There are only two undefeated teams in the NFC, and Seattle is one of them. After beating Denver in week one, New England in week two, and Miami in week three, Seattle is rolling to begin the Mike Macdonald era in the Emerald City.
But some experts aren’t buying in.
“They haven’t faced an elite QB.”
Have you seen the passing this season? Most teams haven’t played against an elite QB. Seattle didn’t choose for Denver to start a rookie, for New England to start a journeyman backup, or for Miami’s starter to lunge headfirst into the waiting chest of a bigger player. You play the teams you are scheduled to play, and you have to beat those teams convincingly.
Seattle may have looked like an average team in the box score, but anyone watching these games knows they are just getting started. They aren’t lucky to be 3-0; their next opponent is lucky they haven’t beaten them yet.
“They haven’t faced an elite defense yet.”
There are about two elite defenses right now, and no, Seattle has not played either of them. But I will say it a second time – they can only play the games they are scheduled to play; they aren’t Notre Dame. Denver was supposed to have a good defense; Seattle made them look silly in the second half. New England has been coached by one of their best defenders in recent memory, and they played Seattle and Cincinnati really well in back-to-back weeks. But no, they are not elite. Miami has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, but no one is confusing them with an elite unit, but they are still good.
“They are too banged up.”
I’m sorry. What rock have you been living under this season? The man on the cover of Madden was lost for at least the first month of the season before it began. Now, he may be out two months, if not longer. Jordan Love twisted his knee and ankle in a cursed Friday night game and hasn’t played since. Puka Nacua was lost for several weeks, Cooper Kupp is hurt, AJ Brown tweaked his hamstring, Amon Ra St Brown was banged up, Joe Burrow can’t move his wrist unless J’Marr Chase shouts at him, Isaiah Pacheco broke his leg, Tee Higgins had a hurt hamstring. That’s just the household names.
Seattle is on their third-string RT, mostly because I refuse to live in a world where George Fant is a starter (no, not this again; why did they bring him back? WHY). Stone Forsythe’s ceiling is Alvin Bailey, but there he is starting for now. They need Abraham Lucas out there as soon as possible, but he’s still out with a knee injury. Kenneth Walker had a great week one but got hurt towards the end of the game and sat out the last two games. He might start this week, but time will tell. That’s just the offensive line, on defense they might be down Leonard Willaims and Byron Murphy, and we’re still waiting to find out if pass rusher Uchenna Nwosu will return this week.
Other than that, they are a picture of health, and new OC Ryan Grubb’s aggressive play calling is paying big dividends thus far, with most of the season to work out the kinks. What’s important is that the creative play calling is confusing defenses, and QB Geno Smith and WR DK Metcalf look more comfortable in this offense than they ever did working with Shane Waldron.
“They aren’t beating up bad teams and barely beating good teams.”
Sure, try to gloss over the fact that they are WINNING. They started the season learning a new system on both sides of the ball. Can you name another team doing that who is also undefeated? I’m sorry, I can’t wait all weekend. Did you find a name? No? Didn’t think so. The fact is both sides have looked awesome at times, and sure, they have found ways to muck it up at others, but they have also found a way to win each week so far. One other team in the NFC has done that, and they aren’t learning a new system on the fly. In fact, that team returned both of its play-callers from last season.
“They haven’t impressed me yet.”
Sounds like a you problem, not a Seattle problem. The fact is that anyone who has watched them closely over the last couple of years has been extremely impressed with how these new-look Seahawks have been playing through three games. The offense looks legitimate and dangerous, and he has not been afraid to push the ball downfield or bruise them with runs. The defense has been aggressive, making life difficult for their opponents while stealing possessions. If they can get healthy, they will look even better, but they have looked incredible for three weeks. If folks were expecting them to look like the 2023 Baltimore Ravens, forgive me if I don’t want them to forget they are allowed to run the ball in the winter with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
This week, Seattle travels to Detroit for their first “prove me wrong” game of the season. There have been whispers of Seattle being a rising dark horse team, but most casual fans and even many experts don’t believe the hype and think Seattle is overrated. Go find a team power rankings list out there, and find one written by a network writer that has Seattle in the top ten. Good luck.
Detroit has not been impressive this season, but because they were a meltdown away from the Super Bowl last season, folks assume they just need to turn the corner. This is a team that barely beat the Rams at home, then got beat up by Tampa Bay, then barely beat the Cardinals. Detroit isn’t lighting up the scoreboard, and they aren’t a bully on defense. They don’t look like last year’s Lions; they look like the same old Lions. This may be billed as a game Seattle needs to win to prove they are a contender, but I think the pressure is on Detroit to prove their tight wins over bad teams are not a mistake. Detroit also hasn’t played outdoors yet this season, while this will be Seattle’s first game inside.
Seattle travels to Detroit this week for the bright lights of Monday Night Football, and while this may be the motor city, Detroit is not ready for Seattle’s speed. It’s not just going to be a track meet; it’s going to be a demolition.
No matter the final score on Monday, no one will be sleeping on Seattle after this.
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