Seahawks defeat Broncos in a perfect Pete Carroll game

It wasn’t always pretty but the Seattle Seahawks shocked many by defeating Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in Week 1.

In a game of extreme highs and extreme lows for 12s, the Seahawks defense did just enough to preserve an excellent offensive show in the first half and eventually win 17-16. And the coach who will be questioned more after the game won’t be Pete Carroll but Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett.

And wasn’t this the most perfect of Pete Carroll games? The offense was led by a quarterback who didn’t turn the ball over, moved around in the pocket well enough where he didn’t get hit much at all until the second half and made smart decisions. Geno Smith had a nearly perfect first half and did what he was asked to do in the second half.

But the Broncos were the team with Russell Wilson and yet at the end of the game, Denver didn’t seem to trust Wilson enough to pick up a potential first down that would have put Denver in a closer position to attempt a field goal.

Seahawks open 2022 season with a victory over Russell Wilson

Denver led the clock run down to 20 seconds and then called a timeout on fourth and 5 from Seattle’s 46-yard line and instead of having Wilson pick up the first down – Denver still had two timeouts even after calling the timeout on 4th and 5 – Denver trotted out their excellent kicker but asking any kicker to make a 64-yard field goal is a bit much.

But Seahawks coach Carroll seems to like close games and likes to have a defense that puts his team in a position to win. And while Seattle gave up 433 total yards, the defense was great when it most needed to be.

Three times Denver was inside the Seahawks 10-yard line with first-and-goals and only once did they come away with points. And that was a field goal attempt. Twice Seattle forced and recovered a Broncos fumble. Besides Geno Smith being so great in the first half, the reason Seattle won was its goal-line defense.

Of course, the Seahawks played a bunch of young guys and there were, as expected, some ups and downs but the rookies played well enough to help lead Seattle to victory. They also should get better as the season wears on.

This Seahawks team may not be ready to compete for a Super Bowl but based on beating a decent Broncos team in Week 1, Seattle could definitely exceed expectations. Plus, how nice must Pete Carroll feel, though he may not admit to it, to defeat Russell Wilson in Wilson’s first game with Denver.