Seahawks week 1 win over the Broncos rapid reaction

The Seattle Seahawks got off to a slow start in their season opener. Make that a painfully slow start. But the defense kept them in the game until the offense got on track to

The Seahawks defense came up big. Did I say big? Big as in Mount Rainier big. They held the Denver Broncos to 121 yards and nine points in the first half. That's remarkable, considering that the Hawks offense gave them virtually no time to rest. The Hawks matched the Broncos nine points on offense, but surrendered four points on two safeties. That's not a typo, if you missed the game.

The defense dialed it up even higher in the second half. The Hawks only allowed 19 yards on three Broncos drives in the third quarter. They let up a bit in the fourth quarter, giving up 91 yards. That wasn't as bad as it would seem at first. Seattle forced a punt on Denver's first drive, then picked off rookie Bo Nix on their next series. The Broncos finally broke through on their final drive, but it was too little too late.

The Seattle Seahawks offense clicked and the defense never let up

The Hawks defense looked very different from the past few seasons. I'm sure that most 12s had to rub their eyes a few times during this game. I know I did. I must have muttered "Wait, did I just see the Hawks first man make the tackle again?" a dozen times. That isn't something we've been used to seeing in Seattle the past couple of seasons.

Seattle had no shortage of heroes in this game. The defense supplied most of the standout moments in the first half. There's no doubt about that. The offensive line played an absolutely abysmal first half. At that point, I was sure that the loss of George Fant had cooked the Hawks for the day. Happily, Ryan Grubb made the adjustments Seattle needed and the offense took off in the second half.

Geno Smith didn't need any adjustments. He had virtually no time in the first half, but still managed to get the Seahawks into the end zone on a sparkling 34-yard dash. That got the Hawks within one point, before the Broncos tacked on another field goal to take a 13-9 lead at the half. The Seahawks moved to an uptempo game to start the second half and got their running game going as well.

Speaking of that running game, Kenneth Walker III showed every bit of his explosive talent in the second half. After being held to just 16 yards in the first half, K9 showed just how elusive he can be after the halftime break. He slashed his way to 87 yards and a score, leaving Denver defenders grabbing nothing but air. A late abdomen injury could be worrisome, especially as the Hawks struggled to move the ball on the ground without him on their final two drives.

Geno Smith, the man some misguided 12s love to hate, righted the Hawks offensive ship once he had more than a quarter-second to throw the ball. After a disastrous start of an interception on the first series of the game, Smith started hitting his targets, especially in the second half. He finished the game 18-25 for 171 yards and a touchdown, and showed perfect touch on a vast number of throws. None was better than his perfect strike to Tyler Lockett to seal the win. For those who may have forgotten, Tyler Lockett is a magician.

Still, the star of this game was the Seahawks defense. Make that stars, as virtually everyone got into the act. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall each had a sack for Seattle. Leonard Williams wasn't about to be shown up by the kids, as he had five QB hits of his own. Safety Julian Love made a statement too. I'm pretty sure Bo Nix will see Number 20 in his nightmares every night for a while. Love made a dozen tackles, broke up one pass, forced a fumble, and made a key interception to kill a Denver drive. Unfortunately, the Hawks couldn't get out of their own way after that, but Love did his job.

Love was hardly the only star. Riq Woolen came away with a pick of his own to shut down a fourth-quarter drive. It's difficult to find a Seahawks defender who struggled today. Tre Brown did allow a couple of key receptions, but he made some big stops, too. The Hawks seemed to play a bit soft on the Broncos final scoring drive., They allowed Nix to scramble twice for big plays, including Denver's final touchdown. I don't know; maybe they thought at 24, he was too old to run.

The Seahawks certainly have some work to do before next week's game against the surprising Patriots. They can't start off the game with the offensive line playing like a sieve. They have to maintain their defensive intensity on every series. That's not much of a complaint, considering how savage they were for the first 14 series. Denver gained 54 of their 231 yards, and their only touchdown, on that final drive. That is a solid day's work in anybody's book.