to a spot of going, ‘Hey, they’re more than dangerous. They’re starting to play really good football on both sides of the of the ball.’”

What Simms wants to see down stretch is more consistency on offense.

“I’d like to see them continue to improve the run game like we saw last week. That was encouraging. So hopefully that’s on the up and up,” Simms said. “The passing offense is extremely explosive, but the thing you want to see is (quarterback) Geno Smith taking care of the ball a little bit. And does it always have to be feast of famine? And that’s, to me, one of the issues with the Seattle offense.”

“They got to find a little bit more of a way to move the ball consistently down the field and not always rely on the big play or the big pass from Geno and those damn good receivers you got up there,” Simms added.

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.