Seattle Seahawks September 2020 preview
By Jake Luppino
In the season opener of the NFL 2020 Regular Season, the Seattle Seahawks will head down to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.
Sunday, September 13, 2020: Week 1 – Seattle Seahawks @ Atlanta Falcons
The Seattle Seahawks will kick off their 2020 season in the beautiful Mercedes-Benz Stadium down in Atlanta, Georgia. They face off against an Atlanta team coming into this season with something to prove. After a disappointing 7-9 record in 2019, many were uncertain if Dan Quinn would remain as the head coach. But, late in the season, his players fought hard for him and won their last four regular season games, one being against the NFC Representative in the super bowl, San Francisco 49ers.
The Falcons had an impressive offseason, tweaking issues with their offense as well as filling in some holes on the defensive side of the ball. With their first two picks in the 2020 NFL draft, they selected CB A.J. Terrell, out of Clemson and DT Marlon Davidson, out of Auburn. Davidson was considered as some, a “sleeper” in this draft. He will now be working alongside one of the best defensive tackles in the game, Grady Jarrett. After letting DE Vic Beasley walk, the Falcons went and signed DE Dante Fowler Jr., who recorded a career-high, 11.5 sacks for the Los Angeles Rams last season. They also signed HB Todd Gurley, who if can remain healthy, is one of the prominent backs in the league and traded for TE Hayden Hurst, after losing Austin Hooper to the Browns.
Their matchup with Seattle will be enticing as both teams are coming into this season with high expectations. Last year, the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons faced off in week 8, in which the Seahawks recorded a 27-20 victory over the Matt Ryan-less Falcons. Their matchup in week 1 is going to look a whole lot different.
For starters, Matt Ryan will be starting at QB for the Atlanta Falcons. Secondly, it seems as if the Seahawks will be without star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, as he is still not signed. In last year’s game, Clowney wreaked havoc on that Atlanta offensive line disrupting numerous running plays, racking up 1 sack and forcing 1 fumble. The Seahawks defensive line is now filled with a ton of young depth and one veteran leading the charge: Bruce Irvin.
What Will Determine the Outcome: Playmaking ability of Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson
Super Powers
Houdini like ability, slithery escapability, rocket arm, accurate throwing
Weaknesses
None
Sidekicks
Arch Nemesis
It is no secret that both of these teams share the same weakness: offensive line woes. In ranking the offensive lines for the upcoming 2020 season, PFF ranked the Falcons #24 and the Seahawks at #28. In 2019, the Atlanta Falcons offensive line produced there worse ratings in the Matt Ryan era:
"The story of the 2020 Falcons will start with the offensive line after they posted the worst pass-blocking (67.2) and run-blocking (58.2) grades of the Matt Ryan era."
The bright side for Atlanta is that they have invested early draft picks on offensive linemen. Last year, they selected Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary. In the 3rd round of the 2020 draft, they selected center Matt Hennessy, who is expected to get some playing time as the year goes on. Another thing that Atlanta can rely on is their two pillars at LT and C. Jake Matthews and Alex Mack are instrumental pieces on this team and can help gape holes for HB Todd Gurley. If the Falcons can establish can their run against a weak Seattle defensive line, they will be able to set up their passing game that includes two deadly targets in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley.
The addition of Jamal Adams will allow the Seahawks to draw up different blitz packages. I expect Seattle to utilize him in many different ways. He will be roaming around looking to make a play as a ballhawk, he will also lineup at linebacker in certain formations and he will certainly be rushing the passer as he is one of the best at his position in doing so.
While the Seattle offensive line is ranked worse than the Falcons and only has one pillar at LT in Duane Brown, the one thing you can never underestimate as an opponent is the playmaking ability of Russell Wilson. Since Wilson’s entrance into the NFL, he has never had a dominant pass-blocking offensive line and that has nearly never held him back. Sure, it would be nice if the pass protection was better, but Wilson has proven his ability to make big plays in spite of that.
The Falcons defensive line will cause havoc upfront for Wilson and company being led by Dante Fowler, Grady Jarrett and linebacker Deion Jones, but ultimately, I see Russell Wilson’s playmaking ability being the difference in this game.
The year of 2020 will supposedly be the year that the Seattle Seahawks will – as Seahawks twitter puts it – “Let Russ Cook”. Against a weakened Atlanta secondary, I see the Seahawks making more big plays than the Falcons and starting off the season for the second consecutive time with a win.
Spread: Seattle Seahawks (-1.5) | Atlanta Falcons (+1.5)
Source: DraftKings
Final Score: Seahawks 28 – 17 Falcons
Seattle Seahawks Record: 1-0