The Seattle Seahawks weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders on offense or special teams against the Denver Broncos, but the defense held firm and Seattle was able to post a 26-20 win in Mike Macdonald’s first NFL regular season game as head coach. While thoughts on Seattle’s playoff chances are mixed, at best, not much is expected out of the Broncos this year under rookie quarterback Bo Nix, so the Seahawks took care of business against one of the “easier” teams on the schedule.
Looking at some of the power rankings across national media outlets, many (but not all) are unmoved by this win. Let’s do a roundup!
ESPN’s aggregated power rankings have the Seahawks at No. 19 (previous: No. 21):
The Seahawks got Macdonald a win in his head-coaching debut, and it was the defense that led the way. Macdonald and new DC Aden Durde had a sound game plan against Bo Nix, correctly anticipating the rookie quarterback would favor underneath throws. The Seahawks were ready for Denver’s short passing game and made Nix pay when he tried to push the ball downfield, intercepting two of his deeper throws. They held the Broncos’ offense to 231 yards and 16 points, gave up only 3.2 yards per carry to Denver’s running backs and forced three turnovers. — Brady Henderson
Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr put the Seahawks at No. 25, which is incredible. They didn’t do any preseason rankings so this is how Seattle debuts:
That was one of those games that is just good to survive, as I think Mike Macdonald would agree. I don’t want to get into the lip reading game but he was clearly relieved to have emerged victorious despite a game that featured so many errors—including a pair of safeties in close succession. Picks, sacks, false starts, you name it. The Seahawks caused them and the underwhelming Broncos provided plenty of room for error. Let’s see what happens when this offense gets in the groove and starts to operate as planned.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm puts the Seahawks up to No. 21 from No. 22:
I’m worried about Seattle’s offensive line. Geno Smith was under fire the entire first half. OGs Anthony Bradford and Laken Tomlinson both were beaten for safeties. RT George Fant (knee) left the game after 13 snaps and was ruled out almost immediately. His replacement, Stone Forsythe, was beaten multiple times for pressures and one sack. Abraham Lucas remains out for at least the first four games, so this could be a big worry, with the Seahawks’ next three opponents (Patriots, Dolphins and Lions) all showing in Week 1 they can dominate up front.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk similarly bumped the Seahawks all of one spot to No. 21.
The SB Nation staff is much higher on the Seahawks than everyone else, with aggregate voting skyrocketing Seattle from No. 21 in preseason to No. 11 after one game.
The Athletic is very bullish on the Seahawks, putting them fittingly at No. 12 after starting the season at No. 19:
Despite being the first team since 2017 to give up multiple safeties in a game, Seattle won Mike Macdonald’s coaching debut behind Kenneth Walker’s 103 rushing yards. Keep an eye on cornerback Tariq Woolen, who had an interception and two passes deflected. Woolen and Devon Witherspoon could be the best cornerback duo in the league under Macdonald.
Lastly, longtime Seahawks adversary (he’ll deny it, but it’s true) Pete Prisco of CBS Sports was pretty damn kind by his standards. If we ignore he had Seattle at No. 24 in preseason, he gave them a healthy enough bump to No. 20.
The defense impressed against Denver, which we should expect with Mike Macdonald as coach. They face a long trip to play the Patriots this week, which won’t be as easy as it was thought to be before the season.
If Seattle gets past the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, expect a huge jump in how the team is perceived heading into the Week 4 game on Monday against the Detroit Lions.
