Seahawks 2022 season review: The best of times, the worst of times
The Seahawks season is over after a tough loss on the road to the team that will represent the NFC this year in the Super Bowl. That’s cool. Next year, it’s our turn.
Sure, the few people who wandered in here by mistake – those of you that aren’t true 12s – are laughing about my assertion that it’s our turn next year. First, by our turn, I mean the Seahawks, not me personally, our site, nor the 12s in general. Well, it will be the 12s turn, because they’ll be doing a lot of celebrating. By next year, okay, it’s this year – 2023 – but next season. Next year just plays better.
Now exactly why this coming season will be a Seahawks year, I’ll leave for another time. Let’s look back on this year’s successes and failures, and see how it all balanced out. I think you’ll agree with me that this year has to be counted as a success, although there may be a few qualifiers to that statement. I’m not going to dissect every game, but a closer look at the first two contests, and see how they served as harbingers for the entire year.
Seahawks first two games set the tone for the season
The hype for the Hawks first game of the year was unreal. The NFL gave it the spotlight it deserved on Monday Night Football. The Seahawks would face their former quarterback Russell Wilson in what most of the talking heads saw as a debut for a team headed for the postseason. Well, they were right; they just had the wrong team. Wilson went on to have the worst season of his carer, and Geno Smith had his best. We saw the seeds of those performances in this game.
Russ actually had one of his best games of the year, but still struggled to find the end zone. He missed several open receivers, something we’d seen far too often in his last couple of seasons in Seattle. Meanwhile, Geno played a brilliant game. He completed 23 of 28 passes and threw for two scores. While he fell off toward the end of the season, Geno Smith looked like the nine-time Pro Bowler, not Wilson.
The defense showed us what was coming, too. They surrendered 433 yards but created key turnovers to hold the Broncos to 16 points. While Coby Bryant got burned on one of those scores, he bounced back with a fine rookie season. Rookie tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas played like five-year starters, and rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen allowed just one catch on three targets. Free agent linebacker Uchenna Nwosu kicked off his great year with three pressures and a sack. Things were looking up in the Emerald City. It certainly looked like the best of times.