3 quick reactions from Seattle Seahawks domination of Lions

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Detroit Lions in Week 17 in an offensive onslaught most probably thought wasn’t possible from the team in 2021.

Seattle thoroughly dominated Detroit. The defense wasn’t perfect, possibly partly due to Bobby Wagner being hurt early in the game, and allowed Detroit to score 29 points with a backup quarterback. But it didn’t matter. The game was basically done in the first half.

This game was so one-sided that Seattle even led time of possession 33:33 to 26:27. They also outgained Detroit 497 to 357. Russell Wilson wasn’t perfect but threw better than he has in three weeks and didn’t turn the ball over. He also found DK Metcalf multiple times which was a relief to watch. And once again, Rashaad Penny was brilliant.

Here are three quick reactions to what 12s got to see in Seattle’s 51-29 victory in Week 17.

3 reactions to the Seattle Seahawks victory against the Lions

Number one: Seahawks got to see what life might be without Bobby Wagner

Bobby Wagner got hurt in the first quarter and did not return. He was seen on the sidelines walking around so maybe Seattle was keeping him out more as a precaution. But this offseason Seattle will have a lot of questions to answer to make 2022 and years beyond better. One of those is what to do about Wagner.

Wagner is due to make $20 million next year and the Seahawks would save $16.6 if they released him. Wagner is still a great player but he’s expensive. Even if he had played Seattle would have still given up 20-plus points to the Lions. Cody Barton replaced Wagner and Barton had 7 tackles, including a tackle for loss, a pass defended and a quarterback hit. Barton was solid. That $16.6 million is looming large right now.

Number two: Rashaad Penny is becoming a must re-sign

That sounds weird, I know. But Seattle doesn’t have a number-one back entering 2022. I am not sure we can count on Chris Carson with his neck injury. Penny is a free agent and has not been consistently healthy for four years. But the last third of the season? Wow.

Penny ran for 170 yards against Detroit and 2 touchdowns. He averaged 6.8 yards a rush. And he makes looking getting a bunch of yards at a time look relatively easy. It’s almost like Penny hasn’t ever been hurt. But he has been a lot. Still based on the last four games, he needs to come back.

Number three: Seattle still needs to fix its defense

Seattle was playing a backup quarterback who was forced to throw 37 times and still gave up 29 points. Yes, they had 3 interceptions but 2 came very late in the game. The most concerning part is that Seattle had zero sacks (one was nullified on a penalty). This was basically a meaningless game, except for the players on the field trying to earn a spot on next season’s roster.

I don’t care how big of a lead a team has, if a defensive coordinator cannot somehow design a scheme where a defense cannot get home on a backup quarterback throwing the ball around in a blowout then something is wrong. The blowout was a great feeling but this defense still leaves a lot to be desired which is why Ken Norton, Jr. needs to be fired.