The Seattle Seahawks have started their 2024 regular season schedule with a victory. Today they took down the Denver Broncos at home by a score of 26-20. While they went through a shaky start, they pulled through with a far-stronger second half to secure the win.
Here are our studs and duds for this week's game.
Stud: Seahawks secondary
Overall the entire Seattle defense played quite well under the direction of new head coach Mike Macdonald . However, the back end was particularly sharp. Julian Love was the brightest gem in the bunch, posting an interception and leading the team with 12 tackles. Rayshawn Jenkins, Devon Witherspoon, Tre Brown and Riq Woolen all came through with impressive stops, as well. Compared to the sloppiness we saw from DBs early last season this was night and day. Their coverage was tight, their ball skills were on-point, they tackled really well and there weren't any huge lapses in coverage. This was arguably the best game this unit has played overall since the breakup of the Legion of Boom.
Stud: RB Ken Walker
A common theme in this game for the offense was a quiet first half, followed by an explosion after the break, resulting in a strong overall performance. That was especially true for third-year running back Ken Walker, who absolutely obliterated Denver's defense in the third quarter. Walker finished the game with 103 rushing yards on 20 carries (5.2 yards per attempt) and one touchdown.
Dud: Seattle offensive line
It wasn't all studs and roses for the Seahawks today, though. Especially in the first half they had a very rough time against Denver in the trenches and the offensive line was especially inept. We had been hoping that the addition of veteran center Connor Williams would stabilize the interior of that group, but if that's going to happen it's going to take a little more time. Anthony Bradford and Laken Tomlinson both struggled pretty bad, and so did Stone Forsythe after he came in for an injured George Fant . Geno Smith may have only been sacked twice but that belies the amount of pressure he was under all game. This group did bounce back in the second half though - especially blocking for the run.
Stud: WR Tyler Lockett
With their number one wide receiver DK Metcalf having a tough battle against Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain, the Seahawks needed another receiver to step up and Tyler Lockett answered the call. He caught six of seven targets from Geno Smith and ended with a team-high 77 receiving yards, including a game-sealing one-handed catch in the final two minutes. Nobody else had more than 29 yards through the air.
Dud: PR Dee Williams
Rookie punt returner Dee Williams' one mistake directly led to points on the board for the opponent, so he gets a dud label, here. The defense held up, but Williams' muffed punt in the second quarter set Denver up in field goal range.
Stud: LB Tyrel Dodson
It's tough to pick out studs from Seattle's defense given how well the group played overall. However, middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson definitely deserves some recognition on his own. He made plays all over the field, nipping a lot of quick hitting plays by Denver in the bud. Dodson posted 10 tackles, second-most on the team behind Julian Love. If he continues to play like this the rest of the season, the Seahawks will want to sign him to a long-term deal.
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