The defending champions keep rolling. The Seattle Seahawks haven't lost a game since Week 11 of the 2025 season, and not even losing Sam Darnold for most of the season opener was enough to break their stride.
Darnold will sit out Week 2 vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Divisional matchups are always a toss-up, but this is probably the best game to miss if you're Darnold. With all due respect, Mike Macdonald's team should still be heavily favored in this one.
While everyone expects the defense and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to help Drew Lock secure another win for his résumé, the Seahawks might also need some unsung heroes to step up. Hopefully, Mike LaFleur won't read this; we won't want to ruin the surprise.
4 Seattle Seahawks players poised to surprise in Week 2
Tory Horton
Tory Horton missed the season opener with a hamstring injury, but he's trending in the right direction here. Without their quarterback at the helm, the Seahawks need crafty playmakers who can make defenders miss, and that's right down Horton's alley.
Lock never hesitates to let the ball fly, sometimes to a fault. He didn't seem to be on the same page with Rashid Shaheed when he attempted deep shots in Week 1, so perhaps he'll do better with Horton this time around.
Cooper Kupp showed that he's still got it in the opener, and Smith-Njigba is, until further notice, the best pass catcher in the game. That said, the coaching staff was extremely high on Horton, so he will have opportunities.
George Holani
The Seahawks didn't want to put too much on Jadarian Price's plate in the first game of the season. That makes sense to a degree, but they should've unleashed him after watching him dominate on the ground right out of the gate.
Since they will take a more conservative approach with their prized rookie, George Holani will most likely get the bulk of the goal-line work. With the Seahawks trying to help Lock, he might be crucial in the final third of the field.
Holani will continue to hold onto the Zach Charbonnet role for as long as he's out with an injury. And even though cutting Price loose would probably make more sense and be more fun to watch, the fans may have to wait a little longer.
AJ Barner
The Cardinals failed to contain tight ends in their win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and that's music to Brian Fleury's ears. A tight end guru with extensive work at the position, he'll create mismatches for AJ Barner, who was mostly a non-factor in Week 1.
Barner gushed about Fleury's attention to detail and plans for the position. Given how they failed to stop bigger bodies between the numbers, he might be the Seahawks' secret weapon for this divisional matchup.
There were high expectations for a breakout year for Barner, who missed plenty of time this offseason with an injury. Week 1 was disappointing, but he should have plenty of opportunities with this new offensive regime.
Dante Fowler Jr.
Dante Fowler Jr. had the best seats in the house for most of the season opener. He played a grand total of 16 snaps in his first game with his new team; though, to be fair, he did make a positive impact when he was out there.
Perhaps this was just a matchup-based thing. Maybe Aden Durde and Mike Macdonald wanted to bring him in slowly and see what he could bring to the table in that Boye Mafe role alongside two additional pass-rushers.
But given how much this team loves to shake things up and how solid he looked when given a chance, he might be on the field more often in Week 2. The Seahawks didn't need him, but now that they got him, they might as well use him
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