Top 3 keys to victory for Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions in Week 2

The Seattle Seahawks entered Week 1 with talks of a season that should feature a deep playoff run and a possible return to the Super Bowl. All of the practices, the positivity, the Pete Carroll smiles, and all of the hype had fans on cloud 9.

Then they played football.

It was a trap! The Rams punched the Seahawks right in the mouth and the team (and fans) came back down to Earth. Very sobering game for 'Hawks fans. We aren't that good (yet).

Here we are heading into Week 2 and some fans are already in panic mode. The Lions knocked off the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs in KC and put the league on notice; the Lions are for real. Sure, Kansas City had basically nobody who could catch (Kadarius Toney just showed the entire world why the Giants 'waived' - see what I did there? - bye-bye to him after wasting a first-round pick on him.)

Seahawks three keys to victory in Week 2

Toney was awful. You could almost single handedly blame him for the Chiefs losing. Mr. Butterfingers. Maybe his hoodie was pulled too tight?

As I mentioned last week, good teams win games that they should. However, great teams often win the games that they shouldn't. The Lions should not have won that game. The Seahawks on the other hand, should have beaten the Rams. No Cooper Kupp? No Problem.

Right.

Week 1 was nothing but problems (at least on the defensive side of the ball). The good news is it is only Week 2 and its time to shake off the Week 1 grieving, and get ready for the opportunity to get back on track.

Lets take a look at the top three keys to victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 2

Establish the running game early

Not only is the running game the Seahawks' greatest strength, but it will help keep the defense off the field. Last week Kenneth Walker III looked electric during the first half. The Seahawks initially stuck to their identity and pounded the rock. Walker has 12 carries for 64 yards, and a 5.3 yards per carry. Oddly enough Carroll ditched the run in the second half, and that can't happen this week. Pete needs to stick to the plan, and give the ball to Walker.

Detroit is loaded on offense and has the ability to strike all three levels of the field. So how do the 'Hawks best manage this? Keep the Detroit offense off the field. Control the clock and the tempo of the game by running the ball. Walker and Zach Charbonnet should be able to find success against a Lions defense that ranks 12th against the run. Let's not make this difficult, run the ball.