Oluwatimi was a ‘catalyst’ of Seahawks’ big run plays against Cardinals

Every great team will find a way to overcome obstacles, which include injuries. The Seattle Seahawks have won seven of their nine games played through ten weeks of the season because they’ve found ways to overcome the injuries that could’ve plagued their team.

Seattle has been hit hard since the start of the season in the secondary, mostly in their starters. Only safeties Coby Bryant and Ty Okada and backup cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett have played all nine games this season. Within the last few games, the receiver corps has also seen some injuries along with their key role players.

The Seahawks dominated the Cardinals at home in Week 10 with a 44-22 score by being solid through all three phases of the game. They weren't perfect, but the team found a way to overwhelm the Cardinals.

There were some hiccups against the Cardinals as they had one of their key players on offense go down. In the third quarter, Seahawks center Jalen Sundell went down with a knee injury and wasn't able to return. This forced Olusegun Oluwatimi to step up and take the first-string center duties.

His first play in the game didn't go well as his snap to quarterback Sam Darnold was mishandled, resulting in the first three turnovers for the Seahawks. Once Oluwatimi was able to slow down and take some more practice snaps, there were fewer concerns about his play.

As a matter of fact, Oluwatimi had one of the more positive performances for the Seahawks' offense, despite only playing in 33 plays. Pro Football Focus gave Oluwatimi an overall grade of 80.2, which is the fourth-highest of either team on the offensive side of the ball and the third-highest Seahawk.

On Monday, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald talked about Oluwatimi's performance and how it helped propel the running game.

“Man, really excited for Olu. Talk about staying ready, and when his opportunity presented itself, he played some really good football for us. He’s really the catalyst behind a lot of those runs.”

When Sundell went down with the knee injury, the Seahawks started to focus more on the running game. Outside of fumble yards and quarterback kneels, the Seahawks rushed for approximately 173 yards with Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, and George Holani.

The offensive line and the Seahawks' rushing offense, as a whole, played their best game of the season. Oluwatimi was a big reason to set the tone for the offensive line to carve efficient running lanes for the ball carriers.

Macdonald reiterated in the press conference on Monday, like he did after the postgame conference after the win over Arizona, that Sundell will miss some time with the possibility of going on IR.

All the Seahawks could do was adapt by getting Oluwatimi prepped and ready to be the Seahawks' starting center for some time. He will have a first tough start in Week 11 as the Seahawks go on the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams (7-2). Oluwatimi played well once he adjusted. He might be a surprise, like Okada has after moving up to a starter after an injury to a first-string player.

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