These three Seattle Seahawks got off to slow starts for the 2025 season, but all played key roles in the Week 2 win in Pittsburgh. You can expect even more from them in Week 3 when New Orleans visits Seattle.
The Seahawks may have gotten off to a rough start this season - okay, you can remove the "may" there - but the outlook was much better after they rebounded against the Steelers. There's nothing like an explosive running game and varied passing attack to cure the opening loss blues.
Seattle only gained 230 yards against the 49ers in that opening loss. Jaxon Smith-Njigba got nearly 60 percent of the targets, and clearly, that was not a recipe for success. Versus the Steelers, the ratio dropped to 33 percent, and the passing offense nearly doubled its output. The running game came to life, too. At least it did for one player. We'll get to that, don't worry.
All three of these Seahawks will dial it up again versus the Saints
I'd be amiss if I didn't point out that the defense stepped it up in Week 2 as well. The Seahawks only surrendered 17 points to the Niners in that opening loss, but it felt like 37. George Kittle missed most of the game, and Seattle still gave up 384 yards. Far worse, the 49ers kept the ball for nearly 38 minutes. The "bend but don't break" philosophy only goes so far.
Happily, that changed radically in Week 2. The defense allowed 267 yards to the Steelers and held their possession time under 29 minutes. After throwing for four touchdowns in Week 1, Aaron Rodgers looked every day of his 41 years as the Seahawks held him to a passer rating of 58.0.
65 of his 203 yards passing came from Jaylen Warren's ramble through Seattle's defense. And yes, that's one of those areas that needs to get cleaned up. That wasn't on the first Seattle stalwart, though.
Byron Murphy
Seattle's first pick in the 2024 draft had a fairly quiet rookie season. Half a sack, two tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hit don't exactly move the needle much. And yes, those were his stats for the season.
Overall, he played much better than those stats showed, but the team and the 12s expected more. His teammate Jarran Reed told everyone that the breakout year was coming. And so far, he was on the money.
Murphy had a solid game against the Niners. He had six combined tackles and a QB hit. Pretty good, considering he had 36 tackles and just that one QB hit in his entire rookie season. Well, speaking of dialing things up, Murphy cranked it to 11 versus the Steelers.
He had five tackles, one for a loss, three QB hits, and one and a half sacks. Byron Murphy has arrived, and you can look for more of that in Week 3.
Kenneth Walker III
Yes, I'll admit I doubted Ken Walker after his dismal stat sheet in the first game of the season. I certainly wasn't the only one. I mean, 20 yards on 10 carries? Hey, at least he caught all three of his targets. Unfortunately, he gained a whopping total of four yards on those receptions.
Part of that was on the game plan, but a large part of that poor performance was on Walker himself. Instead of hitting whatever slim hole or crease the line opened, he hesitated and got swallowed up by the defense.
That was not the K9 we saw in Week 2. Walker hit the line with authority - okay, let's say savagery - as he lit up the Steelers defense. The Kenneth Walker III the 12s know and love didn't quite go Marshawn Lynch on Pittsburgh. I mean, 13 carries doesn't qualify as "over and over and over and...," but it was enough to help carry the Seahawks to the win. Expect more from K9 in Week 3.
Cooper Kupp
Kupp was underwhelming in his first outing for the Seahawks. He dropped a key pass in the four-point loss to the Niners. I can't harp on him about that too much, as he typically has about three drops a season. Bad things happen, and a lot of bad things happened for Seattle in that game. Maybe if Kupp had seen more than three targets, he would have had a chance to redeem himself.
Turns out, that was the magic formula after all. The crafty veteran hauled in seven catches on nine targets, picking up 90 yards and five first downs in the process. Or is he a wily veteran? Well, he's effective, and that's what matters. This is the player the 12s expected in 2025. I expect the Saints will get more than they want from him in Week 3.