Overreaction Monday: 49ers Team To Beat In NFC? Seahawks Can't Win Without Kenneth Walker?

Sunday's NFL slate somehow had a little bit of everything.

We arguably had the best game of the young season, with the San Francisco 49ers taking down the Seattle Seahawks in a thriller to remain undefeated. The Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars had two lead changes in the final 15 seconds of their game in London. Sunday also brought us our first tie of the year, and a rare headliner trade on a game day that helps set the course for an interesting trade deadline. 

Suffice it to say, Sunday brought us a lot of things we could overreact to. Which overreactions are legitimate, and which ones aren't? Let's break it down. 

With the win over the Seahawks, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan erased the perception that he can’t defeat a Mike Macdonald-led defense. And with the win, the 49ers are 3-0 against the Broncos, Seahawks and Rams this season, becoming the first team since the 1981 Broncos to record three wins in their first five games against teams that reached a conference championship game the previous season.

It’s the third time San Francisco has started the season 5-0 under Shanahan. The previous two instances (2019 and 2023), the 49ers reached the Super Bowl.

Conclusion: Not an overreaction

The 49ers also easily handled the Super Bowl champions of the offseason, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in Australia to start the year. Brock Purdy is the frontrunner for league MVP, even though he struggled at times against one of the best defenses in the league on the road at Seattle.

And receiver Mike Evans has been one of the best free-agent additions of the offseason, finishing with game highs in receiving yards (113) and receptions (7). Through the first part of the regular season, the 49ers have shown the NFC goes through Levi’s Stadium.

Kenneth Walker played his best when the games mattered most, leading the Seahawks to a championship last season. That was particularly true in Super Bowl LX, when he ran for 135 yards and earned the game's MVP honors. 

But that wasn't enough for Walker to stay in Seattle this offseason. The Seahawks promptly let Walker go in free agency, where he signed a three-year, $45 million contract extension to join the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. Paired with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Walker has been the most dominant running back in the NFL, leading the league in rushing yards.

That move has led to some second-guessing in Seattle, which drafted Jadarian Price with its first-round pick in April's draft. The Seahawks are also awaiting the return of Zach Charbonnet, who is still on injured reserve due to a knee ailment he suffered last season. 

Conclusion: Not an overreaction

Price has failed to come close to Walker's production so far, dealing with fumble issues (he's lost two fumbles) before recently landing on IR due a chest injury. With Charbonnet still out, the combination of free-agent pickup Emanuel Wilson and George Holani hasn’t produced the same explosive running game with Walker in the backfield last year.

That wasn't apparent in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. The Seahawks were averaging 110 rushing yards a contest entering Week 5 and had just 86 in a loss to San Francisco. Holani had two costly fumbles, including one recovered by San Francisco rookie defensive lineman Gracen Halton for a touchdown. During the team’s Super Bowl run, the Seahawks averaged 130 rushing yards a contest and did not turn the ball over in the postseason.

With the running game falling short, Sam Darnold has had to deal with a larger burden. That hasn't produced great results, with Darnold throwing two interceptions on Sunday. Of the three games Darnold has started and finished this season, he's thrown multiple interceptions in two of them — and both resulted in losses. 

The Cardinals finally pulled the trigger by trading Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans. The Cardinals received pretty good compensation, netting a second- and sixth-round pick while also sending a seventh-rounder with Harrison to consummate the deal.

With the move, the Cardinals give up on developing the No. 4 overall selection in the 2024 draft just three years into his NFL career, while Harrison gets a chance at a fresh start in a new environment with someone he had a lot of success with at Ohio State in Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud.

But will the deal help change the course of the Texans' season? 

Conclusion: Overreaction

Considered the best receiver in his draft class and one of the best receiver prospects in years, Harrison has to take some ownership and accountability for things not going well in Arizona. But he also wasn’t the only one to blame, as the Cardinals did not do a great job of putting Harrison in positions to excel based on his skill set and surrounding him with proper talent. 

That said, there are now no excuses for Harrison. He must figure out how to produce for a new team in a new offense, and that transition will likely take some time. And there isn't much time for the Texans to figure it out. Sure, they won on Sunday, but they're 1-4 and face the 4-1 Jacksonville Jaguars in London next week. 

In a week where folks openly questioned whether the Eagles have given up on the season, Nick Sirianni made another questionable decision that led to an improbable 57-yard game-winning field goal by Jaguars' kicker Cam Little. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-3 on the year, marking another woeful defeat in a year where the NFC East feels very winnable. 

