Seahawks-Lions takeaways: Seahawks keep winning the turnover battle

The Seahawks faced a tough slate coming out of their bye week, but they passed their first test with flying colors, defeating the Detroit Lions 28-14 on the road.

Recap | O’Neil on run game | Dickson’s fake punt | 710 reaction | Photos

Seattle improves to 4-3 with the win, but it doesn’t get any easier for a Seahawks team set to play Philip Rivers and the Chargers, Jared Goff and the undefeated Rams, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and Cam Newton and the Panthers over the next four weeks.

Still, the Seahawks have plenty to feel good about after their Week 8 win. Here are a few quick takeaways:

Hawks see more from Moore

Second-year wide receiver David Moore continued to improve on his season with his fourth career touchdown. All scores have come over the last three games.

Moore was a standout in training camp, though the 2017 seventh-round pick saw just one target through Seattle’s first three games. Moore’s snap counts increased in Week 4 (43 against the Cardinals, compared to just 16 against the Broncos in Week 1) and Seattle has benefited from his production. Moore had his first catch of the season against Arizona and has had at least one touchdown in each of the last three games.

Moore led all receivers Sunday, catching all four of his targets for 97 yards and one touchdown.

Ed Dickson makes an entrance

Tight end Ed Dickson made his first start with Seattle after missing the first six weeks of the season on the Non-Football Injury list.

Dickson, who was signed by the Seahawks in March, had two catches for 54 yards and one touchdown.

In more Dickson-related news, punter Michael Dickson made a surprise play late in the fourth quarter for Seattle when he ran for a first down on a punt instead of taking a safety.

In a postgame interview with Jen Mueller on the 710 ESPN broadcast, Dickson said he didn’t even know he would be running for a first down until he saw the opportunity.

“So we’re meant to take a safety,” Dickson said. “And I was meant to milk the clock by running around and step out at the back of the end zone. But there was just a massive gap. And Pete said earlier – I don’t know if he was joking, after the London game – ‘Man, when are you going to take it and just run it?’ And I think he was being sarcastic, but I just pulled it off and it worked out.”

Seattle keeps winning the turnover battle

Following an offseason in which Seattle saw the departure of several longtime defensive starters, the Seahawks’ defense has continued to outperform expectations.

Seattle is second in the league in one particular category: turnover differential. The defense has forced 14 turnovers through seven games, with at least two in each game (the lone exception being a Week 4 contest against the Cardinals, when they recorded just one turnover). In comparison, the Seahawks’ offense has given up the ball just six times this year, and only once in the last five weeks.

That number is obviously subject to change, but through seven games it’s better than their performance in 2017 (+8), 2016 (+1), and 2015 (+7).

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