SEATTLE — If the third preseason game is the best indicator of an NFL team’s readiness for the regular season, then the Seattle Seahawks aren’t quite there yet. But they’re close.
The Seahawks remained undefeated in the preseason as they scored a routine 26-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night at CenturyLink Field in the third of their four exhibition contests.
Seattle (3-0) played its starters into the third quarter, and when the first teamers departed the Seahawks led 19-10 and had control against a Kansas City team that went 12-4 and won the AFC West last year. But the game also had its sloppy moments, including the teams combining for 27 penalties.
“There’s a lot of good things happening, we put a lot of yards up with the first group, I’m really happy about that,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “The defense didn’t give up a touchdown tonight, and [the Chiefs] were trying, so that’s good for those guys, too. We can do better. I thought I saw a couple things fundamentally that we really need to go to work on.”
One player who definitely appears ready for the rigors of the regular season is Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was on point Friday, going 13-for-19 for 200 yards and a touchdown as he was regularly able to find receivers on deep balls.
That was just more of the same for Wilson, who’s been brilliant throughout the preseason. In his three outings Wilson is 29-for-41 for 447 yards and three TDs, good for a 130.8 passer rating.
“Yeah for sure, I think our whole football team is ready to roll and in regular-season mode,” Wilson answered when asked if he personally was ready for the regular season. “We’ve been practicing at a super-high level. The maturity and leadership we have across the board, the energy that we’re playing with, the execution, it looks really good.”
The Seahawks also received more good work from rookie running back Chris Carson. Carson, a seventh-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State, received plenty of reps with the first team, running eight times for 46 yards and catching two balls for 44 yards.
Kansas City dropped to 1-2.
Seattle was the better team during the first half with the starters on the field. The Seahawks outgained the Chiefs 224-102, with Seattle able to run the ball effectively and Wilson repeatedly hitting receivers deep down field for big plays. Even the oft-maligned offensive line, featuring the untested Rees Odhiambo at left tackle in place of the injured George Fant, held its own.
However, the Seahawks had difficulty turning drives into touchdowns, reaching the end zone just once on Wilson’s 2-yard pass to back-up fullback Tre Madden while settling for Blair Walsh field goals on three other occasions. The Chiefs, despite a sputtering offense hindered by dropped passes, kept it close on the scoreboard when De’Anthony Thomas found a hole up the middle and blew past the rest of Seattle’s kickoff coverage for a 95-yard touchdown, and the Seahawks led just 16-10 at halftime.
Seattle’s offense came screeching to a halt after the first team departed after one third-quarter possession and with the Seahawks leading 19-10. No. 2 quarterback Trevone Boykin had a dreadful day, as the only pass he had caught in his six attempts was hauled in by Kansas City’s De’Vante Bausby for an interception. It wasn’t until third-stringer Austin Davis came in during the fourth quarter that Seattle’s offense got back on track, with Davis hitting a leaping Tanner McEvoy for a 28-yard TD that made the Seahawks’ lead safe at 26-13.
Extra points
Odhiambo received all the first-team reps at left tackle as Seattle seeks a replacement for Fant, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s 20-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. After the game Carroll was asked about Odhiambo’s performance and said, “I thought he did pretty well. He had one bad pass set and Russ got hit, which he made a mistake on. But other than that he did a pretty good job.” Recent trade acquisition Matt Tobin, played left tackle with the second team. … Among the Seattle players who did not play because of injury were running backs Thomas Rawls (ankle) and C.J. Prosise (groin) and receiver Tyler Lockett (leg). However, tight ends Jimmy Graham (back) and Luke Willson (groin), receiver Paul Richardson (shoulder) and linebacker K.J. Wright (knee), who did not play last week, were back in action Friday. … Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett continued to sit during the national anthem, and for the second straight week center Justin Britt added his support by standing at Bennett’s side with his hand on Bennett’s shoulder. Defensive end Cliff Avril stood for most of the anthem, but sat down next to Bennett prior to the anthem’s conclusion.
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