Seahawks vs. Broncos: Seattle loses in Wilson’s bad game

The Seahawks lost to the Broncos on Sunday 27-24. That the game was as close as the final score is a little surprising.

Let’s be honest, Russell Wilson of the Seahawks had a bad day on Sunday in a loss to the Broncos. The numbers may not show it, but he made some bad throws and some bad decisions. But Wilson’s play was only one reason Seattle lost.

This is where quarterback rating fails. Wilson had a QBR of 92.7 for the game, according to the ESPN. He was 19 for 33 for 298 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions. Wilson was also sacked six times. But not all of those were the offensive line’s fault.

Don’t get me wrong, the offensive line for Seattle was not that good. But Wilson cause some of that. Twice he scrambled to his left and then back pedaled and then turned to his right where he was tackled. Both times he could have just thrown the ball away.

Also, Wilson overthrew an open David Moore on a not-overly-difficult throw that would have gone for a first down. One of Wilson’s sacks was on second-and-one when Seattle had a decent drive going. Wilson killed the drive.

Wilson did have a nice throw to Brandon Marshall for one touchdown, though.

And Wilson also hit a wide open Tyler Lockett for a long score.

And thank goodness Wilson had tight end Will Dissly to throw to or the night could have been much worse. Dissly was amazing in his first NFL game. Honestly, Dissly was so good he deserves to start week two. Dissly should be the answer to any question asking, “Who will be the Seahawks tight end for the next five years?”

Seattle was awful on third downs, too, going 2-12. They only held the ball for 24:52 compared to the Broncos 35:08. Seattle rushed the ball just 16 times. And they weren’t awful when they did run it.

But surprisingly Chris Carson coughed up another fumble. In college, he never gave away the ball. During preseason game two he fumbled twice, though only one counted. Maybe some weren’t concerned. After Sunday, there needs to be.

Still, Carson did run for 51 yards on just 7 carries. He also had three catches for 28 yards. Why Seattle didn’t run more is anyone’s guess. Go ask new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

The good

Brandon Marshall was excellent. He caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. He looked like a player who will have an impact this season.

The safeties for Seattle were terrific. Bradley McDougald had two interceptions and five tackles. Earl Thomas set up Dissly’s touchdown with a pick. Each had two passes defended.

And Michael Dickson was everything he was drafted to be. Dickson punted six times for an average of – seriously and I am not joking – 59 yards-per-punt. Four of his punts went inside the Broncos 20. Two were downed inside the six. He’s a freak.

The bad

Doug Baldwin injured his other knee and was taken out of the game and not to return. Baldwin had no affect on the game when he was playing. He had one target and no catches. Baldwin is hurt and it appears to be long-term.

The run defense wasn’t any better than in 2017. And while it is true that Seattle was missing Nazair Jones and Poona Ford, they still had their starters. Maybe they were on the field too long. But giving up 4.6 yards-per-rush on 32 carries for Denver is going to equate to a lot of losses for Seattle.

Finally, Seattle needs help opposite Shaquill Griffin. Tre Flowers tried. But Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders had 10 catches on 11 targets for 135 yards. That’s bad.