‘Hawks win despite recent defensive struggles, Kraken drop two-straight

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks escaped Los Angeles against the Rams on Sunday, and the Seattle Kraken saw their franchise record seven-game win streak snapped with back-to-back losses. Check out this week’s pro sports recap with updates on the two squads.

Seahawks

Seattle got back in the win column with a 27-23 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, where quarterback Geno Smith found receiver DK Metcalf on an eight-yard touchdown to snap a two-game skid.

Rookie running back Kenneth Walker III left the game in the first half with an ankle injury, which forced the Seahawks to shift to more of a passing attack in the second half. Smith completed 28 of 39 passes for 367 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His pass attempts were the most since Seattle’s Week 3 loss to Atlanta and the 367 yards were the most for Smith in his career.

Against a struggling Los Angeles offense without quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the Seattle defense allowed over 300 total yards to the Rams on Sunday, a mark the team has now crossed just six times in 12 games this season. In the Seahawks’ 12 games in 2022, the defense has held opponents under 300 total yards only twice (New York Giants on Oct. 30 and Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 6).

Helping to mitigate the NFL’s third worst defense in terms of yards allowed per game are the 21 total takeaways, which is tied for second in the league. Linebacker Cody Barton intercepted his second pass in the last five games and cornerback Tariq Woolen picked off his sixth pass of the year, tied for an NFL-high and set the franchise record for interceptions by a rookie.

Up next for the Seahawks are the 4-8 Carolina Panthers at home, whose 291.3 offensive yards per game are tied for the third-fewest in the NFL this season.

Kraken

After a wild 9-8 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings last Tuesday, which gave Seattle its longest win streak (6) in the franchise’s young history, the Kraken returned home for a three-game stand against the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.

The streak extended to seven games with a 3-2 overtime win over the Capitals last Thursday, where center Matty Beniers scored just seven seconds into the overtime period to give the Kraken a 3-2 win.

Washington scored two goals in the first period, but the Kraken chipped away with a second-period goal by center Jaden Schwartz and again in the third period by center Yanni Gourde to tie the game with under three minutes remaining in regulation.

Seattle’s seven-game win streak was snapped with a 5-1 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on a power play goal just 26 seconds after their first goal of the game, and scored again in the second period and twice more in the third. It was the second time this season that Seattle has lost by four goals, dating back to its 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 17.

Seattle’s previous five-game win streak from Oct. 29-Nov. 8 was immediately followed by a two-game skid, where the Kraken find themselves now. In a home game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Kraken found themselves down 3-1 just over two minutes into the second period and down 4-2 at the beginning of the third. Unable to come back, the loss dropped Seattle to 15-7-2 on the year, second in the Pacific Division behind the Vegas Golden Knights.

Up over the next week for the Kraken is a road trip to Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay.

Ian Bivona can be reached via email at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.