THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: That time of the year for spooky happenings

Halloween is just a bonus.

I’d be writing about strange things today, anyhow.

Absolutely.

For starters, there’s the bizarre stuff appearing on various social media accounts, whether you ask for it or not.

In fact, things pop up even when you specifically notify operators of some off-the-wall site that you do NOT want to hear from them.

For instance, I’m now staring at something called “Straight from the Source.”

I’d never heard of it and certainly hadn’t tried to access it.

Nevertheless, here was my hot item from these folks: “Who was at fault when the Soviet submarine Petropavlovsk was struck by the US carrier Kitty Hawk in 1984?”

Maybe I got signed up for this by my neighbor Stan in Twin Lakes Village.

Stan spent most of his Navy career on submarines, and is always happy to offer undersea tales.

But.

We’ll skip the Petropavlovsk for now.

Hey, there are plenty of wild sports items available without looking too hard.

Several major web sites carry NFL wrap-ups, which is how I learned that the New York Giants lost to the Jets in a game which fans shouldn’t have been charged actual money to watch.

IN THAT classic, there were more punts (24) than points (23), and the Jets hung on to win 13-10 in overtime — mostly because the Giants finished with minus-9 yards passing.

Yes, that stat included the word “MINUS.”

Must have been a true aerial circus.

Of course, you don’t have to get hooked online to find weird and wacky moments.

We got to witness one of those plays live, and it handed the Seahawks the chance they needed to beat Cleveland 24-20, on a quick screen to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 38 seconds to play.

The Browns were up 20-17 and had a third-and-three facing them at their own 41 with 2:04 to play, and were wearing out the tiring Hawks by blasting away with their power running game.

“Their identity is kind of ground-and-pound football,” Hawks safety Julian Love said.

However.

In one of those “too clever” moments, the Browns chose to throw, and P.J. Walker’s pass hit an onrushing Jamal Adams on his lovely silver throwback helmet.

The ball ricocheted into the sky, and eventually wound up in the arms of Love at the Seattle 43-yard line.

“Oh my gosh, that was in the air for forever,” Love said. “I was wondering, initially, how that got up there. That usually is not the rebound off a hand.”

At that point, the slumbering Hawks offense — which had produced five punts and two interceptions in its previous seven possessions — finally came to life.

Geno Smith, who had been so crisp and precise in a 17-point first quarter, found his lost mojo and whipped passes to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

Ultimately, Metcalf made the critical block on the touchdown screen, and the Seahawks saw it out from there.

In a postgame press conference, someone mentioned to Pete Carroll that the 5-2 Hawks now owned first place in the NFC West.

“Really?” Carroll deadpanned. “Geez.”

YES, THEY had some good fortune on Sunday.

Not only was the journeyman Walker replacing Deshawn Watson for the Browns, but even on that critical play, Walker is 5-11 to Watson’s 6-2.

Would that same pass have cleared Adams’ dome?

On the other side of the ball, Smith threw two more interceptions, and had another one dropped that would have been a pick-six.

So, sure, there has been luck involved here.

But the Seahawks defense is no fluke.

With a corps of emerging young stars, Adams’ return and the offseason signings of Dre Jones and Jarren Reed, Seattle had put together a really solid group.

The Hawks have allowed just 50 points to their past four opponents, and even more impressive, they’ve held those four teams to a total of NINE points in second halves.

Now Seattle has added another veteran presence up front with the trade for longtime Giants defensive tackle Leonard “Big Cat” Williams.

The Seahawks gave up a second-round pick in 2024 and a fifth the following year for the 29-year-old Williams — suggesting he might be in their future plans if contract numbers can be worked out.

The addition of Williams, much like the signing of free agent Frank Clark, adds rotation depth to what has become a rugged front seven.

With the return of Uchenna Nwosu next year and one of the NFL’s best secondaries, Carroll should have another of his prized game-changing defenses.

ARE THE Seahawks Super Bowl candidates THIS year?

Well, not unless Smith can find the rhythm he displayed during the first half of last season.

And if, somehow, the Eagles forget how to play football.

But so much can still happen, good and bad.

Five quarterbacks got hurt across the NFL this weekend, and a couple more starters (including Watson) didn’t even suit up.

We’ll see.

Barring serious injuries, though, it’s fair to say that the Hawks are better and deeper than last year’s 9-8 team.

Be warned, however, they also face a much, much tougher schedule over the next few weeks.

Let’s see how they do next Sunday in Baltimore, against Lamar Jackson and a Ravens team that is an astonishing 17-1 overall against teams from the NFC.

If the Hawks somehow make that 17-2, you might want to start paying closer attention.

And remember, it’s Halloween.

Spooky things happen, even after the fact.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”