The Seahawks overcame a record amount of penalty yardage in Week 3 to beat the Chargers, improving their record to 3-1, a victory that sets up a big NFC West showdown with the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers. But before we fully turn our attention to this week's matchup, 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.

From the online form at Seahawks.com/mailbag:

Lianne from Kapolei Hawaii asks, "Sunday's game was a crazy one filled with penalties galore! How are the Seahawks going to try to stick to playing 'Seahawks' ball while trying to avoid penalties as much as possible?"

A: The Seahawks were indeed penalized at a pretty ridiculous rate in Sunday's win, piling up 14 penalties for 150 yards, a number that is way too high, even if at least some of those calls were debatable.

Not surprisingly, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has spoken about penalties on a couple of occasions since that game, and he knows his team needs to clean that up. Macdonald wants his team to play with an edge and go right up to the line of being too physical without crossing it, and on a few occasions last weekend, they crossed it.

Those penalties will be addressed this week, by players and by coaches, with the Seahawks knowing they can't survive too many games giving opponents that many extra yards and chances.

From Twitter/X:

@garry_viles asks, "What team records in penalties and penalty yards were set or nearly broken during Sunday's game?"

A: The Seahawks' 14 penalties were three short of a record for their most in a game, but the 150 penalty yards were a record. The 30 combined penalties between the teams were tied for the second most in a game in franchise history, trailing only the 1976 expansion bowl in which the Seahawks and Buccaneers combined for 35 penalties for 310 yards. The 280 yards of total penalty yards on Sunday are the second most behind that 1976 game.

@MrEd315 asks, "In your opinion, will the success or lack thereof in the next six games define the season?"

A: I'm a little hesitant to say any stretch of games, other than maybe to end a season, will define a season. Yes, the Seahawks have a tough stretch before their bye, hosting the 49ers then playing at Denver, home against the Chiefs, home against the Bears, home against the Cardinals and at the Raiders. But if we say that stretch defines their season and they stumble a bit, should they just pack it in? Of course not, and even if a bad stretch were to occur, the Seahawks would still have seven big games after the bye to get back on track. With the 49ers at 4-0 and with the Rams looking very dangerous despite a 2-2 start, the more accurate answer might be to say every game and every stretch of games is equally big because the division feels like it will almost certainly go down to the wire.

@wenfot asks, "Who were you rooting for in the Corgi Cup?"

A: I had no rooting interest, because when dogs are racing on the field during halftime, everybody wins, regardless of who crosses the finish line first. That being said, Banana's look back as she dusted the competition was pretty sweet.

From BlueSky

@spokanejester.bsky.social asks, "During the broadcast we hear how some guy doing a trick play was a high school quarterback. Who on the Seahawks was a quarterback in high school and is playing a different position now?"

A: There are probably other players I'm missing, but two that come to mind are AJ Barner, who started his high school career as a quarterback before eventually becoming a tight end, and linebacker/special teams standout Chazz Surratt, who began his college career at North Carolina as a quarterback before switching to linebacker.

@segdeha.com asks, "Should we concerned about how long Jadarian Price will be out considering we just signed two more running backs?"

A: We haven't heard a specific timeline on Price, but general manager and president of football operations John Schneider said on the pregame show it is not a season-ending injury, and head coach Mike Macdonald has also said they expect Price back, we'll just have to wait to see if that is immediately after he misses the required four game or if it's a bit longer.

In terms of the signings—the Seahawks added two backs on Tuesday, signing Robert Henry Jr. to the 53-man roster and Dontae McMillan to the practice squad—to me that has less to do with the severity of Price's injury and more to do with the need for depth at that spot with Price out any amount of time and with Zach Charbonnet not yet off the PUP list, not to mention that Jacardia Wright was placed on practice squad IR Tuesday. Running back is a very physical position which unfortunately leads to injuries, so it's smart for any team to want to bulk up on depth there.

From Instagram

@maxidkig asks, "Why is Nick Emmanwori so incredible?" While @sydney_maclaurinhogg asks, "Is Emmanwori a hybrid player now?"

