Tory, Horton, Jalen Milroe flash upside in Seahawks debuts

Published 9:30 am Friday, August 8, 2025

SEATTLE — It turns out that neither Mike Macdonald nor Pete Carroll could live up to the words from the former Seattle Seahawks coach’s famous postgame bit and win the game in the fourth quarter. Thanks to a last-second field goal block by Seattle edge rusher Jalan Gaines, the Seahawks’ preseason opener against Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders ended in a 23-23 tie Thursday night at Lumen Field.

Although both coaches wanted a victory, individual assessments are far more important than the final score. Since this was the debut of Klint Kubiak’s new offense, these postgame takeaways will focus on that side of the ball.

A “dream” offense

Wide receiver Jake Bobo lit up when I asked for his initial impression of Kubiak’s scheme.

“Shove the rock and then a couple play-actions mixed in there? Dude, that’s a receiver’s dream,” the third-year wideout said. “Going in and digging out safeties and then having them bite on the run and just running by them, it’s a lot of fun. Honestly, we’re just dipping our toe in the water — we got a lot more where that came from.”

Coaches and players have spent the entire offseason telling anyone who’d listen that the offense would be built around the run game. Seattle’s second play of the game was an under-center run by George Holani for 19 yards. Two plays later, Holani picked up 8 yards on a run out of shotgun. He picked up 5 more yards on third-and-2 to get a fresh set of downs. After that, quarterback Drew Lock — Seattle’s starter with QB1 Sam Darnold sitting out — executed a play fake, then hit a wide-open Robbie Ouzts in the flat for 17 yards.

The drive ended without points because Lock threw an interception on third-and-10, but the way they came out moving the ball is exactly what Kubiak envisioned. The next drive was more of the same, with a few darts from Lock mixed in. The series ended with Holani scoring from 24 yards out.

“You get under center and pound the run like we did and in return get some play-action out of it and some under-center dropback, us being able to do that, it’s gotta be tough for defenses,” Lock said.

That’s the plan, at least. Seattle’s starters will show what they can do in this offense next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the early returns from the Lock-led backups — along with what might end up being four of the five starting offensive linemen — were promising, especially given the Raiders played their starting defense.

“You felt the line of scrimmage,” Macdonald said, “you felt the physicality.”

Have a day, Horton

It is no surprise that fifth-round rookie receiver Tory Horton had a positive impact on Seattle’s offense in the first half. He’s been making plays throughout training camp and started seeing reps with the first-team offense this week. His speed, balance and athleticism show up when the ball comes his way. Those attributes were on display Thursday night.

Horton’s first catch was a quick reception underneath for 8 yards. He was lined up in the slot. Horton was out wide on his next reception, and he fought through contact with cornerback Decamerion Richardson to haul it in (Richardson was flagged on the play). On his third and final catch, Horton was again in the slot on third-and-6 from the 10-yard line. He ran a quick out and settled into the space between the linebacker and the corner. Lock squeezed the ball in there, and Horton accelerated forward as the two defenders collided, then spun away from safety Chris Smith II for a score.

“What he went out and did tonight was everything I expected him to go out and do based on how he’s been performing in training camp,” Lock said. “A really, really solid player. Runs the right routes, makes contested catches. When the ball gets in his hand, he makes the plays.”

Horton was also Seattle’s primary punt returner in the first half. He had a 5-yard return in the first quarter on which he juked several defenders. Horton didn’t play in the second half. The Seahawks had, understandably, seen enough.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling did not suit up Thursday night, which suggests Macdonald views the veteran wideout as a starter. But it’ll be interesting to see how long he is viewed that way if Horton keeps taking advantage of his opportunities to make plays.

Milroe’s debut

Third-string quarterback Jalen Milroe led five series in the second half. The third-round rookie out of Alabama went 6 of 10 through the air for 61 yards. Three of those completions went for first downs. He faced some suboptimal passing situations early and failed to convert on third-and-14 and third-and-12 on the first two possessions.

He led a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive on his third possession of the game. Seven of those nine plays were runs, and Milroe was under center each time. He completed a 14-yard out route to rookie tight end Marshall Lang (out of shotgun) and threw a strike to rookie receiver Tyrone Broden for 15 yards on a play-action rollout to his right. Milroe looked more comfortable on that drive after the offense established a rhythm in the run game.

Milroe also had a 27-yard run on a zone-read play in the fourth quarter, showing off the speed that made him an attractive prospect.

But that series stalled when he threw incomplete for Lang on fourth-and-1 after rolling to his right. Milroe said he had the option to run — there was a lane, but he would have likely had to juke a linebacker — but he needed to watch the film before declaring whether taking off would have been a better decision.

“Throwing the ball accurately, throwing it on time, and then when it wasn’t there, extending plays with his legs, I thought was really cool,” Macdonald said. “Made some good decisions in the quarterback-driven (run) game with how they’re playing their edges.”

With a chance to lead a game-winning drive with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, Milroe threw a 14-yard pass with some zip to receiver Ricky White III on an in-breaking route. That drive also stalled, though, when Milroe took a sack on third down after his protection broke down.

It’s not surprising that the most explosive play came on the ground, because that’s currently the strongest part of his game. But outside one pass that was broken up on third-and-long, Milroe seemed to make the right reads and threw the ball accurately.

“He’s fast, really fast,” Lock said of Milroe. “You definitely saw that tonight. Made great decisions with the ball in his hands as far as passing goes. Getting in those fourth-quarter preseason games, it’s all about making the right decisions, right footwork, right reads. I feel like he did a great job, and I was proud of him.”

Have a day, Holani (and Robbie)

Holani had a game-high 61 yards on rushing on seven attempts. Three of those carries moved the chains, including a 19-yard run on second-and-2 in the first quarter that was made possible in part because Ouzts took on Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby behind the line of scrimmage. Ouzts’ block gave Holani enough space to get to the edge, which tight end Eric Saubert set by walling off safety Jeremy Chinn. Holani then made safety Isaiah Pola-Mao miss in space and followed the downfield blocking of Bobo up the sideline.

Later, on a third-and-1 carry just outside the red zone, Holani got another assist from Ouzts, who sealed Smith at the line of scrimmage to free up the edge for his running back. Holani just had to make cornerback Darien Porter miss in the open field and beat Pola-Mao in a footrace to the end zone.

In the second quarter, Holani took a screen pass 20 yards on third-and-10 because he was able to make the initial defender miss in space. That drive ended with Horton’s touchdown.

Undrafted out of Boise State in 2024, Holani spent his rookie season on Seattle’s practice squad. He had a good showing last preseason, averaging 4.2 yards on 18 attempts with a pair of touchdowns. The draft acquisition of seventh-round pick Damien Martinez in April lessened Holani’s odds of making the active roster this summer, but Kenny McIntosh’s season-ending ACL tear reopened the door. Holani’s speed and ability to dodge the first tackle attempt might land him on the active roster.

As for Ouzts, the fifth-round rookie from Alabama provided just what Seattle hoped he would deliver up front. The presence of a fullback adds an element of physicality, and it signals a true commitment to being a run-first operation. Springing Holani for those explosive runs is precisely what he was acquired to do.

“With Rob, we felt (his impact) the first couple weeks,” Bobo said. “That guy puts his hat on people. It was cool to finally see it live.”