Instant Reaction: Seahawks take down Lions 37-31 in overtime

It may have taken overtime, but the Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions in a 37-31 shootout for their first win of 2023.

Seahawks 37, Lions 31: Big Plays | Hawks banged up early | Recap | Stats

What stands out from the victory? The voices of Seattle Sports check in below with their instant reactions. See what they have to say, and then tune in Monday for their full insight and analysis beginning at 6 a.m. with Brock and Salk, as well as The Pete Carroll Show at 9:30 a.m. with the Seahawks head coach.

• Stacy Rost – Bump and Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays)

There are plenty of issues to iron out, but the Seahawks deserve some credit for this Week 2 win.

It came after an ugly, ugly loss to a rebuilding Rams team in Week 1. Still licking their wounds and without two starting tackles, the Seahawks entered an incredibly hostile environment at Ford Field, where Lions fans are expecting their team to win the division for the first time in 30 years.

The Seahawks won time of possession in the first half, but it sure didn’t feel like it. A pair of missed field goals kept Seattle behind and a re-made defense was looking all too familiar in the worst way: porous, with missed tackles and big completions allowed over the middle.

How Seahawks CBs Witherspoon, Brown did in Week 2

Then, the offense rebounded with a solid second half and the defense did just enough (with their share of highlights) to keep things tight.

Player of the day might go to quarterback Geno Smith, and I say this knowing cornerback Tre Brown had a sack and pick-6, breaking a streak of interception-less games from Lions QB Jared Goff that had been standing since Nov. 6, 2022. But Smith, who nearly cost himself this nod thanks to a drive-killing 17-yard sack late in the fourth quarter, engineered an excellent, efficient drive in overtime to give Seattle its first win of the season — one the Seahawks separately needed.

With Seahawks’ top OTs out, Geno and O-line nearly perfect to beat Lions

The good: Smith’s efficient day, Tyler Lockett’s reliability, overcoming big injures, getting tight ends involved, no turnovers on offense, a pair of sacks from Dre Jones and Tre Brown, and a pick-6.

The bad: the defense overall allowed 418 net yards and 31 points from Detroit, and the pass rush was absent through much of the game.

• Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m. weekdays)

That was a truly great football game. Entertaining, physical, clutch, exciting, and ultimately won by a Seahawks team that was unafraid. Unafraid to throw the ball with two backup tackles. Unafraid to go for it on fourth down when they had to retain possession. Unafraid to attack the ball against a quarterback who hadn’t thrown an interception in forever. Unafraid to let their young players make mistakes but prove their talent as they learn. Unafraid to go to overtime and be aggressive. And more than anything, unafraid of what could have been had they slipped to 0-2 on the season.

Huge credit goes to Geno Smith, the criminally underrated and underappreciated Tyler Lockett, and Tre Brown. But I would offer my biggest props to Devon Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu. It was the former’s fourth down defense that finally got this team off the field, and the latter’s forced fumble that not only changed the course of the game but the entire direction of this defense. Before that moment, they were floundering once again. After it, they were on it. Those are the impact plays they needed to get untracked, and now a whole season is back on track because of it.

• Dave Wyman – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m. weekdays)

• Justin Barnes – Brock and Salk

If it is to be believed that Week 1 games are difficult to judge, how much of a marker is Week 2?

You just knew this would be another high-scoring affair in Detroit, and a ton of questions surrounded coach Pete Carroll’s team after getting punched in the mouth by the Rams. Here were a couple of the biggest:

– How does the offense get back on track without both starting tackles, Abe Lucas and Charles Cross?
– Can the Seahawks’ D generate any QB pressure or turnovers?

The Seahawks’ 75-yard opening TD drive featured physical running from running back Kenneth Walker III and Geno Smith’s pin-point accuracy to DK Metcalf. Solid offensive line protection (to the tune of nearly 400 total yards) provided a lot of confidence that the offense wouldn’t repeat the awful 2:1 time of possession battle from Week 1, and that this O-line would be sustainable until Lucas and Cross return. Tyler Lockett’s walk-off TD proves that he continues to be the most reliable, clutch, and dominant players I’ve ever seen wear a Seahawks uniform.

How about QB pressure or turnovers? Marked improvement with two sacks and three takeaways, including a forced fumble that was turned into an offensive TD as well as Tre Brown’s pick-6, but I’m going to need to see a repeat performance and more QB hurries before I’m convinced that they’ve turned a corner.

If Week 1 was humbling, Week 2 was encouraging.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks RT Abraham Lucas placed on IR, out at least 4 games
• Huard: What’s a realistic expectation for new Seahawks OT Jason Peters?
• Rost: Is Seattle Seahawks’ biggest concern offense or defense?