Rost: Seahawks’ season-opening win is a give and take

Sep 8, 2024, 4:41 PM | Updated: 7:22 pm

Julian Love of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates an interception against the Broncos on Sept. 8, 2024. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

BY STACY ROST

Seattle Sports

Week 1 Grades – Seattle Seahawks 26, Denver Broncos 20

• Seahawks’ defense: A
• Offense: C-
• Offensive line: D

Congrats, Seahawks! You got a dramatically improved defense, at least against a rookie quarterback in Week 1.

What did it cost? Only a watchable offense.

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That’s in jest, of course. Seattle didn’t make a major sacrifice on offense to take steps forward defensively. But it sure does feel like the football gods like to have their fun by ensuring you never quite get everything you’ve been wanting all at once. (It’s how you encourage gratitude, I’m sure.)

Seattle fans have desperately been craving improvements defensively, of course. They were 30th against the pass in 2020, 31st against the pass in 2021, and then improved there… only to fall to 30th against the run in 2022 and 31st in 2023. Pick your poison when trying to find the reason for defensive failures: a lack of adjustments, coaching, miscommunication, personnel, draft misses, execution issues, or poor tackling.

TBD whether those have been fully ironed out, but the Seahawks certainly looked markedly improved in their 26-20 win over Denver. Seattle’s defense made Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who’d strung together a sharp preseason, look every bit an NFL rookie. Denver was 4 of 12 on third down with just 40 net rushing yards, and held to a pair of field goals and two safeties (0 for 3 in the red zone) until the fourth quarter.

The plays started early: Seattle’s Rayshawn Jenkins made a shoestring tackle of Denver’s Javonte Williams early in the first quarter to limit the Broncos to three points instead of what felt like a sure touchdown run. Then they took off. Julian Love picked off Nix at the one-yard line in the first half, linebacker Tyrel Dodson swiftly fell on a fumble forced by safety K’Von Wallace in the third, and Riq Woolen intercepted an ill-advised pass late in the fourth. Consider that Denver’s average drive start was at their own 46-yard line in the first half and they came out of that without a touchdown.

Love LOCKDOWN. 🔒 pic.twitter.com/fyeqYzuAT1

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 8, 2024

That performance from Seattle’s defenders barely kept them afloat at first. Because this was one of the worst offensive days I can remember watching from the Seahawks.

Seattle’s first three drives of the game started with a sack, a false start, and a holding call. It gave up two safeties (!), including one on a holding penalty on guard Anthony Bradford. It had 102 net yards in the first half and 34 of them came from one touchdown run by QB Geno Smith.

The Seahawks pulled away in the end. Why? Because they have more talent, and that talent fought through eventually. (Also, because the defense stayed on top of it.) Running back Kenneth Walker III leapt into the end zone to cap off a 23-yard scramble down the right sideline in the third quarter, while fellow back Zach Charbonnet got on top of a defender and found himself wide open for a 30-yard pass from Smith for another score in the fourth.

OH HELLO, @zachcharbon! pic.twitter.com/4sdw4kZ0wk

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 8, 2024

Seattle has too much ability with its skill position players to flail as much as it did early on, but just enough questions and poor play along the offensive line to make a Week 2 win in New England feel far from a sure thing.

Week 1 is for working through the kinks, and the Seahawks aren’t the only team to start slow offensively. The Bengals put up a single touchdown against the Patriots. Deshaun Watson was sacked five times and Cleveland struggled to get much of anything done against the Cowboys. Maybe the Browns never work out their issues, but you don’t really care about them – you care about the Seahawks and whether they can find answers on the offensive line. They’ll need to do it – and fast – because it doesn’t get easier from here. The Pats and Dolphins were top-11 defenses in limiting opponent yardage last year while the Lions led all defenses in pressure percentage.