3 unsung heroes for the Seahawks in Week 1

Week 1’s win was wild for the Seattle Seahawks. Let’s give Geno all his flowers and promise to never write him off again. Some other Seahawks players deserve some love from us too.

In a game where many already wrote them off, the Seahawks came in swinging and held on until the very end to deliver a MNF performance for the ages.

Many players played a key role in taking the Seahawks to the top of the division (for now) and these three players deserve their flowers too.

3 unsung players helped the Seahawks steal a Week 1 victory

First of many touchdown catches for Seahawks TE Colby Parkinson

Selected in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, Parkinson scored his first touchdown on Monday Night Football. He caught a beautiful 25-yard pass from Geno Smith to put the Seahawks up by a score right before halftime. He had 43 yards, matching his TE mate Will Dissly, who also had a touchdown. It’s Parkinson who had the more impressive performance, however, since he came in as the third-string tight end. His play even had Eli Manning talking about it.

This past offseason Parkinson made an emphasis to gain weight so he can play a bulkier tight end role for the team. Since his days at Stanford he has been lining up to be a speedier receiver, and even with the extra weight he excelled in his role and ran his way into the endzone and into Seahawks fans’ hearts.

Stepping in for the backup’s backup, Josh Jones held down the safety position

After Jamal Adams went down with an injury, it was Josh Jones who stepped in at safety due to an injured Ryan Neal. Jones took this opportunity and ran with it. He was a key defensive stopper, including a great tackle to stop Mike Boone in his tracks in the third quarter. This set up the goal line stop for the defense on 4th down that was crucial to the Seahawks victory.

Jones ended the game with seven total tackles, good to tie for third most on the team for the game. With Ryan Neal back in the fold after an injury that kept him out of preseason and training camp, the safety position looks safe moving forward for the Seahawks, having viable starters that will have key roles in the defense moving forward despite Adam’s status. Any rumors about the Seahawks looking for replacement safeties can stop after looking at what Jones and Neal can do.

Finally protecting the quarterback may just pay off, just don’t Cross him

After being selected with the 9th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Charles Cross has stepped up to the plate and is already looking like a staple in the offensive line. Before Week 1, Charles already crossed paths with all-pro DE Robert Quinn and lived to tell the tale. Cross’ “heavy hands” got many talking and he displayed his talents again during Week 1.

Rather than his heavy hands, it was his timely hands that gave Cross some extra eyes on him as he saved a would’ve-been fumble after QB Geno Smith got sacked. Although the arguably best quarterback in Seahawks history is no longer on the roster, rest assured quarterback protection just got a whole lot better for the future of the franchise’s position.