Seahawks special team grades vs. Lions: Thank you, Michael Dickson!

The Seahawks defeated the Lions on Sunday 28-14. The offense dominated and the defense was great. But Michael Dickson did something special.

The Seahawks moved to 4-3 with a win over Detroit on Sunday. Seattle’s offense was excellent and controlled the temp of the game. The defense was fantastic after giving up an early touchdown drive. On special teams, though, punter Michael Dickson had possibly the most memorable play of the game.

Here are the grades for Seattle’s special teams from the team’s win over Detroit.

Kicker

Sebastian Janikowski didn’t have a whole to do on Sunday. He made all four of his extra point attempts and didn’t have to attempt a field goal. Janikowski did have early weirdness on his kickoffs, though, one of which probably didn’t get more than 15 yards off the ground. The kicks were odd because they didn’t go deep in the end zone. But Janikowski seemed to get that worked out and had a solid game.

Grade: B

Punter

Dickson was extremely effective punting with four kicks that averaged 49.5 yards per punt. Two of his punts were inside the Lions 20. But Dickson may have had the most memorable play of the game when he opted to fake a punt.

With a bit over 2 minutes left in the game and the Seahawks ahead 28-14, Dickson took the snap and began running to his right. The punter had the option to run with the ball if he saw an opening and Dickson took it and picked up a first down basically ending the game.

It should be made clear that the play was Dickson’s choice and not a designed fake. Crazy stuff.

Grade: A

Returners

Tyler Lockett and Rashaad Penny didn’t have the chance to do much. Each player had just one return and neither were spectacular. Still, they didn’t turn the ball over and that was the main thing on Sunday.

Grade: C