Sneaky detail behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s touchdown catch has Seahawks offense on the verge of becoming elite
Smith-Njigba is one of the NFL’s best receivers, but now he has legitimate help and it will take the Seahawks offense to the next level.
The Seattle Seahawks came into its Week 12 matchup against the Tennessee Titans favored by double digits, with some books even favoring them by two touchdowns.
Well, that quickly turned on its head as the Seahawks found themselves in a bit of a fight a little more than one quarter into the game. Tied up at three points apiece, they needed a big play in order to create some breathing room and keep the Titans at bay, to an extent.
In times of need, the best players step up and make big plays and that’s exactly what star wideout Jaxson Smith-Njigba did on his beautiful 63-yard touchdown reception that got the wheels moving for Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense.
It was a fantastic play, so A to Z NFL’s Kyle Crabbs has entered the chat to break it down and tell us how it all came to fruition on Sunday.
Smith-Njigba is no match for any safety and the Titans learned that the hard way
Kyle: Sam Darnold’s alarm bells started going off immediately on this one. Seattle aligned in a 3×2 formation facing 3rd & 6, with Smith-Njigba aligned as part of a tight formation to his left with TE AJ Barner and WR Rashid Shaheed.
Smith-Njigba was sent in motion, and Tennessee’s defensive adjustment was to check the coverage and roll safety Amani Hooker over-top of him as the new No. 3 to Darnold’s right. The snap of the ball gave Smith-Njigba a free release with 10 yards of cushion against a safety in coverage — a tough spot to be in for a safety! There was no nuance needed on this route as a result, with Smith-Njigba opening up his stride and stacking Hooker vertically before supplying a subtle nudge at the catch point to ensure a clean reception.
Hooker tumbled harmlessly to the turf, while Smith-Njigba trotted into the end zone. There was an outside chance Hooker could have had support from fellow safety Kevin Winston Jr. on the play, but Winston Jr. started in a split shell opposite the passing concept involved. He did push to the middle of the field as if he were going to play a single-high safety on the play, but appeared more concerned with a glance route from Shaheed or catching a crossing pattern from Smith-Njigba from the opposite side of the field — Winston Jr. barely got off the far hash before driving on the glance by Shaheed to leave Hooker on an island against Smith-Njigba downfield.
Evan: This play perfectly encapsulates the kind of effect Rashid Shaheed will continue to have on the Seahawks’ passing attack. Smith-Njigba now has a bonafide No. 2 wideout next to him, which helps take pressure and focus off the third-year star. Shaheed’s big-play ability has to be accounted for on every snap and defenses will have to pick their poison when it comes to stopping Shaheed or JSN.
It’ll trickle throughout the offense, as well. Now, Cooper Kupp should see more favorable matchups and Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet should see lighter boxes as defenses play more “top-down” styles of coverage where they limit the big play, but let things happen underneath/in the intermediate areas.
This touchdown got things going for the Seahawks offense, as Sam Darnold helped the unit amass 30 points on Sunday. Of all the trades that were made a couple of weeks ago, the Shaheed one could prove to be the most valuable and it could vault Darnold and Co. to the top of the mountain.
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