Seahawks vs. Vikings: 3 things we learned about Seattle

The Seahawks lost their third straight preseason game of 2018 on Friday. But we still learned some good things about the team.

The Seahawks lost on Friday. But did they really? Friday felt like a win because when the players that will actually have impacts for Seattle and Minnesota this season were on the field, Seattle was leading. And it was the way that Seattle was leading that was the best part.

Here are three things we learned about the Seahawks on Friday.

The offensive line can work

Russell Wilson and the starters on the offensive line played six series together. In those series, not only did Wilson not get sacked, the team also ran for 60 yards on 14 carries. Just one of those runs was from someone other than Chris Carson or Mike Davis.

While it is true that you can only takeaway so much from a preseason game, run blocking is run blocking. And Seattle being able to move the ball on the ground against a very good Vikings defense is a great sign.

And Germain Ifedi played really well and showed he can move. If he can learn consistency than he changes the outlook of how good the line can be. Maybe Mike Solari is having a real impact of him.

Brandon Marshall can still play

Marshall is not going to put up huge statistics in Seattle. But the Seahawks don’t need him to. They need Marshall to be a possession receiver who will be great in the red zone.

Wilson targeted him three times on Friday and Marshall had three catches.

Marshall will make the Seahawks and he will be an important receiver.

Third-down defense still needs help

One of the bits that Seattle really struggled with in 2017 was just getting off the field on third down. And this was even before Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor were injured. Seattle used to make early stops in drives and allow the offense to control the ball more.

On Friday, the defense was not much better than in 2017. When the Vikings starters were in the game, Minnesota converted on 7 of 10 third downs. This is not a winning formula as Seattle proved last year. If this isn’t fixed, Seattle will go no better than 8-8.