RENTON, Wash. – Don’t think for a moment that Nick Emmanwori lacks confidence. In himself, or his teammates.
The NFC championship game was a night for Emmanwori, the latest rookie defensive back to immediately step into a significant role for the Seahawks, to be in the spotlight on multiple accounts.
For some plays on the field. For some moments on the sideline.
Much like when the Rams and Seahawks met in Week 16, the NFC title game wasn’t the best night for Seattle’s defensive backs trying to slow Matthew Stafford. Almost everyone ended up having a moment to shine and maybe a moment or two they’d like to have back.
The one exception may have been Emmanwori, who with every step continues to look like a second-round steal by general manager John Schneider.
Emmanwori had five tackles and broke up three passes, two of them on consecutive plays late in the first half that set the stage for the late touchdown that gave the Seahawks a 17-13 halftime lead. Emmanwori knocked away passes intended for Puka Nacua and Ronnie Rivers and forced a three-and-out that proved to be a critical turning point.
In the locker room after the victory, Emmanwori was asked if he makes those plays at the start of the season, or if it’s been part of his improvement during his rookie year. And that’s when some of that confidence came through.
“That’s a play I would have made in Week 1. I’ve always had my confidence as a player,” Emmanwori said. “It didn’t matter if it was Puka (Nacua) or it was a running back, I’m super confident in who I am. That was a play I would have made in training camp. Just routine. I put the work in, drill work and it just showed up in the game.”
That was what Emmanwori did on the field. Then there was what he did on the sideline when he had a few heated words for Riq Woolen in the second half after Woolen’s taunting penalty that kept alive a drive for the Rams that was capped by a touchdown pass to Nacua.
Emmanwori was not happy and the teammates briefly had to be sent different directions. But it ended up becoming a subplot rather than a focal point thanks to the Seahawks winning.
“Guys weren’t really upset. It was just a competitive game. … We were just telling him to stay in the game, we’re going to need you later on. Guys weren’t really going at each other. We’re just two competitive guys, competitive team, a lot of alpha males. But that’s my brother. We have a bond like that.”
On Monday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald continued to rave about what he saw from Emmanwori and his importance.
“I thought Nick had a great game. I think that the difference between this game and San Francisco is I think he handled his kind of emotional sweet spot better,” Macdonald said. “He was in more like an operative mode and just played great football and really affected the game. If you don’t have those pass breakups, I think there’s a different outcome.”
Injury report
Macdonald said left tackle Charles Cross made it through Sunday’s game without issue with his foot other than some soreness. He was also unclear about the plan for Sam Darnold and whether his oblique will continue to limit what he does in practice.
There is some uncertainty around special teams standout Brady Russell and a little with linebacker Drake Thomas. Russell suffered an injury to his left hand in the second half and had the hand wrapped during the postgame celebrations.
Thomas suffered a shoulder injury.
“Don’t know the extent of practice availability and all that, but it’s just a shoulder right now,” Macdonald said of Thomas.
Pro Bowl replacements
With the Seahawks making the Super Bowl, a handful of players set to participate in the Pro Bowl Games will need to be replaced.
Darnold, Rashid Shaheed, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence were all named to the Pro Bowl.
The most notable reported replacement on Monday was Cleveland QB Shedeur Sanders being added in place of Patriots QB Drake Maye.
Top 5 QBs
Maybe it’s a California thing?
This will be just the third Super Bowl all-time where two quarterbacks selected in the top five of their respective drafts will be the starters. Darnold was selected No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in 2018, while Maye was the No. 3 pick by the Patriots in 2024.
Only twice before has that happened and both times the Super Bowl was played in California. Super Bowl L, which was also played at Levi’s Stadium, featured a pair of No. 1 overall picks with Peyton Manning leading Denver to a win over Carolina and Cam Newton.
Six years later, in Super Bowl LVI played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, it was again a pair of former No. 1 picks clashing as Matthew Stafford and the Rams got the best of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Not only is it just the third matchup of top five picks meeting, it’ll be the first one where both quarterbacks are under the age of 30 and the first one that doesn’t include a No. 1 overall selection.
Bay Area setup
Reports from the Bay Area say that the Seahawks will be using the 49ers locker room at Levi’s Stadium, but they will not be using the 49ers practice facility.
The Seahawks will be set up with San Jose State as their base for the Super Bowl, holding all their practices there before the game. New England will be using the facilities a few miles up the road in Palo Alto at Stanford for the week.
As part of the yearly rotation, the AFC team is the home team for Super Bowl LX. In perhaps a good sign for the Seahawks, that was also the case for the Super Bowl they won.