Big night for Seahawks’ offense in 48-17 preseason win over Chargers

CARSON, Calif. – Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson looked great for all seven snaps he took in Sunday’s preseason opener.

Backup Trevone Boykin looked even better, completing 12 of the 15 passes he attempted for 189 yards and a touchdown.

But it was receiver Kasen Williams who looked best, catching four passes for 119 yards as the Seahawks racked up the second-most points in any preseason game in franchise history.

Let the record show that it was Seahawks 48, Chargers 17 in the first practice game for both teams. It was the most the Seahawks had scored in any preseason game since putting up 55 points in 1979. The previous high under coach Pete Carroll was 44 set in 2012.

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Seattle didn’t score more than 27 points in any of their four preseason games last season. They had 34 at halftime on Sunday at the soccer stadium where the Chargers will be squatting for the next few seasons.

Rookie running back Chris Carson scored twice for the Seahawks, and Boykin had a touchdown pass and a 4-yard scoring run while leading the Seahawks with 31 yards rushing. There were only two blemishes to note for Seattle, the first being that the starting defense gave up a touchdown drive on the Chargers’ first possession and the second coming when receiver Paul Richardson suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter.

FIRST QUARTER

Chargers 14, Seahawks 10
LAC – Antonio Gates 5 pass from Philip Rivers at 7:51 (Josh Lambo kick).
SEA – Blair Walsh 42 FG at 4:33.
SEA – Terence Garvin 37 interception return at 1:13 (Walsh kick).
LAC – Travis Benjamin 74 pass from Kellen Clemens at 1:11 (Lambo kick).

The good: Earl Thomas. He’s back. So is his sideline-to-sideline range. Chargers receiver Tyrell Williams didn’t find that out so much as he felt it on a first-quarter incompletion. Michael Wilhoite started at strongside linebacker, and on the Chargers’ second possession he stuck his nose in to break up a pass intended for running back Branden Oliver, resulting in an interception for linebacker Terence Garvin, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Also, you’ve got to hand it to Paul Richardson. That’s hand. Singular. He only needed one to make a diving grab of a second-down throw from Russell Wilson that resulted in a 25-yard gain. Richardson caught two passes in Seattle’s first four plays, but he left the game with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder.

The bad: It would be tempting to sound the alarm after the Seahawks’ first-unit defense gave up on a touchdown on the opponent’s opening possession. And while you wouldn’t be wrong – the Chargers did score on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates – it would be misleading. Seattle gave up a touchdown on the opponent’s first possession of the first preseason game last year, too. In fact, Seattle’s opponent has scored on its first possession in three of the past four preseason openers heading into Sunday’s opener.

The ugly: Boykin entered the game on the second possession and fumbled the ball on his second play in the game, dropping it before he had a chance to hand it off to Eddie Lacy. Seattle recovered the fumble, but still. Germain Ifedi got beat inside by Melvin Ingram on Seattle’s first possession, forcing Wilson to get rid of the ball. The Seahawks gave up a 74-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin, and while Garvin was the guy Benjamin ran by, the plan probably wasn’t for a linebacker to be running with Benjamin.

SECOND QUARTER

Seahawks 34, Chargers 17
SEA – Kenny Lawler 2 pass from Trevone Boykin at 11:10 (Lambo kick).
SEA – Walsh 28 FG at 3:24.
SEA – Chris Carson 1 run at 3:07 (Walsh kick).
SEA – Boykin 4 run at 0:49 (Walsh kick).
LAC – Lambo 53 FG at 0:00

The good: Boykin. He was 6 for 7 passing in the period for 96 yards and threw a scoring pass to Kenny Lawler. He also scored on a 4-yard run, giving him a team-high 31 yards rushing in the first half. Lawler had a 2-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal early in the second quarter. Kasen Williams had two nice catches down the sideline, winning a jump-ball against one-on-one coverage for the first and then making a diving reception on the second. Rookie Nazair Jones tipped a second-quarter pass a Tylor Harris interception.

The bad: Rookie safety Delano Hill was covering some guy named Michael Weiser, who was added to the Chargers roster on Friday. Lawler had a chance to catch a second touchdown, but couldn’t hold onto a ball in the back of the end zone on a third-down throw with just under 4 minutes left in the first half.

The ugly: Harris’ interception return. Every fat kid’s dream looked more like an elephant seal practicing yoga. Also, the Chargers’ botched handoff – which led to their second turnover – merits mentioning as it couldn’t have been gift-wrapped any better for Christian French, setting up Seattle’s third touchdown of the game one play later.

THIRD QUARTER

Seahawks 41, Chargers 17
SEA – Carson 1 run at 11:40 (Walsh kick).

The good: Williams was a one-man show. He caught two passes in the third quarter for 63 yards. Williams was responsible for 119 of the 189 yards Boykin passed for, which is 63 percent.

The bad: Boykin’s final pass of the game was picked off by Desmond King as Boykin attempted a throw he couldn’t truly step into because of a pass rush given up by rookie Jordan Roos, who was playing at left guard.

The ugly: First, it looked like Cyril Grayson had a 25-yard touchdown catch after getting behind the defense on third-and-7. Upon review, Grayson got only one foot down, but an offsides penalty against the defense gave Seattle a second crack at the first down. The Seahawks didn’t get it as Alex Collins was stopped for 1 yard and then had a pass go off his hands on fourth down, which was the final play of the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

Seahawks 48, Chargers 17
SEA – Alex Collins 1 run at 6:30 (Walsh kick).

The good: The Seahawks scored the second-most points in any preseason game. The high of 55 was set in 1979. They scored 45 points in a preseason game in 1997 and 44 at Kansas City in 2012, the game in which Russell Wilson won the starting job.

The bad: It was a preseason game.

The ugly: The StubHub Center ran out of hot-dog buns in the media dining room at halftime. The savages here in Southern California were eating the hot dogs naked. Wait. The hot dogs were naked. Not the reporters who were eating them.

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