It was a victorious start to Mike Macdonald’s first season as Seattle Seahawks head coach. While it’s only an exhibition game, Seattle’s 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers was cleaner than expected given a new coaching staff, new players, and the fact that it’s the preseason. The most important thing out of this game was no known injuries, which is what you want to see more than anything else.

Here’s our first Winners and Losers for the 2024 season!

Winners

The entire defense

The first-team defense wasted no time showing its superiority against the Chargers backups, holding them to seven yards on six plays and two punts. Then the backups (plus Boye Mafe) took over and the Chargers still couldn’t do anything until late in the second quarter. Add in the reserves and the Chargers didn’t even score after halftime.

There was only one busted coverage I saw on a blitz that resulted in a wide open Simi Fehoko, who got behind safety Ty Okada. Other than that, the run defense was solid—Tyrel Dodson did a great job shutting off the cutback lane for Jarret Patterson—and the pass defense was aggressive and extremely effective. It was interesting to see Boye Mafe play the entire first half, but he was a menace. Derick Hall had bright moments late in the first and throughout the second half. Jamie Sheriff made the most of his limited playing time with a couple of pressures and involvement on Seattle’s final sack (which went to DeVere Levelston).

Tyrice Knight had a couple of moments he’d like to have back (including LAC’s longest run of the afternoon) but he had two key tackles that helped kill drives. Jon Rhattigan was downhill and the best I think he’s ever looked even in preseason.

Riq Woolen had a near-pick and a PBU on another throw. D.J. James ought to be tracking the all better but he could’ve had two interceptions. Coby Bryant had an interception after a terrific hit by K’Von Wallace on Hayden Hurst. Ty Okada was delivering big hits and Marquise Blair and Dee Williams prevented touchdowns in the dying embers of the fourth quarter.

Above all else? Terrific tackling. You didn’t see whiffs, wildly sloppy play, and there was great pursuit to the ball and the ball-carrier.

Byron Murphy II

Seattle’s first-round pick wasted no time making an impact, recording a tackle for loss with a ferocious run stop. He also just about had a sack on Easton Stick, but his teammates Derick Hall and Jon Rhattigan were there for mop-up duty. There was also a double team that he fought through to flush Stick out of the pocket and throw a batted incomplete pass. That was an exciting debut, and I can’t wait to see more.

Brady Russell

With Noah Fant not playing and Pharaoh Brown serving as more of a blocking tight end, we got a close look at what Russell can offer as a possible TE3/H-Back. He finished with 3 catches for 25 yards and a touchdown, continuing his strong training camp/preseason. Add in how heavily he featured on special teams dating back to last season and I think he’s close to a roster lock.

Sam Howell

I think there’s a clear gap between him and Geno Smith, and a clear gap between him and PJ Walker. The 16/27 for 130 yards and 1 TD statline isn’t flashy; I’m more focused on what he didn’t do. There were only a couple of risky passes (one to Jake Bobo and another that was a well-read screen pass to Laviska Shenault Jr), he took the easy throws, and when he was in trouble he didn’t pour gasoline on the fire and try and do too much. He seemed comfortable in the offense and his mobility is a big upgrade from Drew Lock, who wasn’t nearly as mobile as advertised.

I’m not watching Howell thinking he’s a future All-Pro QB, I’m watching to have some confidence that he’d at least be a serviceable backup in case something happens to Geno Smith. That was a good start and an improvement from the training camp reports.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Not for the reason you might think. Caught two passes for 13 yards? Big whoop. This run-blocking effort on Kenny McIntosh’s 14-yard carry is what caught my eye. That’s outstanding work by JSN that’s going to be valuable as Seattle looks to revamp its running game.

Dareke Young

Young was Seattle’s leading receiver with 3 catches for 43 yards. My favorite Howell play was his play-action dart to Young to beat the blitz and find Dareke matched with a linebacker. It’s a super competitive battle to make the roster given the depth at receiver, but Young has a shot if only because he provides value on special teams as a gunner.

