Here’s how the Seattle Seahawks grade out in their 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday night at Lumen Field:
OFFENSE
This game was billed as Russell Wilson’s return to Lumen Field, but it was Geno Smith’s day. The man tasked with replacing Wilson at quarterback for the Seahawks led the way, completing his first 13 passes, leading Seattle on two first-half touchdown drives, and showing guts on the occasions he ran with the ball as he eschewed the slide. The offensive line, with rookies starting at both tackle spots — including Everett native Abe Lucas on the right side — held up all right. The offense didn’t do a lot to help the defense in the second half, however, as Seattle managed just 34 yards in the second half and ended with just 253 total.
Grade: B
DEFENSE
Throughout the Pete Carroll era the Seattle defense has been all about bending, but not breaking. That was in full evidence Monday as the Seahawks put on a clinic in red-zone defense, preventing the Broncos from finding the end zone in any of the four times they drove inside the 20 — including forcing fumbles at the goal line on back-to-back drives in the third quarter. The inexperienced secondary got burned for one long touchdown, and the tackling issue that cropped up during the preseason wasn’t totally ironed out. The defense was helped immensely by a home crowd that lustily booed Wilson the entire game, helping draw false-start and delay-of-game penalties.
Grade: A-
SPECIAL TEAMS
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Special teams were an issue for Seattle last season, but the Seahawks comfortably won the special teams battle in this one. Kicker Jason Myers made a long field goal when he connected from 49 yards. DeeJay Dallas had a pair of good kickoff returns. Punter Michael Dickson averaged 50.5 yards on his two punts. And Seattle was excellent on both kickoff and punt coverage. Dallas, who was visible in every special teams situation, even came close to blocking a punt.
Grade: A
COACHING
There was questionable timeout management late in the game, including a challenge on a spot that was never going to be overturned. But otherwise there were a lot of good coaching moments. Seattle showed creativity on both sides of the ball, with new formations on offense and the use of three safeties at times on defense. The decisions to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and run a quarterback sneak were both sound, even if it didn’t work out. And the faith placed in Smith proved to be worth it.
Grade: A-
OVERALL
Could there have been a more dramatic season opener? Seattle’s longtime franchise quarterback returns to town in his first game in another uniform, and it’s all set up for that guy to lead yet another game-winning fourth-quarter drive in a stadium where he did it countless times. But those game-winning points didn’t materialize, and Seattle earned an emotional victory in the first game of the post-Wilson era. It wasn’t a perfect game, and the loss of safety Jamal Adams to a knee injury is a worry. But the chants of “Ge-no, Ge-no!” that rang around the stadium tell the story of this one.
Grade: A
– Nick Patterson, Herald writer
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