Two Truths and a Lie: Takeaways from Seahawks’ Gutting 17-13 Loss to 49ers

We heard all week leading up to Week 1 from all the NFL media on various different channels, podcasts, shows, and however else you consume your sports content- Week 1 can be a dirty rotten liar. Teams that eventually win the Super Bowl look punch-less and teams that eventually pick inside the top five of the NFL Draft look like the 1972 Dolphins for the first week.

It’s impossible to know what exactly was real with the Seattle Seahawks after their 17-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and what was just a mirage, clouded by heavy roster turnover, new schemes, and rust.

Let’s try anyway, pointing out two things we saw from the Seahawks that could be real, and one thing that could be a mirage.

Truth #1: The Seahawks defense is poised to be a top 5 unit

Riq Woolen’s miscues certainly muck up this point. His struggles aside, the Seahawks defense played very well on Sunday against a talented, albeit shorthanded San Francisco offense. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s scheme almost seems personnel-proof. Seattle had its hands full, as they always do, with this 49ers scheme. And for the most part, they held their own. All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey averaged 3.1 yards per carry, far below his career mark of 4.7. Several times, the Seahawks’ front seven broke through the line to stuff McCaffrey before getting beyond the line of scrimmage.

Seattle notched seven tackles for loss. Another encouraging sign is that those came from six different defenders, with only DeMarcus Lawrence racking up multiple. Mike Macdonald’s defense confuses offenses and makes them see things that aren’t there and not see things that are coming. Ernest Jones looks like a true alpha at middle linebacker, with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, two passes defended, and of course, one interception.

Leonard Williams looked to be in midseason form. Even Byron Murphy II got three quarterback pressures, which he only matched three times all last season. Seattle’s highest-graded defender via Pro Football Focus was Josh Jobe, who most came into the season viewing as Seattle’s third best cornerback.

This team has a deep, versatile defense. If Nick Emmanwori can get back on the field quickly after only playing four snaps before getting hurt, this defense should be one of the best in the entire league.

Truth #2: Jaxon Smith-Njigba looks like a true WR1

With the offseason departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the responsibility squarely sat with Smith-Njigba to be the main pass-catcher in Seattle. That wasn’t exactly unfamiliar territory, since he led the squad last year in targets by a large margin at 137. Still, the question remained - was JSN ready to the main show?

After one week, that looks like an emphatic “yes.” Only Drake London and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown had more targets than Smith-Njigba in Week 1 around the league. He hauled in nine catches for 124 yards, which was only topped by Puka Nacua and Zay Flowers. Sam Darnold and Smith-Njigba connected on a few big-time plays, even with the defense keying on him as the biggest threat. That’s a good sign of things to come as these two should only get more comfortable with each other.

Lie: Sam Darnold was a terrible signing

Now, to be fair, this still might end up being true. However, coming away with that as one of your main takeaways from Week 1 would be a mistake. With how good of a day it was for the Seattle defense, it was the exact opposite for Klint Kubiak’s offensive unit. Only seven teams had a worse yards-per-play mark this weekend than the Seahawks. The offense did not exceed150 passing yards or even 90 rushing yards. A lot of that was not on Darnold. The playcalling was suspect, the run game disappeared for stretches, and the offensive line let him down in a few big spots. Seattle was in position to win the game late in the fourth quarter thanks to the beautiful connection between him and Smith-Njigba.

Across the league, Darnold ranks eighth in overall PFF grade for quarterbacks, eclipsing even Lamar Jackson, Jordan Love, and Justin Fields. His 77.3 adjusted completion rate ranks 14th. Was Darnold electric? Far from it. Was he the reason Seattle lost on Sunday? Also just as far. It was a collective offensive failure. Darnold even notched one Big Time Throw (defined by PFF as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window) and had zero “turnover worthy plays.” Klint Kubiak just needs to help out his quarterback with more play action and a better game plan in general.