The Seahawks are 6-5 and in first place in the NFC West after beating the Cardinals on Sunday, Seattle's second straight win over a division opponent having beating the 49ers in Week 11. Next up is a trip east to face the New York Jets, but before we turn our attention to that game, it's time once again to open up the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans.

As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

**@ethanorloff.bsky.social** asks, "If you could add one more component to this defense, what would it be?"

A: My first thought when I read that question was, why get greedy when the defense is playing so well. But if Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald can say he’s “still hungry to improve” on defense after a dominant performance against the Cardinals, then I guess we can go ahead and get greedy.

And as luck would have it, the thing I'd probably add to what has been an outstanding defense of late is what the defense appears to be adding soon, which is another top-notch edge rusher. Uchenna Nwosu, who was arguably the team's best defensive player for a season and a half before suffering a season-ending injury midway through last season, is expected to return to practice this week, and while Macdonald said Nwosu won't play this weekend, his return to practice means he'll likely be back sooner than later.

Seattle has already gotten really good outside linebacker play out of Derick Hall, Boye Mafe and Dre'Mont Jones, so I'm not saying they need Nwosu back because they're struggling at that spot, but if ever there is a position where you can't have too many good players, it's pass rushers. Adding Nwosu to that already productive trio should make what has already been a good pass rush even better, plus, Nwosu is a very good run defender, so he can add to that facet of the defense which has already shown a lot of improvement in recent weeks.

Macdonald was asked recently what he'd like to see his defense do even better after a couple of really strong performances, and he answered that he'd like to see more turnovers. And there's not better way to produce more turnovers than to find more ways to disrupt a quarterback, something Nwosu does very well.

**@anon-a-mus.bsky.social** asks, "Can I pull off the reverse flying crotch grab after serving the Thanksgiving turkey?"

A: Can you pull it off? I have no idea. Should you try it? Absolutely. And please alert a family member/friend to film it.

Mailbag regular @MrEd315 asks, "Will a 10-7 record be good enough to win the NFC West, or do you think the Seahawks need to win five of the last six to leave no doubt?"

A: With all four teams clustered so close together, it's just so hard to predict how the division will play out over the next six weeks. Also, who the wins/losses come against could make a big difference as well. If, for example, the Seahawks won their final two division games over the Cardinals and Rams, I'd like their chances of winning the division at 10-7 a lot more than I would if they were to lose those two and win the other four to get to that same record. Looking at Arizona's schedule in particular, they have some pretty favorable matchups following their Week 14 game against Seattle, so it would go a long ways for the Seahawks to beat them again, not just to gain a game in the standings, but also to have that tiebreaker by beating them twice.

Obviously the Seahawks would love to just win the rest of the games and not have to worry about anything else, but if they drop a game or two, it's just too hard to predict at this point what every other team in a tightly packed NFC West field will do going forward.

@AizazRashed asks, "If Geno Smith continues his trend of playing excellent but making fatal mistakes far too often, are the Seahawks going to extend him?"

A: First off, I'm going to push back on the notion that Smith is making "fatal mistakes" at a high rate. Yes, there have been too many interceptions, and he's the first to acknowledge that fact, but the majority of his interceptions have been the result of a lot more than just Smith's decision making/accuracy. For every interception like last week's, on which Smith simply appeared to not see a defensive back sliding back into coverage before firing a pass towards Tyler Lockett after scrambling to avoid a pass rush, there have been multiple interceptions caused by Smith getting hit, or by balls getting tipped by linemen who made their way into the backfield, or that hit off the hands of the intended target.

And again, Smith is the first to own those interceptions and say they can't happen, regardless of mitigating circumstances, but if you're trying to make an honest assessment of his play, especially when considering the lack of a consistent run game and the pressure he has been under in a lot of games, those factors are part of the equation, and so far this season there has been way more good than bad from Smith.

As for his future, that's definitely above my paygrade, but we can at least read a little bit into what Smith's coaches say about him, and Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb have praised their quarterback pretty consistently throughout the season. There has been nothing in Smith's play to indicate he is any sort of decline—if anything he's running better and throwing the ball as well or better than in either of his previous two seasons as Seattle's starter—so keeping Smith around beyond next season, the final year of his current deal, could make a lot of sense. Again, I know nothing of the Seahawks' long-term plans at that position, but what I do know is that Smith is a really good quarterback, and those aren't easy to come by in the NFL.

**@spokanejester.bsky.social** asks, "Was the lack of DE pressure a scheme choice to keep Kyler Murray in the pocket? It was odd to see the DL win so often, but not coming from the outside, except when Leonard Williams was lined up there."

A: There was some edge pressure, including, as you mentioned, a sack from Leonard Williams when he was lined up outside, and Boye Mafe also had a sack early in the game off the edge. And while Macdonald didn't get into specifics on Seattle's pass-rush plan—they do face Arizona again in a couple week, after all—he did say a key to sacking a mobile quarterback is for everyone to rush together as a team, and it's not uncommon to hear coaches talk about trying to contain on the edge vs. aggressively rush a quarterback who can run like Murray can, so it's very possible that was somewhat by design.

Also, it's just tough for edge rushers to get home faster than an interior rusher can get there when said interior rusher is dominating the way Williams was throughout the game.

@WeaponNext asks, "In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which is better: fresh cranberry sauce or canned?

A: For actual taste, I'd definitely lean towards fresh cranberry sauce, but on the other hand, the nostalgic value is through the roof when it comes to canned cranberry sauce. I definitely remember slicing into that stuff as a kid and enjoying it, even when fresh cranberry sauce was also available.

@wenfot asks, "Did Marshawn Lynch end up helping Coby Bryant out with the fine?"

A: For those who missed it, Bryant acknowledged that he's likely going to get fined for his touchdown celebration, that was an homage to Lynch's famous celebration after two of his most famous touchdown runs, one of which came against the Cardinals, and the other, of course, being the famous "Beast Quake" run against the Saints in the playoffs. Bryant jokingly suggested—or maybe he was serious—that Lynch might help him out with that fine, but if that were to happen, it wouldn't have yet. The NFL usually assesses fines late in the week, so we'll probably see word leak out on social media on Friday or so if Bryant is fined.

Knowing Lynch the little bit that I do, and hearing stories from teammates, coaches and others that know him, I honestly would not be even the slightest bit surprised if Lynch did try to help Bryant out in some way, but also knowing Lynch the little bit that I do, I doubt anything he would do to help Bryant out would be made public, at least not by Lynch. More than you or I or just about anyone else knows, Lynch has done a lot of generous things for teammates, the community in Seattle and especially his hometown of Oakland, and plenty of others he has crossed paths with, but he very rarely has done so with any fanfare.