Seahawks vs. Falcons: Full highlights, final score and analysis

The Seahawks opened the obscure 2020 season with a 38-25 victory over the Falcons. Most had a great day, some had the opposite.

In front of an empty Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Seahawks got the year started on the right side of the win column. After an up and down game that saw more ups than downs for Seattle, there is certainly much to be discussed.

Russ cooked

Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer flipped the twitter critics’ opinions on their heads. Even in a game that saw the Seahawks dominate almost the entire second half including a fourth-quarter that Seattle could have just run the clock out, the Seahawks offense featured 38 passing plays and 20 rushing plays. That’s 66% of offensive plays featuring a Russell Wilson Drop back, and that does not include three rushes for Wilson which I could not remember how many were passing play scrambles and how many were option runs.

The final stats on the day for Russ were 31 of 35 for 322 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INT. He also added 3 carries for 29 yards which led the Seahawks.

Chris Carson had a great day on only 21 yards rushing

As I just mentioned, Russ cooked today and the Seahawks rarely ran the ball. What that led to was Chris Carson having only 6 rushing attempts, a number he surpassed every single game last season. However, he still had a great day doing his job in the passing attack.

https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1305198781957197824?s=20

6 catches on 6 targets for 45 yards and 2 TD’s was his receiving stat line. He was no Christian McCaffrey, but with the Seahawks screen heavy offense today he impressed in his secondary skillset.

Tyler looked like regular Tyler and DK looked like rookie DK

Tyler Lockett did his job today. Catching 8 passes from Wilson on 8 targets for 92 yards. He did not make any big splashes but he looked good as usual and was there when Russ needed him. DK on the other hand had a game that seemed to be an example of his rookie season. He had 4 catches on 8 targets. Some of his 4 missed targets he should have caught, like an awful wide-open drop that he had, some were not his fault. His 4 catches led to 95 yards including a 38-yard TD reception on a 4th and 5 throw from Wilson.

Like I said his day was a continuation of his rookie year, 50 percent catch percentage, a bad drop, seeming to disappear from time to time, but almost 100 yards and a big touchdown. I will also mention again the change of philosophy from the Seahawks offense. How about going for it on 4th and 5 in a 2 point game in the third quarter at your own 38? I would love to know what the analytics said to do there, but nonetheless, it was awesome.

Jamal Adams was amazing

Adams has played one game for the Seahawks and already looks like he is worth the high price that Seattle paid to get him from the Jets.

https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1305205003431239681?s=20

Jamal finished the day with 12 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, and 2 QB hits. He had an awesome first game as a Seahawk and looked like he was having fun the whole time. He also played all over the field playing up at the line, at linebacker depth, and at safety depth and was sent on blitzes quite often. So much for him getting bored in this defensive scheme.

My last few observations from today are about the offensive line and the defense. The rookie Damien Lewis really struggled. He had multiple penalties and really struggled on blocking but to be fair he had to line up against Grady Jarrett all day. The Seahawks line was not that impressive as a whole and Schottenheimer was prepared for the struggles opting for a ton of quick passes and screens along with very little rushing.

The defense was all over the place as multiple players had some good plays and some bad, most noticeably Lano Hill and Quinton Dunbar. While it won’t show up on the stat sheet LJ Collier looked good and had some good pressures which was extremely encouraging to see.

Finally, Quandre Diggs, Marquise Blair (who was impressive as the nickel corner), Bobby Wagner (Who color commentator Mark Schlereth made it seem like it was crazy that Pete Carroll thought he is a Hall of Famer) and Jamal Adams were hitting hard. They were hitting so hard that I am surprised they did not see any flags fly for their hits and maybe with another set of refs they could get some 15-yard penalties, but they created this meme posted by yours truly.