Seahawks are officially in 'true Super Bowl contenders' tier
The Seattle Seahawks are catching many people's attention after a 44-22 win in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals to improve to 7-2 on the season.
The Seahawks currently have the best record in the NFC, giving them a shot at competing for a Super Bowl. ESPN believes the Seahawks are one of four true Super Bowl contenders.
"Quarterback Sam Darnold arrived in Seattle and proved all the critics -- myself among them -- wrong," ESPN analyst Seth Walder wrote.
"Darnold is playing light-years ahead of where he was last season in Minnesota, and that has the Seahawks third in EPA per dropback. Back-to-back blowouts that flexed the Seahawks' strengths on both sides of the ball not only cemented them as a near-certain playoff team, but also a Super Bowl contender."
The Seahawks are in the top tier of Super Bowl contenders alongside the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.
The NFC has a number of teams very close to one another, so the Seahawks will have to find a way to escape from the pack in some way during the second half of the season.
"Seattle has one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses despite a rushing attack that can't get off the ground. It isn't for lack of trying," ESPN insider Brady Henderson wrote.
"No team has a higher designed rush rate than the Seahawks (50.9%), yet they ranked 28th in yards per carry (3.8). It hasn't helped that Seattle has faced the most boxes with at least eight defenders of any team. The Seahawks hope the addition of speedy receiver Rashid Shaheed will create fewer defenders in the box, which could help open the run game."
The Seahawks ran the ball for 198 yards in their win against the Cardinals, which was their highest rushing total of the season. Granted, they were ahead by multiple scores for pretty much the entire game, but it was a sign of what the team is capable of.
The Seahawks will look to keep their winning streak going in Week 11 against the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Saints' Kellen Moore Gives Chase Young Injury Update
The New Orleans Saints have been missing one of the biggest pieces of their defense to begin the 2025 National Football League season.
New Orleans re-signed Chase Young this past offseason to a three-year, $51 million deal after spending the 2024 season with the Saints. Young played 17 games for the Saints last year and had 5 1/2 sacks and 31 total tackles. That was tied with Carl Granderson for second on the team behind Bryan Bresee who had 7 1/2.
Young has missed the Saints' first three games of the season while dealing with a calf injury. On Wednesday, the Saints released their initial Injury Report of the week and it was shared that Young missed practice once again. Young was joined by Dillon Radunz who also missed practice on Wednesday.
The New Orleans Saints got an update
While this is the case, Saints head coach Kellen More had a positive update about the pass rusher on Wednesday. Moore shared that Young is "close" to returning, as shared by Jeff Noawk of Audacy Sports.
"Chase (Young) is close," Moore said. "He’s progressing."
That's obviously not much to go off of, but it is positive at the very least. Young is a big piece for this team. Back early on this offseason, it wasn't clear what direction the Saints would go in. They weren't in a great position salary cap-wise and it seemed like Young would be too expensive to return Instead, the Saints restructured some deals and ended up re-signing the 26-year-old.
When he initially went down with the calf injury, he talked about how he was feeling good.
"I feel good, very good. I feel good, that's all I'm going to say," Young said. He also said “Hell no” when asked if it is a long-term issue.
But, this is a calf issue we're talking about. Especially with all of the Achilles injuries going around, it's important to take care of calf injuries and not get hasty. Hopefully, he's able to return as soon as this weekend, but it's important to not rush a soft-tissue injury like the calf.
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