The Seahawks pulled out the upset in Week1 against the Broncos, in what may be one of the most shocking victories in Seattle in recent years, here are three takeaways from the matchup.
The Week 1 surprising victory by the Seattle Seahawks over the Denver Broncos gave us a ton of excitement. The return of Russell Wilson to Seattle after the offseason trade that brought him to Denver was the most anticipated game of the season, and the first Monday Night Football of this season did not disappoint.
Although almost no one gave the Seahawks a chance to win this game, the team was able to come out victorious in a game that will be talked about in years to come.
Let everyone celebrate this victory, not only because they were able to beat out Russ, but also because the Seahawks are the only NFC West team that was victorious in Week 1.
Some thoughts from the Seahawks Week 1 victory over the Broncos
There will be a ton of discussions with regards to this game especially the last offensive drive by the Broncos, but we are not going to dive into details with that. We are going to focus on the Seahawks’ side of the ball.
Amidst the victory, this team is still in the learning process, with the team having rookies play on the field for the very first time. This process takes time, cheers to them for being able to hold their own on the field. Even with their inexperience, Russ and the Broncos were not able to exploit it during the game.
Seattle can soak this one in, cherish it, but just like any other game, on to the next game they go. Before that, the team has to see what went right, and what went wrong for them during this game.
The Seahawks Geno Era started off perfectly
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was faced with the daunting task to lead this team against their previous franchise quarterback Russell Wilson and the Broncos. Much to the surprise of many, Geno was able to be the calming presence for the team inside the roaring Lumen Field.
Geno started Seattle’s first offensive drive of the season and the game going 4 for 4 with 71 passing yards and a passing touchdown. You cannot write it any other way for Geno and the Seahawks as they were to march down the field and score on their first opening drive.
After Russ and the Broncos were able to tie the score in the 2nd quarter, on a Jerry Jeudy 67-yard catch and run touchdown, Geno was able to guide the Seahawks back to take the lead. Geno Smith was able to connect Colby Parson for the touchdown to put Seattle up 17-10 in the second quarter.
Geno Smith finished the game going 23 for 28 with 195 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. These are the types of games the Seahawks will get from Geno, low passing yards, limiting some mistakes to be able to keep the team in the game. With this win, Geno Smith showed us that he can lead this Seahawks team this season.
It wasn’t all Seahawks roses
There are tons of positive takeaways in this Seahawks’ victory over the Broncos. However, we cannot let this huge win cloud our judgment to see what did not go well for the team. One area that the Seahawks might want to address for their next game is their defense.
I am not saying Seattle’s defense was awful in this game, no, not at all. I am also not dismissing the fact that Seattle’s defense was able to shut down three red zone opportunities for the Broncos, including back-to-back goal-line stops that resulted in two fumble recoveries.
I am here to just remind everyone that the defense still allowed the opposing team to push the ball down the field and have scoring opportunities. This was evident on the next Broncos possession in the 1st quarter after the Seahawks scored a touchdown on their opening drive. The Seahawks allowed Russ and the Broncos to march down the field on the next drive resulting in a Broncos field goal.
Seattle’s defense allowed Russ to throw for 340 yards in this game. The Seahawks do not have the luxury this season to go toe to toe in scoring against the other teams. Although it seems that red zone defense is still a strength of this team after one game, the team must find a way to stop their opponents’ offensive drive as quickly as they can.
Jamal Adams injury definitely put a damper on the Seahawks win
The Jamal Adams injury is a brutal blow to the Seahawks and their defense. After the surprising cut of long-time linebacker Bobby Wagner, Adams is set to anchor this Seattle defense together with fellow safety Quandre Diggs.
This will leave a huge hole in the Seahawks’ defense which is trying to build a good foundation similar to their Superbowl-winning defense, the Legion of Boom.
Since coming over via trade from the NY Jets 2 years ago, Adams has missed a combine nine games. When healthy, Adams can be a force, especially when the Seahawks send him to blitz. Before Adam’s injury, he was having a good game with three tackles.
The Seahawks were hoping to get a healthy Adams this year, to be able to feature him on split-safety-looks. Now, Seattle has to find a way to collectively replace the void Adams left however long he will be out with this injury. Josh Jones, who replaced Adams after the injury, will be heavily relied upon or they can see if Ryan Neal can step up to fill in.
It is only Week 1 and Seattle already has a significant injury on their lineup. Let’s hope for the better for Jamal Adams and hopefully, he recovers quickly from this injury.