Seahawks vs. Broncos: Position by position breakdown

Coaching and special teams

Punter

Starting with a fun one, I cannot wait to see Michael Dickson punt in Mile High Stadium. Dickson is a punting maestro and can place the ball mostly where he wants. He could be a big reason Seattle wins on Sunday if he can continuously pin the Broncos back.

Denver’s punter, Marquette King, is pretty good too and will be punting in a real game for the Broncos for the first time after spending his previous seasons with the Raiders. But he isn’t Dickson.

Advantage: Seahawks

Kicker

One of the best things for Sebastian Janikowski is that he is very familiar with Mile High Stadium after playing there for so many seasons when the Raiders took on Denver. Janikowski did miss two extra points in preseason game four, though. And he didn’t play at all because of an injury in 2017. So there is concern.

Brandon McManus for Denver is solid but not spectacular.

Advantage: Even

Returners

Adam Jones will return punts for Denver. And rookie Phillip Lindsay will return kicks. Both players might be decent. But neither is Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks Pro Bowl returner can change this game, especially on kick returns. With the new rules about kickoffs, if Lockett is able to return one he could set up great field position for Seattle. The Seahawks can use all the help they can get offensively.

Advantage: Seahawks

Coaching

Denver coach Vance Joseph has one year of head coaching experience. That was last season with Denver where he led the team to a 5-11 record.

Pete Carroll of the Seahawks has won a Super Bowl and led Seattle to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons there. He is 79-48-1 overall with Seattle.

The Seahawks, though, are breaking in two new – new to Seattle anyway – coordinators. There is a lot of doubt about whether Brian Schottenheimer and Ken Norton will be successful with the Seahawks.

Advantage: Seahawks