A: To answer the second question first, Emmanwori has been a hybrid player since the Seahawks drafted him last year, but based on Sunday's game, it does look like they might be adding even more to his plate. And that is part of the answer to the first question about Emmanwori being so incredible. His rare combination of size and speed, combined with the ability to learn and execute multiple positions, makes him a very rare player who can unlock so many options for Seattle's defense. He's big enough and physical enough to rush off the edge or be a good run defender at the line of scrimmage, but he's also athletic enough to cover receivers and tight ends. So much of modern offense is trying to gain a personnel advantage over a defense—run the ball if a defense has a light box, or throw if they have bigger personnel on the field—but Emmanwori's skillset can cancel some of that out, which is huge for Macdonald's defense.

@backend.k1d asks, "How will we continue to get Shaheed involved?"

A: We saw a bit more of Rashid Shaheed in the offense last weekend, with the receiver carrying the ball twice out of the backfield, including a 28-yard touchdown. As Macdonald noted, that's something the Seahawks have been doing in practice with Shaheed for a while, and with Price, an explosive, big-play threat, not available, it makes a lot of sense to give Shaheed more looks out of the backfield.

I said this in last week's mailbag, but I feel like it's only a matter of time before Shaheed has a big game as a pass-catcher, but as Sunday's win showed, getting him a few touches as a running back can also be a fun wrinkle for the offense.

@rudy_duran asks, "Did the O-line room acknowledge JSN's pancake this past game?"

A: If you missed it, this question is in reference to the block that Jaxon Smith-Njigba threw to help Shaheed get in the end zone on his 28-yard touchdown run. And while I don't know if the O-linemen will acknowledge that block, it's something everyone on the team appreciates and expects from the team's receivers, even superstars who are the reigning Offensive Player of the Year.

"Great plays," Macdonald said of blocks by Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp that helped lead to touchdowns. "It's how we want to play football. We need to be able to block second and third levels, that's how you get explosive plays, that's how you get runs off the ground. It's how we want to play, to be blunt about it. The guys did a great job yesterday, they really deserve a lot of credit. Coop had a tremendous game, Jax blocked well, Tory (Horton) did some good things. We've got to keep it rolling on that front so we can pop runs."

@joey_meisenheimer asks, "Big Cat injury update?"

A: We'll have to wait to see the injury report to know more details, but the news was good on Monday, with Macdonald said he's optimistic about William's chances to play on Sunday.

@simo_kowalski_ asks, "When will Zach Charbonnet be back?"

A: Macdonald said on his weekly show on Seattle Sports 710AM that Charbonnet will not play in this week's game, but will see his practice load ramp up this week. We'll have to see if that means he could be back as soon as the following week, but either way, the fact that he is practicing at all this soon after a torn ACL is good news for the Seahawks and would indicate that he'll be back sooner than later.

@deadend_vee asks, "Who do you think is the best player in franchise history?"

A: The conversation has to start with the four Hall of Famers who spent their entire careers as Seahawks: tackle Walter Jones, receiver Steve Largent, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and safety Kenny Easley.

After that there are plenty of strong candidates from more recent eras who aren't yet in the Hall of Fame but should someday be like cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas III. But to me, if you're looking for one name to put up there with the big four of Jones, Largent, Kennedy and Easley, it's linebacker Bobby Wagner. One of the best middle linebackers to ever play the game, Wagner has the most first-team All-Pro selections in team history with six, was a nine-time Pro-Bowler as a Seahawk, and ranks third in NFL history with 2,000 career tackles. And of course, he was part of a ton of team success, with the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl in his second season, going back the following year, and reaching the playoffs in eight of his 11 seasons with the Seahawks. The Seahawks also led the NFL in scoring defense for four straight seasons from 2012-2015 with Wagner in the middle of their defense, making them the only team in the Super Bowl era to accomplish that feat.

Whether you want to call Wagner, Jones, Largent, Kennedy, Easley or someone else the best to ever wear a Seahawks uniform comes down to personal preference, what criteria you use (longevity, best peak, team success, etc.), but you won't get much pushback with any of those five, four of whom are in the Hall of Fame, and one who will be as soon as he is eligible.