Winners and Losers From Seattle Seahawks Week 1 Win vs. Denver Broncos

The Seattle Seahawks left Lumen Field with a win on Sunday. Some players and coaches stood out, while others left more to be desired.

Sep 8, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) rushes for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Beginning their season with a victory, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos, 26-20, on Sunday at Lumen Field. It wasn’t pretty for much of the contest, but a win is a win.

The Seahawks had a few players, position groups and coaches who stood out and others who either struggled or didn’t impact the game as previously forecasted. As is the case for every team in Week 1, there’s always room for improvement.

Here are three winners and losers for Seattle from its season-opening victory over Denver.

Winners

The Safety Room

It’s been years since we’ve seen Seattle’s safety group play the way Rayshawn Jenkins, Julian Love and K’Von Wallace did on Sunday.

Sure, Jamal Adams was a box safety who would thump receivers and running backs near the line of scrimmage when healthy, but he was one man. In Mike Macdonald’s scheme, all three were flying around and making plays near the line of scrimmage. After the Seahawks let go of both of their former Pro Bowl players on the backend this offseason, it appears the revamped group may be one of the defense’s biggest strengths.

Love, who led the team with 10 solo tackles (12 total) and added an interception, tackle for loss and pass deflection, looked like he was worth every penny of the three-year, $33 million extension he signed this offseason.

With Monday Night Football pending, Love was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded safety in the NFL in Week 1 with a 93.4 overall grade. He wasn’t being forced to make tackles in the secondary, either, thanks to Seattle’s defensive front. Love’s solo tackles were often near the line of scrimmage, and he had tied for the team lead with four defensive stops, per PFF — tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense.

Wallace and Jenkins posted the eighth and ninth-highest coverage grades among safeties, respectively, and both impacted the game in different ways. Jenkins totaled six tackles and Wallace had a pivotal forced fumble with Seattle leading by three early in the third quarter which led to another field goal for the Seahawks.

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

Sep 8, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald walks to the locker room following a victory against the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Here’s an obvious one. A first-time head coach gets his first win in his first appearance — what more can you ask for from Seattle’s new leader?

However, part of the reason Macdonald must be in this category beyond the victory is because of his defensive game plan. The defense was ready for everything Denver’s offense threw at it.

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix was limited by his own head coach and areas of the playbook that were made available to him. But his 3.3 yards per attempt was also tied for the sixth-lowest by any player with at least 40 pass attempts since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, per ESPN’s Benjamin Solak. Seattle’s secondary also intercepted him twice.

Once again, with Monday Night Football pending, Seattle’s defensive PFF grade was head and shoulders above any other NFL defense in Week 1. The Seahawks received a 91.0 overall grade, while the Minnesota Vikings were second at 82.9. The league average is currently 63.7.

PFF grades are far from perfect or even close to the entire picture, but if you watched the game you would know Seattle should have been trailing by at least 14 points heading into halftime due to the offense’s performance in the first half. Instead, they were down four while allowing Denver to run 16 more first-half plays. That was thanks to the defense and, in turn, Macdonald.

QB Geno Smith

Ryan Grubb probably should be on this list, but quarterback Geno Smith is the direct benefactor of his offensive coordinator’s second-half excellence.

Smith was 8-of-12 passing for 59 yards and an interception in the first half. He was also sacked twice and had a 34-yard rushing score on a scamper through the middle of the field.

He finished 18 of 25 for 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception and wasn’t sacked once in the second half. The emphasis on the run game — Kenneth Walker III had 84 rushing yards in the final two quarters — helped back off Denver’s pass rush while the offensive line held up much better in the protection of Smith.

In 2023, when the offense had first-half struggles, they often persisted into the third and fourth quarters. Effective second-half adjustments were infrequent with Shane Waldron at the controls. Grubb made the necessary changes to maximize Smith and the rest of the offense’s performance. That will benefit Smith in the long run.

Losers

Offensive guards and tackle Stone Forsythe

Sep 8, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws an interception against the Denver Broncos during the first quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

To be fair, the offensive line as a whole was much better in the second half than the first. But the overall performance by guards Laken Tomlinson and Anthony Bradford in pass protection was putrid, as was right tackle Stone Forsythe’s once he entered the game following George Fant’s injury in the first quarter.

All three were solid as run blockers in the second half, but that doesn’t make up for hardly providing Smith any time to go through his progressions. Bradford essentially allowed both of Seattle’s safeties, first committing the hold in the end zone and then whiffing on a block that gave running back Zach Charbonnet nowhere to go. That was Bradford’s second holding penalty of the game, also.

Forsythe gave up the second sack of the first half near the end of the second quarter. He allowed an additional two pressures on 11 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF.

Tomlinson was the best run-blocker of the three, but Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff have to be wondering if the group would benefit from rookie third-round pick Christian Haynes’ presence. Don’t be surprised if that change comes sooner than later if the interior line continues to struggle.

WR Laviska Shenault Jr.

Laviska Shenault Jr. didn’t have a bad game, but he landed here because of his lack of usage. As Seattle’s fifth wide receiver, it’s expected it may take some time to work him into the offense.

However, with the offense unable to do anything in the first half, it was slightly shocking to not see Shenault used in the change-of-pace gadget role he’s projected to fill for the Seahawks.

Shenault finished with one catch for no yards and one carry for one yard. He played just seven snaps and also had a false start penalty on Seattle’s second drive. Shenault should eventually see more time on the field, but he wasn’t a big part of the game plan against the Broncos.

DL Byron Murphy II

Seattle’s premier rookie had a good first game. On 40 total defensive snaps, Murphy had two total tackles and finished with two quarterback pressures and two hurries, per PFF.

The No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 draft just didn’t pop off the screen like many expected him to in his NFL debut, and that’s OK. He was often double-teamed, and that’s Denver respecting his talent. That still lands Murphy here as a loser, despite him freeing up Seattle’s other rushers with the offensive linemen needed to stop him.

Perhaps Macdonald will have more stunts and games to free Murphy up over the next few weeks. It’s likely Seattle’s head coach hardly scratched the surface of his defensive playbook in Week 1, and he probably has much bigger plans for the coveted prospect.