Seattle Seahawks fans were ready to see a number of things in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. 12s were excited to see what the new offensive scheme might look like. And the defense was bound to be great.
Neither of those was true to begin the season. The offense struggled against a good San Fran defense, gaining only 230 yards and keeping the ball for only 22 minutes. That last part is wretched, especially as the scheme is supposed to help Seattle control the clock.
Was the defense good enough to win most games? Hopefully, 17 points allowed is pretty good. Unfortunately, the unit made mistakes at the worst times.
Winners and losers from the Seattle Seahawks tough loss to the San Francisco 49ers
Winner: Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The issue with JSN's excellent Week 1, when he caught nine passes for 124 yards, is that he might have made fans miss DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The problem was Smith-Njigba was so much better and more productive than any other Seattle wide receiver. If that continues, the offense is going to struggle. JSN needs to cut down on the fumbles, though.
Loser: Cornerback Riq Woolen
Did Woolen cost himself millions of dollars with his performance in Week 1? He should have. The cornerback will be a free agent next offseason, and the strength of his game has always been coverage instead of run support.
His attempt to knock down the fourth quarter pass to Ricky Pearsall was embarrassing. So was the touchdown-winning catch when Woolen had "coverage" on Jake Tonges. That is not the kind of thing a true No. 1 corner allows.
Winner: Safety Julian Love
Of all the defenders, Love was the one who appeared ready to make a second-year jump in Mike Macdonald's system. Love was aggressive, played smart, and was all over the field. He finished with 10 tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss. He didn't look like a Pro Bowler, but instead an All-Pro.
Loser: Running back Kenneth Walker III
Walker was thought to be a good fit in the new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system. He looked like he did in the last two seasons. He is slow to attack the line of scrimmage, only is explosive if there is an obvious hole to run through. Walker is a boom-or-bust running back who shouldn't keep his starting gig.
Winner: Running back Zach Charbonnet (sort of)
To be sure, Charbonnet wasn't exactly great, either, but that might be more due to the San Francisco 49ers' stout defense than Charbonnet not being good. He picked up the yards that were there and pushed through for a few more. He averaged twice as many yards a carry as Walker and scored a touchdown.
The other part of this is that 12s don't get to know how much better the offense might have been had Charbonnet gotten a bunch of Walker's reps. A touchdown more would have won the game.
Loser: The collective thud of the rookie class
Of the Seattle Seahawks' 53-man roster, 20 percent are rookies. In Week 1, the rookie class didn't do much of anything. Some of this might not have been their fault.
Wide receiver Tory Horton had gotten high praise all through training camp and the preseason, but then he didn't see a target against the 49ers. Tight end Elijah Arroyo saw one. Fullback Robbie Ouzts was invisible. Things have to get better for Seattle to have a good year because so much faith has been put into the rookies.
Winner: The Seahawks run defense
The defense was far from perfect, especially Riq Woolen, but the run defense was good against a good rushing attack. The 49ers had 199 yards rushing, but averaged only 3.3 yards per carry. In such a disheartening loss, the run defense should continue to be good and help the Seahawks' defense be near elite.