Seattle Seahawks three biggest priorities heading into Week 2

It's pretty rare to see a game so early in the season be labeled as a "must-win." But with the Seattle Seahawks' performance in Week 1 against the Rams, Week 2 certainly feels that way.

There are some major weaknesses that the Lions can exploit. If the staff fails to cover up these weaknesses and the game looks anything like it did last week, Seahawk fans may start to question the direction of the 2023 season. If they haven't done so already.

What follows are the three biggest priorities for Seattle in Week 2. If they can be good in all these phases against the Lions, Seattle should be in a position to win the game. And 1-1 would feel a lot better than 0-2, right?

Three biggest priorities for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2

Seahawks priority No. 1 - Establishing the trenches

Apart from what was a miserable Sunday afternoon were the injuries of LT Charles Cross and RT Abe Lucas. At the time of this writing, Cross has yet to practice this week dealing with turf toe, and Abe Lucas was placed on IR, meaning he'll miss at least the next 4 games. Two really tough losses that are hard to replace, especially at the beginning of the season.

Stone Forsyth and Jake Curhan seemed to be the next two up, but with the recent addition of the 41-year old Jason Peters, it seems like the Seahawks themselves are as skeptical of those two as we are. These tackle injuries couldn't have come at a worse time, as one of the tackles mentioned - likely Jake Curhan - will be lined up one on one with edge rusher Aiden Hutchinson. Hutchinson looked fantastic week one against the Chiefs on Thursday night football, and is probably licking his chops looking at the current situation Seattle's in.

Seahawks priority No. 2 - Get creative with the pass rush

The pass rush last week played at an unacceptable level. Matthew Stafford had all day in the pocket, slicing up the Seattle secondary with Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell. Pass rush and secondary play go hand in hand, and when the Rams offensive line was able to give Stafford the time he had on Sunday, that's never a good recipe for success defensively.

What I'd like to see out of Clint Hurtt would be more creativity up front. Last week Hurtt would have the Seahawks play in these really wide formations, giving the edge rushers space to work with. Guys just weren't winning up front though, and when you run into a wall like that you can't keep trying to win with 4 up front, you've gotta generate pressure somehow. Against the Lions stout offensive line - one a lot better than the Rams I might add - Hurtt will have to get creative with the blitz packages he uses on Sunday, otherwise the secondary will suffer again.

Seahawks priority No. 3 - New additions in the secondary need to be good

Speaking of the secondary, it seems like the Seahawks will at LEAST have the debut of the number 5 overall draft pick, Devon Witherspoon. He's practiced every day this week, along with Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams. Both of these additions could lead to a big jump in secondary play.

Now I realize it's very presumptuous to assume a great performance for both Adams and Witherspoon, but it's essential that we at least see some flashes. Witherspoon was widely graded as the best corner coming out of the draft, and he got drafted as such. The Seahawks broke their typical drafting technique when it comes to cornerback because of how dominant Witherspoon was in college. I'm not saying that he has to be that great right away, but it would be fantastic to see Witherspoon come off of injury and be an immediate contributor.

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