The Seattle Seahawks won a wild one in Detroit, beating the Lions 37-31 to improve to 1-1 on the season.
weren’t just 1-0, they were coming off a win against the defending champs, riding the highest expectations in decades, and inducted my favorite football player of all time, Barry Sanders, into their Ring of Fame with a statue unveiling. Everything lined up for the Seahawks to fall to 0-2, so of course they snuck out with a win that was dramatic even by their cardiac standards.
Lions head coach Dan Gamble kept his offense on the field, trusting his to-this-point perfect QB to convert on 4th & 4. Goff dropped back, looked to his right, and fired a bullet to rookie TE Sam LaPorta. Initially, it looked like the latest in a never-ending string of first downs for Detroit but Seattle’s own rookie made his mark. Devon Witherspoon, making his NFL debut, broke on the ball and snaked his hand in to break up the pass and give his team the ball back.
Seattle would eventually get to the Detroit’s 43, forcing a 4th & 3 and presenting Pete Carroll an opportunity to shed his maddeningly conservative history and embrace a bright new future of trusting both his offense and the analytics. Instead, they tried a half-hearted hard count and punted it away like cowards. Disappointing.
Detroit started the third quarter with the ball but apparently had no interest in keeping it. For the second straight play, they coughed it up, this time when Uchenna Nwosu blew through the tight end tasked with blocking him and yanked the ball out of Montgomery’s hands. The pigskin was pounced upon by Jarran Reed, which set the offense up just outside of the red zone.
After a false start, Geno dumped it off to Charbonnet for nine then hit Will Dissly on a little slip route for 13 more. Smith-Njigba got six on the next play and Charbonnet gained five more up the middle after that. That put Seattle in the red zone but a horrific intentional grounding call against Smith on a miscommunication with Lockett made it 2nd & 20.
That gave the Lions enough time to march down the Seahawks 20 and kick a game-tying field goal as the clock expired. I suppose it’s what this game deserved, a rowdy affair devoid of reason, hurtling through the football universe guided my neither physics nor principle. On 3rd and game, Geno took the snap, dropped back, and whipped a pass towards the right hash, where it was snagged by Lockett’s tiny little toddler hands. Tyler, who had just eviscerated the coverage with a little two-step, cradled the ball and turned upfield, diving for the endzone, slapping the pylon with the ball for the victory, and waving the crowd goodbye as the official extended his arms upward.
~Seattle didn’t have much in the way of explosive runs today, but their ball carriers did a great job with what was available. Ken Walker was better than his stat line might indicate, as it felt like he had more missed tackles forced than rushing yards. He dealt with free tacklers at or behind the line of scrimmage on nearly every run, but translated his tribulations into 54 yards and two touchdowns on 18 opportunities.
~For the first time ever, DK and Tyler have a third Musketeer. Jaxson Smith-Njigba isn’t commanding the target share yet that he inevitably will, but he’s been real good with the opportunities he’s had thus far. He tied Metcalf with six targets, snagging five of them for 34 yards including the beautiful sideline grab in the first and the scrambling 16-yarder in the second. His development is going to be very fun to watch.
~Much was made last week and last season about this team’s defensive struggles. Don’t get me wrong, Sean McVay and Ben Johnson is a brutal combination of play-callers to start your season against but the Seahawks haven’t done much to test them. That being said, the way they played in the second half was very encouraging.
But something changed in the locker room and they were back to their sure-handed selves after that, roping Lions runners down like so many rodeo calves and keeping their offense within striking distance. Both Wagner and Brooks had nice plays in the passing game as well, with Brooks recording 11 tackles to Wagner’s 10.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
12 Thoughts as the Seahawks head to Detroit to take on the LionsA collection of FTR thoughts that weren’t turned into their own articles ...
Read more »
Seattle Seahawks News 9/16: Seahawks head to Detroit looking for answersRead!
Read more »
Seahawks vs Lions: Week 2 notable prop betsWill Geno Smith rack up the yardage on Sunday?
Read more »
Seahawks elevate same pair of defensive players for Lions gameIn spite of missing both tackles, Seattle opted to elevate Artie Burns and Jon Rhattigan, a pair of primarily special teams players, from the practice squad for the matchup
Read more »
Seahawks vs. Lions: How to watch, game time, TV schedule, streaming and moreThe info you need on how to watch the Seahawks at Lions Week 2 NFL matchup.
Read more »
Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions Line MovementNFL line and odds movement for Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions on Sep 17, 2023.
Read more »