INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In a game in which they suffered a potentially big loss due to injury — receiver DK Metcalf — the Seahawks also accomplished a rather lofty goal.
First place in the NFC West.
Seattle’s 37-23 win over the Chargers here at SoFi Stadium Sunday coupled with a loss by the 49ers against Kansas City put the Seahawks a half-game ahead of the rest of the division at 4-3.
But maybe even more impressive was the manner in which the Seahawks got there, with their defense playing its second straight stellar game — holding an offense ranked seventh in the NFL coming into the game to 329 yards — and the offense making big play after big play to keep the Chargers at bay, even despite playing without Metcalf for the final three quarters.
The last was a 74-yard TD run by rookie Kenneth Walker III with 6:56 remaining that put Seattle up 37-16. It was the longest run for the Seahawks since 2016 and capped a big day for Walker in his second career start — he had 168 yards on 23 carries.
It was a game that featured wild swings of emotion and momentum, with the Seahawks leading 17-0 at the end of the first quarter, seeing that lead cut to 17-14 during a second quarter in which they learned of Metcalf’s injury, then outscoring the Chargers 20-2 to put the game away before Los Angeles tallied a garbage-time TD.
Geno Smith, returning to play against the team he played for in 2018 before signing with Seattle, showed the Chargers what they were missing by completing 20 of 27 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, both in the first half to Marquise Goodwin.
Much of that came after the Seahawks learned of the loss of Metcalf for the rest of the game.
Metcalf was apparently injured on a play when he leapt to try to grab a Smith pass in the left corner of the end zone with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. The pass fell incomplete as Metcalf got tangled with Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson.
Metcalf was examined on the sidelines and carted off the field. He was then ruled out of the game with a knee injury.
Metcalf had one catch for 12 yards in the game before being injured.
Metcalf, in his fourth season with the Seahawks, signed a three-year, $72 million extension with the Seahawks before the season with $30 million guaranteed.
The Chargers also suffered a significant loss when Jackson left the game late in the second quarter with a knee injury.
Seattle scored the first 17 points, scoring on each of its first three possessions, before the Chargers scored 14 to get back in the game, and then Seattle scored just before the half.
Seattle had 223 yards in the first half to the Chargers’ 164.
Smith was intercepted for just the third time this year on Seattle’s first possession of the game when Asante Samuel Jr. broke up a pass intended for Lockett, with the ball flying into the air and picked off by Kenneth Murray Jr.
That gave the Chargers the ball at Seattle’s 41.
But the Chargers couldn’t get a first down, with rookie Boye Mafe leading a charge to stop Ekeler on a fourth-and-1 run from the 32. Safety Ryan Neal was credited with the tackle.
The Seahawks drove 68 yards in eight plays to take the lead on a 20-yard TD from Smith to Goodwin on third-and-14.
Earlier in the drive, Goodwin took a short pass for a 1-yard gain on third-and-1 to get the Seahawks into the red zone.
After the Chargers got one first down on their next drive they faced a third-and-7 at their own 43. Herbert tried to squeeze a pass in over the middle to DeAndre Carter, only for the ball to instead find the waiting arms of Neal, who caught it at the Seattle 44 and returned it to the Chargers 43.
Seattle’s red-hot offense needed just four plays to score a TD on a 12-yard run up the middle Walker behind a blistering block from center Austin Blythe.
The drive was kept alive by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Jerry Tillery after an incompletion by Smith on a second-and-10 play.
On the Chargers next possession, Darrell Taylor blew past right tackle Trey Pipkins III on a third-and-10 play, knocking the ball out of the arm of Herbert, with the ball bouncing into his hands. Taylor returned it 21 yards to the Chargers’ 19 before he was tackled by Herbert.
That led to a 46-yard field goal by Jason Myers to make it 17-0 with 1:08 remaining in the first quarter.
The Chargers then drove 75 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, the score coming on a 7-yard run by Ekeler.
On Seattle’s next possession, Dee Eskridge mishandled a pitch from Smith and Khalil Mack recovered at the Chargers’ 33. LA needed just six plays to turn that into another touchdown, this time on a 13-yard pass from Herbert to Mike Williams. That cut the lead to 17-14 with 9:33 to play in the first half.
But the Seahawks, after being forced to punt, forced a punt of their own and drove 73 yards in seven plays capped by a 23-yard pass from Smith to Goodwin with 1:40 to play.
That put Seattle up 24-14 at the half.
Seattle led 27-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Walker was tackled for a safety by Troy Reeder and Sebastian Joseph-Day for a safety with 14:17 remaining in the game to make it 27-16. The play came following a Chargers punt downed at the 2.
The Chargers took over on their own 29 following the free kick. But Seattle held the Chargers without a first down and drove for a 50-yard field goal by Jason Myers with 9:09 left to take a 30-16 lead.
After the Seahawks held on downs, Walker took a pitch around the right side and basically went untouched for a TD to make it 37-16.
And that was pretty much that.
