Seahawks week one MVP: Uchenna Nwosu turns up the heat

The Seahawks won the 2022 season opener with relentless defensive pressure. No one turned up the heat more than Uchenna Nwosu.

Make no mistake, the Seahawks win over the Broncos was absolutely a team effort. I very nearly went with three players for the first week MVP.

You may be surprised that none of them were Geno Smith, who did exactly what the Hawks expected him to do. In fact, he received PFF’s (subscription required) second-highest rating of any quarterback in week one.

But I truly think Geno will have even better weeks. Yes, he staked the Hawks to the lead and never turned the ball over. But the offense put up zero points in the second half. Clearly, the defense was the story of this game.

Uchenna Nwosu is the beast the Seahawks expected

Before I get to Mr. Nwosu, I want to mention my two other candidates. It should be no surprise that both are on defense. How well these two played is the true surprise. After all, coming into 2022, neither of them was even a lock to make the 53-man roster.

First up is cornerback Mike Jackson. Coming into the season, the corners were expected to be Sidney Jones and Tre Brown. John Reid was likely the third option. Add rookies Tariq Woollen and Coby Bryant and it was a pretty crowded CB room. But with Reid and Brown on injured reserve and Jones still banged up, the Hawks needed Jackson to come through.

There was certainly reason to think he would. Jackson played well last season in spot duty, and absolutely lit it up in preseason this year. He validated the Seahawks trust Monday night with four solo tackles and one pass defense. Add in one tackle for a loss, and the fact he was targeted for times but allowed just 19 yards on two completions, and he’s looking pretty good.