Seahawks flaws show vibrantly even in blow-out of Dolphins in Week 3

The Seattle Seahawks won. That is all one really needs to know, one imagines. The problem is that even though Seattle won 24-3 against an extremely diminished Miami Dolphins team Seattle should have won by quite a bit more. Seattle's offense basically took two quarters off which it cannot afford to do moving forward.

The Dolphins suffered a number of injuries even during the game though they were already without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Then, during the game, Miami lost backup Skylar Thompson. Sure, Miami did not score without Thompson, but the issue was not the Seahawks' defense; it was the inconsistency of the offense.

This has been the story in the first three games of the season. Seattle started relatively slowly in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos and in Week 2 against the New England Patriots. In Week 3, Seattle got off to a much better start, scoring 17 points in the first quarter, but then did not score again until the fourth quarter.

Seattle Seahawks trounce the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 but problems still persist

In the final quarter, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb appeared to figure out he could use tight end Noah Fant to pick up first downs, and running back Zach Charbonnet learned how to break tackles and get extra yards. This was all great, but not good enough to win against better competition.

That level picks up quite a bit in Week 4 when the Seahawks travel to Detroit to play the 2-1 Lions. Detroit is not perfect, but they surely will give Seattle a greater challenge than the Seahawks have faced over the first three weeks defensively. Jared Goff is a good quarterback. Ben Johnson is a good offensive coordinator.

Seattle allowed just 205 total yards to the Dolphins and 3.7 yards per play. Seattle's defense was, again, solid against either a rookie quarterback or one who is seen as a long-term backup. Head coach Mike Macdonald's defense did what it needed to do.

The offense is the problem. On the surface, the Seahawks gained 370 total yards and held the ball for almost 31 minutes. The Dolphins, though, lost several key defensive players during the game and in the middle two quarters did not seem to have a game plan on how to attack Miami's new problems.

Beating good teams takes four good quarters. The Seahawks offense isn't there yet. Maybe the players have not yet been truly tested and maybe Grubb hasn't either. That test will begin next week.