Dee Williams

Williams had an open-field tackle on a punt return and downed the Chargers inside the 5. He didn’t show much as a punt returner, but truthfully nobody did. I was impressed by his limited work on defense, and wonder if there is a spot for him on the roster as a special teams maestro.

George Holani and Kenny McIntosh

This is going to be a fun third-down competition. I might give Holani the edge because he made a great special teams tackle and looks better in pass pro. McIntosh showed some good contact balance when he was met by tacklers in the backfield, but he has to be dinged for his role on the first sack taken by Sam Howell. Holani’s highlight was an 11-yard touchdown run, while McIntosh had 8 carries for 40 yards.

Laviska Shenault Jr

I think Shenault has already sealed Dee Eskridge’s fate. He had a big kick return under the modified rules, and turned a receiver screen into an 18-yard gain. Shenault Jr is a more polished receiver who can break tackles and essentially be a better version of what Dee has tried to be.

Losers

Backup tackles

Stone Forsythe and McClendon Curtis had a couple of brutal reps, with Forsythe giving up one sack and just about giving up another that was ruled incomplete. I might be in the minority on this but I don’t think Forsythe’s job as a reserve left tackle is safe. Curtis has only recently gained traction as a backup right tackle, but it’s safe to say he’d be hypothetical third-string for a reason.

Olu Oluwatimi

That failed 4th and goal at the 1-yard line falls on the center getting destroyed off the snap, leaving Holani with no chance to score. I think that play in itself encapsulates why Seattle signed Connor Williams.

AJ Barner

This is less about his performance and more about where he stands in the pecking order. Brady Russell decisively had more playing time than Barner, which seems in line with the “unofficial” depth chart that lists Russell ahead of Barner. I don’t know if the Seahawks will keep four tight ends on the roster but there’s been little through training camp and this preseason game to indicate the fourth-round pick will be a factor this year.

The screen passes to running backs

One of these days it’ll work well. One of these days.

Final Notes

• PJ Walker is an adventure in a good, “preseason only” way. His arm lends itself to aggressive throwing and decision-making, and it meant a 4/10 showing for 61 yards. He had an overthrow, a near pick-6 throwing to Dee Eskridge, but enough highlights to not dread him closing preseason games out.
• Incidentally, I praise Ryan Grubb for not doing “give-up” plays on 3rd and long even with the reserves. We saw Easop Winston and Cody White both convert 3rd and 10+ from Walker. I won’t make any huge proclamations about this offense until we see Geno Smith and more first-team players out there, which we might next week.
• The Seahawks only had 6 accepted penalties, of which I’d say more than half were after halftime with the third-string in. That was an oddly free-flowing game by preseason standards, and it helped that the Seahawks strung together multiple long drives that bled clock. Seattle was 11/20 on 3rd down compared to 2/13 for the Chargers. We can only hope the first-team does this regularly when the games matter.
• Sautoa Laumea was lined up at left guard when he entered the game, which is something to keep an eye on moving forward as the sixth-round rookie looks to seal his spot on the roster. Michael Jerrell was at right tackle as usual.
• One of my favorite defensive plays: Boye Mafe dropped into coverage on one side, Artie Burns had a slot blitz on the opposite side, and Easton Stick was flustered into a throw that D.J. James popped into the air, only for Coby Bryant to not quite get the interception
• We got on Ken Norton Jr for the “drop the big guys into coverage” years ago. Macdonald loves to do that as well, including Mike Morris getting a PBU. Dropping edge rushers and linemen into coverage is standard in the NFL, it’s whether or not you do it smartly and effectively that’s a different matter.
• Over/under five fights during next week’s joint practices with the Tennessee Titans? I think I’m taking the over. Tennessee played starters against the San Francisco 49ers, so we might see first-team vs. first-team throughout practice and into the actual game, which should be fascinating.