By Bob Condotta

The Seattle Times

Another week, another game for the Seahawks against a team leading the NFC East.

On Nov. 30 the Seahawks played an Eagles team that led the NFC East. After beating the Eagles, the Seahawks played a Giants team that had ascended to the division lead.

Now, after a brief sojourn into the AFC East against the Jets, Seattle again faces an NFC East leader, the Washington Football Team. The WFT has won four in a row to climb to 6-7 and a game ahead of the rest of the East teams.

The Seahawks hope to move to 3-1 against the East and get out of the game as healthy as possible, with an NFC West showdown on tap next week against the Rams — a game that has far more meaning in the Seahawks’ playoff picture.

Here are some keys to Sunday’s game:

Matchup to watch: Seattle’s offensive tackles vs. Washington defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young

Young was the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and appears to be emerging as a game-changer. He got the better of 49ers right tackle Trent Williams last week when he had a strip sack and a fumble return for a touchdown. He has 5.5 sacks this season and has the 12th-highest grade by Pro Football Focus for defensive ends. Sweat, the 26th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has seven sacks and is graded 13th by PFF. Young figures to go up most often against Seattle left tackle Duane Brown, who is having a Pro Bowl-caliber year. But it’s less clear who will be on Seattle’s right side. The Seahawks hope Brandon Shell can shake off an ankle injury and start. If not, it probably would be Cedric Ogbuehi. Seattle also will count heavily on its tight ends and running backs to protect quarterback Russell Wilson.

Players to watch: WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett

Washington has been an increasingly difficult team to run against, holding each of the past five opponents to 105 yards rushing or fewer. Just one running back has gained 70 yards since Week 4. That could put the onus on the Seahawks’ passing game, and particularly Metcalf and Lockett, who both are approaching milestones. Metcalf, second in the NFL in yards with 1,180, needs 108 to break Steve Largent’s team record for most receiving yards in a season (1,287 in 1985). Lockett needs 114 yards for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. He would become the sixth player in club history to achieve that feat. If he reaches 1,000, it would mark only the second time in team history Seattle has had two 1,000-yard receivers, the other coming in 1995 (Brian Blades, Joey Galloway).

Coaching decision to watch: Which returning players to use, and how much?

Seattle’s lineup will be bolstered by the expected return of a handful of players over the next week or so — running back Rashaad Penny, receiver Josh Gordon, tight end Greg Olsen, cornerback Quinton Dunbar and defensive end Damontre Moore. Gordon can’t play until the Rams game, but the others were back at practice this week and could play against Washington. As of Friday morning, no decisions had been made about who, if any, will return this week. Penny and Dunbar seem the closest, though, and both could play major roles Sunday if they return.

The X-factor: 10 a.m. starts

This is Seattle’s last of four 10 a.m. starts in the regular season. Early starts used to be a thing for Seattle fans to dread. Instead, in recent years it’s become a nice way to start a Sunday as the Seahawks are 18-7 in their last 25 early starts, 10-1 since 2018 and 7-1 the past two years. But the most recent one was not fun — a 44-34 loss at Buffalo in which the Seahawks trailed 14-0 by the time they ran their fourth offensive play. And Seattle has not been a quick-starting team of late. After scoring 50 points in the first quarter of the first six games of the year, the Seahawks have scored just 30 in the past seven. The first quarter now is Seattle’s lowest-scoring quarter of the year at an average of 6.2 points per game. The Seahawks are averaging 7.7 points or better in every other quarter.

Player who could surprise: Linebacker Jordyn Brooks

Seattle went mostly with a nickel defense against the Jets last week before unloading the bench in the fourth quarter, which meant first-round draft pick Brooks played just 18 snaps (nickel corner Ugo Amadi had 39). But those numbers were the opposite the week before against the run-heavy Giants (Brooks 43, Amadi 13). They could return to that sort of split against Washington, where Job No. 1 for the Seahawks will be stopping the run, especially if backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins is playing instead of veteran Alex Smith. Brooks has quietly jumped to eighth on the team in tackles with 38.

Key stat: 16.2 ppg

That’s the average points allowed per game by Seattle’s defense over the past five games, third-fewest in the NFL behind New Orleans (13.0) and Pittsburgh (15.2). You can pick at the schedule and the list of quarterbacks played along the way (though that does include both the Rams and second Arizona game) if you want. But that’s also the point. The Seahawks defense got healthier and better (adding Carlos Dunlap) at the same time the schedule started to turn and games around the league started to become lower scoring. That all seemed to prove coach Pete Carroll right, that there was never anything fatally wrong with Seattle’s overall defensive structure. But each week is a new week.

Prediction: Seahawks 23, Washington 16

This game always loomed as somewhat dangerous — a late-season trip east before NFC West showdowns with the Rams and 49ers. It looks no easier now, as Washington is among the NFL’s hottest teams and has a rugged defensive front. But Washington has an uncertain quarterback situation with Smith hobbling and Haskins unproven. That could open the door for Seattle to escape with a victory.