Do The Seahawks Have More Pressure On Them To Beat The Saints?
By John Hendrix
Nov 17, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a touchdown pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
We aren’t even out of Week 12 yet, and ever since the conclusion of Thursday Night Football, everyone has been looking at this matchup even more, and aside from the Brady comeback, it will be the most talked about thing this week in the sports world. After all, how could you not get even more hyped after Who Dat Nation stood during post game in Atlanta chanting, ‘We Want Seattle!’?
Who can blame anyone, honestly? All you have is the top two teams in the NFC battling for potential home field advantage. The Saints will travel a great distance, 2,703 miles from Mercedes-Benz Superdome to CenturyLink Field on Google Maps, for their Monday Night Showdown. Oh, and for those of you who say ‘cold weather’ & ‘Saints’, that applies to playoff games, not regular season. So, stop.
So, do the Seahawks have more pressure on them this week to win when the Saints come to town for Monday Night Football? Let’s look at a few things.
Since their last loss at home, which was December 24, 2011 to the 49ers 19-17, the Seahawks have been on a tear, and ironically it all started with New Orleans and the crazy Wild Card game in 2011. They’re a perfect 15-0 in the Russell Wilson era at home, 16-0 if you include the 2011 Wild Card game.
The Seahawks have a 15-4 conference record as well, going 8-4 last season, and boasting a 7-0 record this season. Not to mention, they have outscored opponents at home 405-172 since 2012. If I asked you, who was the team who scored the most points on them at home in that span?
Had you said the Bucs with 24 points, gold star for you.
For you math junkies, the Seahawks have averaged 27 points/game in their winning streak (regular season), and have given up just over 11 points/game. It is a quite lopsided stat indeed, especially when you face a Saints team that is averaging 27.7 points per game, which is 3rd best in the NFL.
The caliber of team the Seahawks play this time around is much different from past foes, and the argument could be made it will be their toughest opponent they face since New England came to town last year, and the Seahawks won 24-23.
Let’s not also forget that their starting right cornerback, Walter Thurmond, has just been suspended four games by the NFL for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. They are already without starting cornerback Brandon Browner, who has been out with a groin injury since facing Atlanta on November 10th.
All that being said, this is honestly just ‘stuff’ at this point. We all must respect the ’12th Man’ up there. Why? As per Seahawks.com, they lead the NFL with 121 opponent false start penalties.
It will be a damn fine game, and that’s all we hope for, but one has to believe there’s more pressure on the Seahawks to beat the Saints at home, yet again, and keep their impressive streak in tact.
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