The Eagles appeared to have won the game after Jalen Hurts marched the offense into scoring position and Jake Elliott drilled a 48-yarder with eight seconds left. However, instead of instructing Elliott to kick the ball into the end zone, he placed it in the field of play and Ameer Abdullah returned it 53 yards to put Jacksonville into field goal position for the winning score.

Bottom line: Philadelphia lost a game it should have won, and Sirianni is shouldering the blame for the loss.

Conclusion: Not an overreaction

Sirianni has had success in Philadelphia, winning two NFC titles and a Super Bowl in five seasons, but Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is more concerned about what his head coach has done for him lately. And through five games this season, it’s been a hot mess for Philadelphia.

But this is when teams led by Sirianni are usually at their best — when everyone counts them out and their backs are against the wall. And after Lane Johnson’s retirement and the trade of center Cam Jurgens, it appears that everyone will shovel dirt over the Eagles' season, especially after Sunday's loss.

However, if Sirianni is going to orchestrate an in-season turnaround this year, he's going to need to overcome some early obstacles. The Eagles continue to struggle in the second half of games. In 18 drives in the second half this season, Philadelphia has 10 three-and-outs and is 2-of-20 on third down, per FOX Sports Research. Philadelphia has managed just three points in the second half all season.

While the defense has kept them competitive, Sirianni has struggled to get the offense right. And down three starters on the offensive line, two running backs and No. 1 receiver DeVonta Smith, the Eagles have failed to consistently find answers under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

And Sirianni might end up paying the price. 

In a rivalry game where both head coaches don’t like each other, Jordan Love finally played like the MVP candidate NFL prognosticators expected to see this season. Love completed 80.6% of his passes for 367 yards and two scores in the Green Bay Packers' decisive win over the Chicago Bears. For the second time this season, Love didn’t throw an interception. 

Christian Watson (143 yards) and Matthew Golden (123) both had 100-yard receiving performances, as the Bears struggled to defend the deep ball. Green Bay’s much-maligned offensive line did a decent job of keeping Love upright for the most part, as he was sacked just twice. Love finished with six completions of at least 20 yards.

Conclusion: Overreaction

As good as Green Bay’s passing game looked, it still struggled to run the football. Other than bulldozing his way for two scores, MarShawn Lloyd finished with just 31 rushing yards. Entering Sunday’s contest, the Packers were rushing for a league-low 58 yards per game. The running game didn’t look any better against the Bears, as they ran for 70 yards on Sunday.

Also, rookie kicker Trey Smack missed two field goals and an extra point. With the inevitable close games that playoff-contending teams play late in the year, the Packers are going to need more consistency from their young kicker.

The Las Vegas Raiders lost their second game in a row, and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins wasn’t at his best. Cousins completed 67.9% of his passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, posting a 106.7 passer rating. But his numbers were better than his play might suggest, with the Raiders scoring just 10 points through the first three quarters. 

As a result, the Raiders were boat-raced by the New England Patriots, 45-17, and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza got his first taste fo regular-season action when he closed out the day. He finished 6 of 8 for 48 yards in mop-up duty, getting into the red zone in his only drive before turning the ball over on downs. 

Conclusion: Overreaction

The Raiders paid Cousins good money for a reason, and that was to take the pounding in the tough part of the first half of the schedule. And with the Raiders getting off to a surprising 3-2 start, Cousins should be the quarterback for the next six games as they face the Bills, Rams, Seahawks, Broncos and 49ers.

It’s better for Cousins to see if he can get through that gauntlet in one piece and give Mendoza two weeks to prepare for his first start after the bye in Week 12. More importantly for Cousins and Mendoza is the Raiders figuring out how to effectively run the football to create balance on offense. Las Vegas finished with just 38 rushing yards against New England.

Needing a jumpstart on offense, the Jaguars leaned on Washington to create some big plays, and he produced. Washington finished with six receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 51-yard score to start the game, while the other was a pretty, one-handed catch for a score in the fourth quarter.

Washington entered Sunday tied for third in touchdowns (4) and ninth in receiving yards (352). Should a performance like Sunday's solidify Washington's spot among the game's top pass-catchers? 

Conclusion: Not an overreaction

My colleague and Jaguars radio announcer Bucky Brooks has pointed out Washington’s consistent work ethic and compared him to another explosive playmaker: Carolina Panthers icon Steve Smith Sr. Washington led the Jaguars in receiving last season and is one of the reasons quarterback Trevor Lawrence is in the MVP conversation for a second straight season. 

Now, it looks like the duo might be ready to take the next step.