Seattle Seahawks takeaways from Pro Football Focus grades for preseason win over LA Chargers

Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks defeated Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 on the road yesterday afternoon in their first preseason game of the 2024 NFL campaign. While it was only an exhibition game, it has nevertheless inspired some newfound energy and hope for a fanbase that had grown accustomed to middling 9-8 seasons.

The team got mostly-standout performances from their young new-look defensive unit and a few pleasant surprises here and there on offense. Let's see what we can learn by breaking down the team's grades from Saturday night's game according to the experts at Pro Football Focus .

Sam Howell and P.J. Walker have had better games

- Sam Howell and P.J. Walker both graded out poorly, as expected. Howell posted a 59.7 passing grade, which is pretty close to exactly average (or up and down) going by PFF's system. Walker was worse, getting a 54.5 passing grade for his limited action on the field. Between the two of them they managed just 169 yards through the air and a combined 77.6 passer rating.

- Wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. (90.1) and tight end Brady Russell (88.3) had the highest grades on offense, but they only played a total of 40 snaps between them. Everyone else's grades on offense were somewhere between mediocre and meh, but at the top of the heap there's the team's top two running backs, Kenny McIntosh (71.7) and George Holani (70.7), who were rated pretty high compared to the rest of the unit. At wide receiver, Laviska Shenault and Dareke Young were the only standouts.

- The lowest grades offensively were reserved for running back Zach Charbonnet, who had a brutal 29.4 pass grade, and undrafted rookie tight end Jack Westover, who posted a 32.1 in that department.

Rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight tops defense

- On defense the team had a lot higher scores on average and everyone on the unit scored a 50.5 or higher. At the top of the list is rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight, who was playing in his very first NFL game. He earned an 89.9 overall grade thanks to a strong all-around performance, especially an 84.7 in coverage. Five other players posted grades of 84.0 or better, including second-year edge rusher Derick Hall, who looked far better than he did on the field initially as a rookie.

- A few players had lower grades, but you can make a case that rookie corner D.J. James was the weakest link on this unit. He posted a 29.5 grade in run defense and 23.1 in tackling. Teams will start running at him every time he's on the field if that doesn't improve. James' former Auburn teammate Nehemiath Pritchett wasn't rated much better against the run, either.

Jake Bobo leads special teams

- As for the special teams unit, super-popular second-year wide receiver Jake Bobo led the way with a 79.7 overall grade for his work on eight snaps. Swaggy international punter Michael Dickson earned a strong 78.4 rating for his work, as well.