Three ways the Seahawks can beat Russell Wilson in Week 1
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks kick off their 2022 season against the best quarterback in Seattle franchise history. Here is how Seattle can win.
The Seahawks will obviously not be expected to beat Russell Wilson in Week 1. I expect a lot of pundits will predict a Denver blowout.
But 12s know better. With or without Russell Wilson, the Seahawks keep most games close since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010. Week 1 will probably not be much different.
So how can Seattle defeat their former quarterback and shock the NFL world on Monday Night Football? Here are three possible ways.
Three things the Seahawks can do to beat Russell Wilson on Monday Night Football
Pressure pressure pressure
12s know that Russell Wilson can be sacked. He holds on to the ball too long and takes more hits than he should. That said, if Wilson has time to throw, he is going to make the young Seahawks rookie pay. Even if Sidney Jones is able to play – he is currently dealing with a concussion – he isn’t so experienced as a starter that he can be counted on to shut down one of the Broncos‘ good receivers.
No matter who is playing CB for Seattle, the pass rush must help them. The Broncos offensive line also isn’t such that they should be able to consistently keep the heat off of Wilson. Wilson doesn’t get rid of the ball that quickly and he isn’t going to suddenly turn into a timing quarterback.
Wilson is great at what he does which is throw the best deep ball in football and create production out of chaos. But he can also make mistakes when rushed, like any quarterback, and Seattle has to find a way to force him into bad throws. If the cornerbacks can play decent coverage for a few seconds after the snap, the rush should get there and Seattle can limit what Wilson is capable of.