What to know about Seahawks and their Week 4 clash with Detroit
Sep 30, 2022, 12:02 PM
Tyler Lockett of the Seattle Seahawks runs a route against the Atlanta Falcons at Lumen Field on September 25, 2022. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seahawks are looking to bounce back with a win on the road against the Detroit Lions in Week 4.
Pete Carroll Preview: Getting the Seahawks’ defense right vs Lions
It won’t be easy — not just because the Seahawks have their own warts, but because the Lions are better than they were last season. There are plenty of opportunities for a win if the offense can continue to produce and the defense can tighten up against the run. What else should you know ahead of this one? Here’s a recap from this week’s The Huddle:
What you need to know: The good and bad of the Detroit Lions
Don’t look now but the Lions have one of the league’s better offenses. They’re not playing the same game as Buffalo or Kansas City and don’t have the same weapons at quarterback, but they’ve been averaging 31 points per game and are giving opposing defenses headaches with their run game. Oh, and Jared Goff has been solid.
“(Goff) to me looks completely different this year,” Lions reporter Dannie Rogers told The Huddle. “But it looks similar to when he was having his best year in LA, when he was able to make those explosive plays downfield, when he seemed really confident in the offense. Detroit is up there near the top in a lot of offensive categories. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the offensive line… but you’ve also got to give a lot of credit to Jared Goff, who I do think looks a lot more comfortable in this scheme in year two.”
That’s the good (for them, at least). Unfortunately for Detroit (and fortunately for the Seahawks) the Lions defense is the worst in the league at defending in the red zone. Of 11 trips into the red zone by opposing offenses, the Lions have allowed a touchdown on 10.
They’ll also be dealing with some injuries to starters this week. Six offensive starters missed practice Wednesday and a couple could miss the game. Among them: top wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and lead running back D’Andre Swift.
Tyler Lockett sees growth on offense
It wasn’t in a winning effort, but the Seahawks offense saw it’s most productive outing in Week 3. Seattle finished with more plays and net yards than Atlanta, and saw season highs in almost every offensive category (including carries, third down conversions, and pass attempts).
It hasn’t been a perfect start, but veteran receiver Tyler Lockett sees growth.
“You saw when we started out against the Broncos how the offense was looking,” Lockett said. “We were doing phenomenal, especially in the first half. Obviously we only had the ball like three times in the second half… Then you go against San Fran and we kind of hurt ourselves on the early downs. But even on the third downs, we weren’t getting the down but we were still catching the ball and getting it close. So the completions weren’t the issue, it’s just that we were hurting ourselves early on.
“So then you go from there to the Falcons and we’re able to run the ball a lot better, we’re able to pass the ball a lot better, we’re able to find the open holes and make plays after the catch. Now it’s being able to consistently build that up. Against San Fran we’d buy a field goal if we could. Against Atlanta we were getting field goals, and it was like ok now let’s turn those into touchdowns. So it’s not stressing about, ‘oh, the Seahawks haven’t scored a touchdown in the second half,’ it’s about how can we continue to get better and just put points up on the board? Because as long as we can do that, we give ourselves a chance.”
Quotable: Josh Jones keeps it real
When host Michael Bumpus complimented safety Josh Jones’ ability to get his hands on the ball in coverage last week, Jones — now a starter in place of Jamal Adams — cut Bumpus off with a self-evaluation.
“Hell no, I’ve gotta be better in coverage man, I ain’t gonna lie to you.”
Jones is far from the biggest issue with Seattle’s defense, but his sentiment echoes that of captains Quandre Diggs and Al Woods, both of whom acknowledged the lackluster start for Seattle in blunt press conferences.
They’re not wrong. Seattle’s defense is 30th in defensive DVOA and is allowing 157 rushing yards per game. They’ve also given up big plays: Atlanta had seven plays of 20 or more yards Sunday. A Week 4 contest against Detroit brings another challenge: the Lions have 511 rushing yards on the season already (third in the NFL) and are averaging 31.7 points per game (second-most in the NFL).
