The Seattle Seahawks’ first of 4 primetime outings for the 2024 season didn’t go in keeping with plan. A myriad of defensive position accidents put Seattle at an obstacle in opposition to the Detroit Lions, and the Seahawks unsurprisingly misplaced 42-29 on Monday Evening Soccer.
This might’ve simply been a humbling hammering in entrance of a nationwide viewers, however Geno Smith and the offense racked up over 500 yards and a franchise file 38 first downs and stored the sport aggressive properly into the fourth quarter.
Even in defeat, NFL on FOX analyst Mark Schlereth was amongst those that got here away with a extra constructive outlook on the Seahawks.
“They’re higher than I assumed they have been,” Schlereth mentioned to Seattle Sports activities 710. “You dangle 29 factors up on Detroit and also you dominate among the offensive statistics and also you do what you probably did in opposition to them, that’s a heck of a recreation. That’s offensive output on the highway, coping with crowd noise.
“And have a look at Detroit proper now. I feel they’ve bought star gamers in any respect three ranges of their protection. And to place up the form of offensive numbers you set up, … I used to be actually impressed.”
Schlereth additionally acknowledged the difficulties of getting so many defensive gamers lacking, sayin partly, “Folks simply don’t perceive how a lot you must talk on a soccer subject to really be a extremely good group.” He additionally had huge reward for a way properly the offense carried out.
“Not that you just ever get an ethical victory, however you stroll away from that feeling fairly good about what you probably did offensively,” Schlereth mentioned. “That’s a type of which you could stroll away from and say, ‘Hey, hear, we misplaced. Yeah, we’d like to wash some issues up. Yeah, we will’t surrender among the huge performs and the issues that damage us within the pink zone and all that stuff.’
“However I feel you do stroll away from these video games sometimes feeling fairly good about your soccer group, as a result of I feel the Lions are legit. … They do a number of issues exceptionally properly (on offense). They’ve bought expertise. They will run. They’ve bought all that stuff. And defensively, they’ve they’ve cured a few of what ails them within the final couple of years. … They’re a extremely good soccer group.”
A loss remains to be a loss, but when there was ever a “good” loss given the circumstances, this is likely to be it. Even at full energy this may need been a tricky recreation to win, and it looks like the Seahawks and Lions are simply destined to be in shootouts irrespective of how a lot they attempt to enhance their defenses.
Seattle could have one other huge primetime alternative arising on Oct. 10 in opposition to the San Francisco 49ers, however the first order of enterprise is to defeat the New York Giants this Sunday to ensure prime spot within the NFC West heading into its first division recreation of the 12 months.
