Photo credit: (Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times)
The Seattle Seahawks stared down Cam Newton at the 1 yard line with 3 seconds on the clock and LJ Collier would come up big to stuff the Patriots at the goal line to seal the deal for the win. The Seahawks now move to 2-0 on two convincing wins that many should have the Seahawks considered one of the elite in the NFL.
The game started off rough as on the 1st drive, Russell Wilson would be charged with a pick 6 interception when a pass went off the fingertips of TE Greg Olsen and New England’s safety Devin McCourty would take it to the house.
The Hawks though would fight back as Russell Wilson accumulated 288 yards in the air and 5 touchdowns. Russell has been unstoppable so far this year with 9 TDs and 1 interception, as well as 52-63 passing for 610 yards. Wilson’s QB rating is an unimaginable 140 and he averages 9.8 yards per attempt.
Trouble was brewing early in the 1st half as a helmet to helmet penalty required safety Quandre Diggs to hit the showers. Backup Marques Blair went down with a knee injury, severely depleting the Seahawks defensive backfield. The result was Cam Newton going off on the pass defense to the tune of 397 yards. An injury to pass rusher Bruce Irvin didn’t help either as the Hawks were only able to manage 1 sack.
Luckily, newcomer Jamal Adams proved to be the defensive hero of the day and perhaps on his way to an NFL defensive player of the year as he gathered another double digit tackle total with 10, including the lone sack and another tackle for a loss.
Big steps were taken by receiver DK Metcalf who was covered by the best corner in the game in Stephon Gilmore. Metcalf on 6 targets found 92 yards on 4 catches and a TD. All the Seahawks receivers came to play as Tyler Lockett, David Moore, and Freddy Swain all got touchdowns.
The ground game got going this week after a tepid week against the Falcons. In addition to his receiving TD and 36 yards, he ran for 72. Carlos Hyde also proved to be a complete player with 22 on the ground and 15 in the air. Ultimately, on the ground, the Hawks found 154 yards shredding the Patriots depleted defense.
