Seahawks storylines for Week 4 game versus Lions on Monday Night Football

The Seahawks have gotten off to an excellent start to their 2024 campaign, a 3-0 undefeated start to kick off the Mike Macdonald era. The defense, a unit ranked first in the league by Pro Football Focus, has been as advertised -- surrendering fewer than 150 passing yards per game. However, Seattle has not had the most difficult schedule thus far, facing three lowly teams with below-average quarterbacks.

However, on Monday night in front of the nation, Seattle faces a very good Detroit Lions team that will truly test the strength of this defensive unit. This will be the two franchises' fourth straight meeting in the last four years. The last three meetings have all been in Detroit. Last season, Seattle went into Detroit in week two and won a 37-31 overtime thriller. In 2022, in Ford Field, the Seahawks again won in a high-scoring shootout, 48-45.

Over the last six games played between the two teams, the Seahawks are 6-0. However, these Detroit Lions this season are as talented as anyone in the NFC. A high-powered offense led by a much-improved Jared Goff, supplemented by an arsenal of weapons, capped off by an elite offensive line will be a serious litmus test for Mike Macdonald and the new-look Seahawks defense.

The Lions' offensive firepower versus the Seahawks' defense

Finishing with a top-five offense in 2023, the Detroit Lions have built a juggernaut offense under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. When Detroit traded away quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Rams in exchange for two first-round picks and quarterback Jared Goff, we all thought Goff was just a throw-in, someone to start in Detroit for a year before Detroit would draft a franchise quarterback. We were wrong.

Goff has revitalized his career since being dealt to Detroit. Throwing for over 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns last season, Goff looks like a franchise quarterback for Detroit. His wide receiver corps, consisting of the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown and third-year Alabama product Jameson Williams, is one of the best in the league. Tight end Sam LaPorta, although dealing with an ankle injury, is a consensus top-five tight end in the NFL. Detroit's running backs are scary as well, a two-headed monster in power back David Montgomery, and elusive, receiving back Jahmyr Gibbs.

However, even with all the elite skill players, the most dominant unit of Detroit's offense is their offensive line. Head coach Dan Campbell, a real rugged dude, has assembled arguably the nastiest, meanest, and best offensive line in the league. Seattle's pass rush unit, which leads the entire lead in pressures through three weeks, has a tough task on Monday night when it comes to pressuring Goff. If Seattle can't generate pressure, and Goff is comfortable in the pocket all night, he can pick Seattle apart no matter how good the coverage is.