It wasn't pretty, but in the first game of the Mike MacDonald led era, the Seattle Seahawks kicked off the 2024 campaign with a 26-20 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Early on, it seemed like this game could slip away from the Seattle very quickly. On just the second offensive play, Geno Smith threw an interception, setting up the Broncos in the red zone. However, the defense held Denver to a field. The interception was only the beginning of a series of mistakes by the Seahawks offense all afternoon long, most notably with the offensive line, which allowed Smith to be hit seven times. Things got so bad that the Seahawks ended up on the wrong side of NFL history by becoming the first team to give up two safeties in one quarter. The first one came when guard Anthony Bradford was flagged for holding, and later, when Zach Charbonnet was stuffed inside the one-yard line.
With all those miscues, you are probably wondering, how in the hell did Seattle come out victorious? Well, the immediate impact of Mike MacDonald's defensive scheme was throughout the Pacific Northwest, and I for one, loved it.. It was truly shocking to see how much better this defense looked compared to at any point last season (aside from the Week 4 win at the New York Giants). It was not as if Seattle brought in any high-profile veterans during the offseason to add to the defensive side of the ball. The key addition was MacDonald, and after just one game, it is clear he has already had a major influence on the team.
Going back to the offensive side of the ball, Kenneth Walker III was the star of the show. The third-year back ran for 84 yards and a touchdown in the second half, finishing the game with 103 yards on 20 carries. Once he got going, it seemed to settle down the rest of the offense and although we didn't see much of the high-flying offense we thought we might get with new OC Ryan Grubb, but based how the first half unfolded, Seahawk fans are happy with the 1-0 start. Unfortunately for Walker, he did exit the game early with an abdominal injury, and it's unclear whether he'll miss time or if the move was purely precautionary.
In the end, it was an ugly win, but the Seahawks showed significant tremendous on defense with MacDonald at the helm, which was the most important takeaway. While the offense had its struggles, with the talent on that side of the ball, I’m confident that Grubb, Smith, and company will get on the same page rather quickly.
Next up for the Seahawks, a trip to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots who pulled off the upset win of the weekend by taking down the Cincinnati Bengals on the road.
P.S. Can we just make those beautiful throwbacks the full-time jerseys?
Game Balls:
MVP: Mike MacDonald
Offensive Player Of The Game: Kenneth Walker
Defensive Player Of The Game: Leonard Williams
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