Football season has finally started, and the Seahawks came out of the gate swinging in a narrow 27-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. While it was a loss, and giving up 27 points is never a good thing, the Seahawks kept it interesting with three interceptions. Safety Bradley McDougald caught two of them and other safety Earl Thomas brought in the third. Of the three interceptions, two of them were returned for touchdowns. The Seattle offense, while only managing a 2-for-12 record on third down conversions, managed some big plays of their own. Highlights include a 51-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett, a 66-yard pass to Will Dissly and a 21-yard run by Chris Carson in only his second year in the NFL.
The new members of the team this season have proved to be promising thus far. Dissly, the rookie tight end for the Seahawks, led the team in receiving with 105 yards on three catches. Seattle also landed a good acquisition in wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who debuted as a Seahawk in his first game against his former team. Rookie punter Michael Dickson had a great performance, with four of his six punts this game being taken within the opponent’s 20 yard line.
While these statistics seem reassuring, there is still some fault with how the Seahawks played. Their offensive line seemed to struggle, allowing six sacks on Russell Wilson. This is in part due to Von Miller being an absolute monster for Denver’s pass rush, and Wilson himself even admitted to being at fault for three of them. This doesn’t excuse the offensive line’s inability to handle the pass rush, and they should seek improvement over the season. As a young team, getting better only seems natural over time, and it will allow the Seahawks to play off of Chris Carson’s natural talent as a running back as well.
Kicker Sebastian Janikowski also struggled in his first game this season, missing a field goal in the first half. Aside from Carson’s 21-yard run, Seattle’s run game as a whole remained spotty throughout the game. This is no doubt in part to the suffering offensive line of the Seahawks, but Carson is a promising young talent that should continue to develop his skills this season.
However, one more bout of bad news occurred with receiver Doug Baldwin leaving the game due to a knee injury in the first half and likely will not be able to return for their next game against the Chicago Bears.
The good and the bad combined come together for what could be written off as a decently inconsistent team, and that may be. However, Russell Wilson and other members of the Seahawks view this game as a good sign for what is to come. Center Justin Britt discussed the many positives they have to work with. For instance, McDougald mentioned the camaraderie that is already present within the team. Wilson in particular compared this game to his first game as a Seahawk. It also started with a loss, but eventually manifested into a 11-5 finish on a playoff run. Seattle faces off against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday which will certainly prove to be a hurdle for the current iteration of the Seahawks.