Pete Carroll on Seahawks claiming first place in NFC West after Week 7: ‘Who would have thunk it?’

When Pete Carroll addressed his club following Sunday’s 37-23 victory over the L.A. Chargers, the coach wasn’t aware his Seahawks had leapfrogged their way to the top of the NFC West.

“Nobody told me that before we started the meetings in there (the locker room). I would have been going nuts about that. That’s fun, too. That’s good,” Carroll said, via the Associated Press. “Seven weeks in, and look where we are. Who would have thunk it?”

Projected by most to sit in the cellar of a tough division that sports Matthew Stafford and the Super Bowl-winning Rams, one of the NFL’s best defenses in San Francisco, and Kyler Murray‘s Cardinals, the Geno Smith-led Seahawks are off to a 4-3 start, the only club in the division above .500.

Sunday, Carroll’s club played well in all aspects. The offense moved the ball behind Kenneth Murray, and Smith made some great reads with a few awesome throws. And the defense continues to improve, holding the Chargers’ offense down much of the contest, causing two turnovers, forcing five consecutive punts at one point, and two turnovers on downs.

“I really liked us today, You could feel us in all three phases. We were humming,” Carroll said. “It was good to see the offense be able to go down the field and put points on the board and the defense slowing them down.”

Walker enjoyed his breakout game, generating 168 yards and two touchdowns in his second career start. Walker is only the second rookie in Seahawks history to have 150-plus rush yards and two-plus rushing TDs in a single game — first since Curt Warner in Week 13, 1983 (207 yards, three TDs).

An impressive combination of power and speed, Walker has nine carries of 10-plus yards since Week 6 — including five on Sunday — most of any RB in the NFL. He capped the day with a blazing 74-yard run, in which he reached 22.09 MPH, per Next Gen Stats, the fastest speed by a ball carrier in NFL this season.

“That kid is unbelievable, man,” receiver Tyler Lockett said. “He’s a star in the making. The way he gets better each and every week, you can tell the more and more opportunities he gets, the more comfortable he gets, and the more electrifying he is. This is exactly why we drafted him. We knew what he could do, and everybody on the team is excited he’s with us.”

With Smith shining, Walker proving a dynamic player, and the defense coming along after a poor start to the season, the Seahawks are looking to become the latest team to go from worst to first in their division.