The Seahawks earned a big win over the 49ers in Santa Clara last weekend, and now they are getting ready to host the Cardinals with a chance to move into a tie for first place in the NFC West. But before we turn our attention to this week's matchups, let's first 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.

@holliwinters57 asks, "The offensive line seemed to perform well yesterday. Glad to see Abraham Lucas back. Does this look like the starting OL going forward, barring injuries?" While @segdeha asks "What effect did Abe Lucas' presence have on the play of the rest of the O-line?"

A: You're absolutely correct that the offensive line took a step in the right direction on Sunday, limiting the hits and pressure on Geno Smith while also cutting way back on penalties. It wasn't a flawless performance, but it was progress.

"People have been taking shots at our offensive line, but I thought our guys played really well today," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said after the game. "They protected Geno. I thought we really had a good protection plan."

The return of starting right tackle Abraham Lucas was certainly a factor, both because he's just a really good tackle, and also because he brings toughness and leadership that can rub off on his teammates. Having Lucas back will certainly benefit second-year right guard Anthony Bradford. Center Olu Oluwatimi also played well in his first start of the season, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that he didn't know he was starting until midweek when Connor Williams told the team he was retiring.

The line still has room to grow, to be sure, but if the starting five we saw Sunday can stay healthy, that continuity, as well as the quality play that Lucas and Oluwatimi brought to the group, should help the Seahawks line play at a higher level as the rest of the season plays out.

@MrEd315 asks, "What, if anything, can you attribute as to why the Seahawks have had better success on the road this season?"

A: As this question alludes to, the Seahawks have been better at home than on the road this season, going 3-1 on the road with wins over New England, Atlanta and San Francisco, while winning just two of six home games, their first two against Denver and Miami before losing four in a row.

Road success isn't a new thing for the Seahawks, they've consistently been a good road team for more than a decade now, winning 55 road games since 2013, the second most in the NFL over that span, which is pretty impressive considering Seattle is the most geographically isolated city in the NFL, meaning the Seahawks regularly are among the leaders in miles traveled.

Asked about that road success after Sunday's win at Levi's Stadium, Smith said, "I just think we band together. We band together well. Our fans travel well. We take our fans with us. You see the Seahawks flags flying throughout the stadium. I think when we're on the road, we know we only have each other. That's the type of team we have. We're so connected, so close together, and we always play for one another. Road games don't feel like road games."

The other side of this discussion, of course, has been the lack of recent success at home, something the Seahawks know needs to change, both for the sake of their playoff hopes, and also to reward the loyal fans who come to Lumen Field to support them.

@sponakejester asks, "Has Byron Murphy II been a part of short-yardage packages in practice?"

A: For those who don't know, Murphy played running back when he was young, and he even had a rushing touchdown as a fullback against the University of Washington in the Sugar Bowl. So putting him in the backfield could certainly be an intriguing option, but as far as I know that hasn't been in the works just yet. Coaches obviously know his history, so maybe someday we'll see it, but for now my guess is they'd rather let the first-round pick continue to develop as a defensive lineman and keep his focus there. The Seahawks did use offensive linemen Jalen Sundell as a fullback on Kenneth Walker III's touchdown run last week, so they're not against the idea of using linemen in non-traditional roles.

@wenfot asks, "If you were hosting Thanksgiving dinner, who on the Hawks would you invite and why?"

A: I very much enjoy Thanksgiving because it's a chance to spend time with family, and because there's a lot of football on, but if I'm being honest, the actual Thanksgiving food doesn't do that much for me. Yes, elements of the meal are good, but overeating turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc., just isn't that appealing to me. So with that in mind, I'm inviting Julian Love, as well as his cousins who own Un Bien, and asking them to bring Caribbean sandwiches. If you didn't know, Love’s great uncle, Lorenzo Lorenzo founded Paseo in the 1990s, and with it a sandwich sensation in Seattle. Paseo still exists under different ownership, while Lorenzo's sons started Un Bien.

So yeah, delicious Caribbean food for Thanksgiving sounds great, plus, Julian and his wife, Julia, are lovely people and they've got an adorable almost 1-year-old son, so that sounds like good company. Heck, let's just invite all the DBs to liven up the party, there's a lot of fun personalities in that group.

@ThatWiiMaster asks, "The past couple of seasons have featured a late-season fade after a reasonably strong start, what puts this team in position to change that this year and go on a run down the stretch?

A: I'm not sure late-season fades have really been a trend for the Seahawks as much as, last year in particular, tough stretches of the schedule have just caused the team problems. Last season, the Seahawks lost four straight, all to teams that made the playoffs—the Rams, 49ers, Cowboys and 49ers again—but bounced back to win three of their final four to stay in the playoff hunt. In 2022, the Seahawks did lose five of six at one point, again to some tough opponents, including San Fracisco and Kansas City, but finished the year winning their final two games to make the postseason, and the year before that, they won four of their last six after a tough stretch caused in part by Russell Wilson's injury.

So in general, the Seahawks have actually finished strong, the biggest issue is avoiding a skid before that. And considering that the entire coaching staff is new and a lot of the roster is as well, we're probably wasting our time reflecting on the team's past anyway. And to me the biggest reason to believe the Seahawks can finish strong is what we've seen in the past two games, especially on defense. There will no doubt be some bumps in the road, but the last two games have shown that the defense is starting to click under Macdonald, and, as much as fans wanted the team to roll through the season without any setbacks, it was probably inevitable that there would be some growing pains on both sides of the ball. The offense has shown it can move the ball when it gets out of its own way, avoiding drive killing sacks, penalties, etc., and despite throwing more interceptions than he'd like, Geno Smith is playing great football this season. So again, if the defense can build off of what it did the past two games, the Seahawks should have a chance to win a lot of games down the stretch and stay in playoff contention.