A Grip on Sports: Be honest. If the Seahawks win the rest of their game in the same manner they won Sunday, will you be upset?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The late Al Davis was an iconoclast. Or outcast, if you prefer. An NFL owner who acted nothing like one. Sunglasses indoors, long hair, a loose persona – and organization – when Vince Lombardi-rigidness was all the rage. But he and Lombardi shared the same goal. Just win.

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• That Davis added the word “baby” to that last sentence was an illustration of his late-1960s and ‘70s old-man hipness. But the first two words, “just win,” live on in the league. It is, simply, all that matters.

In that way, and that way only, the 2025 Seattle Seahawks seem to share DNA with Al Davis’ once-great franchise. They just win.

Lately, they’ve been doing it in about the ugliest way imaginable. But the results since mid-November have been as beautiful as possible. Four games. Four wins.

The latest handsome outcome? An 18-16 slugfest win at home Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts and their new bauble, 44-year-old Hall of Famer-to-be Philip – with one “l” – Rivers, quite possibly the most-accomplished whiner in NFL history.

The cranky old man was just fine in his first game in five years. But fine – 18-of-27 passing for 120 yards, a touchdown and an interception – wasn’t good enough, considering the Colts inexplicably went away from the running game that gave Seattle fits early on. But criticizing Indianapolis’ play calling isn’t the point here.

That the Seahawks survived is. Just survive, baby, may be the 2020s’ version of Davis’ mantra.

How did they earn their 11th win? The defense only yielded one late-second-quarter touchdown. And three Blake Grupe field goals, the longest from 60 yards. That one came with less than a minute left and gave the Colts a 16-15 lead.

Five plays, and 29 seconds, later the Hawks were back on top, thanks to a decent kickoff return, excellent clock management by Sam Darnold and the coaching staff and, most importantly, the right foot of Jason Myers. His sixth – and longest – field goal of the day was the difference.

Well, that and the game’s only turnover, a Rivers’ last-gasp interception by Coby Bryant with 4-seconds remaining.

One phrase in the above paragraph was also key for the home team. Darnold and the offense kept possession of the ball. No turnovers. None. If his group had done that in the three games they lost, the Hawks may be staring at an undefeated season. The defense has been that good.

Two fumbles were big in the season-opening home loss to the 49ers. A Darnold interception helped Tampa Bay to a late win in Seattle. And, of course, in the first game with the Rams last month – the Hawks’ last defeat – Darnold tossed a bajillion – in NFL parlance – interceptions. His four picks were the difference.

Well, that and about 6 feet. That how much Myers’ last-gasp attempt from 61 yards came up short and right in the 21-19 L.A. win. A win that is the difference between the two teams in the standings. And will be heading into the Thursday night showdown in Lumen Field.

Thanks to Myers’ 56-yard success Sunday, the Rams and Hawks are 11-3. L.A. has clinched a playoff berth. Seattle is on the cusp of one. A win in three days would assure the Seahawks of a postseason return. And lift them atop the NFC as well.

From there it would be about dealing with the final two games of the season on the road, at Carolina (7-7) and at San Francisco (10-4).

As Al Davis might say if he were still with us, “just survive, baby.” Every week.

• One last thought. Darnold did have a fumble yesterday. In the second quarter. At the Seattle 10-yard line. It went out of bounds. The Hawks kept the ball. Who says luck doesn’t play a part in survival?

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WSU: New coach Kirby Moore arrived in Pullman yesterday. Greg Woods was at the Pullman airport to chronicle his arrival. And Moore’s first tour of the city as head coach. … In the evening, Greg spent a couple hours watching the Cougar men’s basketball team face off against USC in Los Angeles. The Trojans improved their record to 10-1 by holding off a WSU rally 68-61. … As I watched part of the Chargers’ win in Kansas City on Sunday morning, I was hit by the same thought that also hit Colton Clark. There was a handful of Cougars playing in the game. Most on defense. Colton chronicles their play in his weekly look at local players in the NFL. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked Jon Wilner’s mailbag when it ran in the Mercury News. We link it again today as it is on the S-R website. … We also linked this Seattle Times column on the Huskies future hinging on Jedd Fisch staying in Seattle. It is on the S-R site today. … The transfer portal news also begins from Washington. … This may be my favorite John Canzano column ever. It is about his Heisman vote. But only as the start of a discussion on how we have lost the ability as a society to disagree respectively. … We can pass along an Oregon mailbag from the Oregonian. … Former Stanford coach Paul Wiggin, who was on the losing end of “the-band-is-on-the-field” game, died last week. He was 91. … The LA Bowl opt-out of its best offensive lineman, and a captain, frustrated Boise State. … UCLA finally has a leader who prioritizes sports.

• In basketball news, the Stanford women took back Bay Area superiority, topping California at home 78-69. The teams have switched roles this season. … Oregon bounced back from its first loss with a home win over Montana State. … Undefeated Arizona State stayed that way with a hard-fought overtime victory in Corvallis over Oregon State. The Sun Devils are at Gonzaga tomorrow night. … Utah has won five consecutive games. … Colorado rolled over Miami (Ohio). … What have we learned so far about the Colorado State men’s program? … Colorado is trying to finish nonconference strong.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson’s look back at the Bulldogs 10-point win over UCLA late Saturday night actually starts by looking forward. The schools are going to keep the nonconference series moving forward. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Boise State, coached by former GU assistant Leon Rice, survived a 15-2 Saint Mary’s run to end the game, winning 68-67 in Idaho Falls. The Gaels fell to 9-2.

Idaho: The Vandal men had little trouble with NAIA program Evergreen State, especially from beyond the arc. They won 109-55. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, though Sacramento State won’t be playing football in the conference next season, it seemed important to pass along the news the school hired Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter to run the program.

Chiefs: The third game in three nights was a second consecutive loss for Spokane. The Chiefs traveled north from Everett and faced Vancouver on Sunday. As Dave Nichols tells us, the Giants won 8-4.

Seahawks: Dave Boling’s column didn’t overly focus on Rivers’ play, though Dave did delve into Seattle’s inability to pressure the immovable quarterback. Dave’s focus was on Myers’ success – and the Hawks. … Rivers was quite the story nationally, and has a place in the game story. … There are always grades. And takeaways. … The newest receiver is paying dividends. …  And yes, there is more coverage of Rivers than just about every quarterback. Except Patrick Mahomes, whose season ended with an ACL injury yesterday.

Kraken: Seattle was back at home – the Climate Pledge Arena folks made the switch from basketball to hockey quickly – but not back into the winning column. The battered-by-a-virus Kraken fell to Buffalo 3-1.

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• The Seahawks game with Indy was pretty vanilla, wasn’t it? Just like the Indianapolis diner food we ate to accompany it. A breaded pork cutlet sandwich and a hash brown casserole. I liked both. The other people in the house thought both were bland. Hey, sometimes bland is perfect. Until later …