(Photo: Seattle Sports)
Intriguing Game- NFL, Week Four
Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions
Seahawks: Pete Carroll stepping away was the best thing for this team. In the last few years, they haven’t looked like the team that won the NFC in back-to-back seasons. They even traded Russell Wilson away to the Denver Broncos and turned to Geno Smith who’d eventually win Comeback Player of the Year for his 2022 season. With Pete stepping down in January, former Ravens Defensive Coordinator, Mike Macdonald was hired as the next Head Coach and so far, the Seahawks are off to a 3-0 start. As usual, people will bring up who they’ve defeated and that argument gets old. They beat the Broncos in week one, the Patriots in week two and the Dolphins just last week. Denver hasn’t been the best, but they were able to fly across the country and beat New England, which should impress you. I understand the Patriots haven’t been what they were either, but West Coast teams tend to struggle when they have to fly across the country for a 1 pm kickoff. Then, they beat a team that made the playoffs last year (Dolphins). I say all of that to say this. You beat who you beat. Mike is an early candidate for Coach of the Year and when they hired him, I immediately said this defense would be much improved. I saw what he did with Baltimore’s defense a year ago and knew he would work his magic. So far, the Seahawks have become the first team since the 1979 Steelers to start 3-0 and allow fewer than 150 yards passing in each of those first three games. It’s been the 49ers struggling and the Seahawks atop the NFC West. On Monday night, they make a trip to Motown.
Lions: What you saw in week two wasn’t them, but give some credit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their defensive game plan. Anyone who watches this team knows they want to do one thing and that is run the football. They will continue to pound the ball between the tackles and move downhill until you figure out a way to stop it. What does running the football do? It forces defenses to adjust and in turn, the passing game opens up. This is what they do and they’re one of the best ground teams in the league along with the best tandem of Running Backs in the game in David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. In that week two loss against the Buccaneers, Jared Goff threw the football 55 times. He’s never been the type of Quarterback to take a game over with his arm. He benefits from a consistent ground attack and then Jared will do the rest. Against the Cardinals in week three, the Lions got back to the basics. Ground and pound, wearing a defensive front down and all else opened up from there. Look at the difference with Jared from week two to week three. 55 pass attempts as I mentioned in one game to 23 the next. This is Detroit Lions football. The NFC North is still the most intriguing division in all of the NFL. The Packers are 2-1 after Jordan Love got hurt with a knee injury, the Vikings have taken the league by storm with their 3-0 start and despite the struggles, the Bears still have Caleb Williams, a highly sought out draft prospect from USC. Don’t forget about this team in Detroit. After all, they did win the division a season ago and were a game away from the Super Bowl. They return home Monday night.
Seahawks X-Factor: Jonathan Hankins– This was such a good free-agency signing for them. They face the 49ers two times a year and what does San Francisco pride themselves on doing? Running the ball. You need the scrappers in the interior of the defensive line to help and this is where Jonathan comes in the picture. He’s been one of the best run-stoppers in the league since he broke in. Against the pass, Jonathan can get his hands up and bat the ball down. He does a lot of the ugly work on the inside and everyone around him benefits from that.
Lions X-Factor: Carlton Davis III– CD3! One thing about General Manager Brad Holmes is he will be aggressive and bring in the best possible players to help advance the football team. Carlton is a Super Bowl champion who knows what it takes to win and having someone with that experience comes in handy. When you need a play from a guy in the secondary, this is usually who delivers for you. Carlton is a leader in this defense and he will be seeing a lot of D.K. Metcalf on Monday night. He’s strong against the pass and can tackle in the box.
Final Thoughts: These two met last season and it was one of the more entertaining games of the year. They combined for 811 yards of offense, 68 points, and 53 first downs. I like what Seattle has done offensively under Offensive Coordinator, Ryan Grubbs as they’ve found success and have shown a willingness to push the ball up the field. On the other side, the Lions haven’t performed to their standards this year as they are the 16th-ranked offense. Despite that, they have a nice group of weapons in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Montgomery, and Gibbs. Also, the Lions have the best offensive line in the NFL. This will be the best passing attack the Seahawks will have seen up to this point. Seattle will come out and attack a Lions secondary that’s allowed the most yards to receivers this season. Watch this trio of Metcalf, Smith-Njigba, and Lockett throughout this game. The Lions have yet to see a defense as dynamic as the Seahawks. Detroit can exploit the Seahawks with the ground attack and I expect Aidan Hutchinson to make life uncomfortable for Geno Smith. I like the Lions here to get another win over an NFC West opponent.
Prediction: Lions 30, Seahawks 23
