Seahawks have all the ingredients to punish the Lions
The Seahawks have everything they need to punish the Lions again.
The Seattle Seahawks find themselves in an early fight with playoff implications. Like Seattle, the Detroit Lions are 3-3 after a weak 0-2 start. This is a good matchup for the Hawks for several reasons.
First, the Seahawks feature a strong running game. In their three losses, Detroit was gashed for an average of 181 yards. In their wins, their opponents averaged just 98 yards on the ground. That’s a piece of cake for Seattle, as they’ve averaged 172 yards rushing over the last three games.
The three-headed ground attack of Chris Carson, Mike Davis, and Rashaad Penny guarantee there will always be a fresh pair of legs hitting the hole. Lately those holes have been the size of the Highway 99 Tunnel. Except, open for traffic. That’s largely due to the human road grader D.J. Fluker. It’s no coincidence that Seattle’s run game took off once Fluker got into the lineup.
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Another weapon in the Seahawks arsenal is their oldest player, Sebastian Janikowski. He did have one game that was a bit shaky, but Seattle still beat Arizona. Other than that, Seabass has been a rock, hitting three of four from beyond the fifty. The Lions won’t be able to depend on a repeat of the Mason Crosby debacle. As noted in an earlier write-up, Crosby missed four kicks for the Packers in an eight point Lions win. Seabass won’t miss.
Seahawks are big on big plays
Another advantage for Seattle is the big play. Both the ability to create on offense, and the ability to take it away on defense. Both the Seahawks and Lions have scored 17 touchdowns so far, although one of those for Detroit was a pick six. Setting the bar for a big play at 20 yards or more, Detroit has scored on five on offense. Our old buddy Golden Tate has three of those.
Seattle has scored on six big plays. It’s no surprise that Tyler Lockett has three of those to his credit. So offensively, it’s pretty even, although the Seahawks have a slight edge. The real advantage appears on defense. Ever since their poor showing against Denver in the season opener, the defensive backfield has played like the Legion of Boom. Seattle ranks seventh in the league in touchdowns allowed, and fourth in interceptions. Even better, Bradley McDougald and his crew have given up just one big play touchdown in the past five games.
Detroit hasn’t fared so well. They rank 22nd in touchdowns allowed and a miserable 28th in interceptions. While the Seattle defense has allowed 12 touchdowns, Detroit’s D has been a relative sieve, giving up 16 scores. Even worse, the Lions have allowed seven big play scores. They’ve really been torched on the ground (three touchdown runs over 50 yards). That’s one reason Detroit is allowing opponents to hammer them on the ground at 5.3 yards per carry.
Yeah, the Vegas oddsmakers don’t like the Seahawks. As eloquently stated therein, the oddsmakers apparently haven’t watched Seattle since week two of this year. The Seahawks can run the ball, and have solid big play ability. The Lions have shown a remarkable ability to give up the big play. Throw in the return of key players like K.J. Wright and Ed Dickson, and I see the Seahawks running away with this game, literally, 31-20.