Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks: Full Report Card Grades for Seattle
The Seattle Seahawks just squeaked by the Denver Broncos 26-20, in a Super Bowl 48 rematch that had all the excitement and tension that was expected in the Lombardi Trophy game. After blowing a 14-point lead, the Seahawks put together a dominant drive in overtime to win the game.
"QB Russell Wilson on #Seahawks' 13-play, overtime drive to TD that beat #Broncos: "We imposed our will on them"
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 22, 2014
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It wasn't always easy for the Seahawks in this tightly played game. The reigning champs were forced to punt the ball six times, allowed a safety, missed a field goal and had an interception. Things were looking every bit like the Feb. 2 version of this matchup early.
On the Broncos' first play of their first possession, the ball was handed off to Montee Ball, who promptly fumbled the ball away to Seattle. The Seahawks were only able to put through a chip shot field goal, however.
A big second quarter made it look as though another blowout may be in order once the Seahawks put together two touchdown drives in the span of three minutes. However, after halftime, things screeched to a halt and the play got dicey.
A safety gave the Broncos new life, followed by an interception, which resulted in a touchdown. When Peyton Manning drove the Broncos 80 yards in 41 seconds for a game-tying score, it seemed momentum had officially swung in Denver's favor.
But Russell Wilson used his legs and his arm to lead Seattle to a scoring drive, capped by a six-yard jaunt from Marshawn Lynch for the win.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Russell Wilson had another great game for the Seahawks, posting great all-around numbers in a hard-fought win. Wilson was consistently able to give his receivers extra time to get open, he made an early reception of his own and his mobility was huge in overtime.
At the end of the day, Wilson completed 24-of-34 passes for 258 yards two touchdowns and 40 yards rushing. On the negative side he took a sack on the one-yard line on a play when his internal clock just seemed to be nonexistent. He also threw a bad interception that set the Broncos up for their first touchdown.
Despite those two plays, Wilson's play seemed to be the only part of the offense keeping drives alive. There were some big plays by his receivers, but there were far too many drives where they failed to get open. Wilson's ability to avoid oncoming rushers and create plays kept the Seahawks in great field position for most of the game.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
As a team Seattle finished the game with 37 carries for 129 yards, good for an average of 3.5 yards per carry. Marshawn Lynch led the way with a whopping 26 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown. His longest run of the day went for 12 yards.
Lynch also tacked on 40 yards receiving and a touchdown on his three receptions for the game. Robert Turbin chipped in here as well with a catch for a gain of four yards.
Turbin was given just two carries in the game for one yard, while Russell Wilson tacked on his previously mentioned 40 yards rushing on nine carries. The running lanes weren't there consistently, but they were integral to the success of Seattle's scoring drives.
The Denver Broncos defense presented more problems than the last time these two teams faced off, mainly resulting in a significant drop-off in yards per carry. Had the ground game been able to perform a little better, the going may have been a tad easier for Russell Wilson.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Per the formula, no one really stood out among the receiver or tight end groups. Percy Harvin led in receptions with seven, while Doug Baldwin led the way in yardage with 56. Wilson completed passes to 10 different receivers and even Jermaine Kearse returned the favor.
Kearse threw the ball to Wilson for a 17-yard gain early on in the game. Harvin finished the game with 42 yards for an average of six yards per catch. It wasn't an explosive play kind of game for him. Overall the team combined to make 25 receptions for 275 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11 yards per catch.
Ricardo Lockette hauled in his second touchdown of the season from 39 yards out, for Wilson's other passing touchdown. At tight end Zach Miller made two catches for 12 yards, but he was mostly unnoticed throughout the game.
It was a solid showing from the group, but they all struggled to get open for large portions of the game. There were also a few dropped passes and routes run short of first downs.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Russell Wilson was sacked three times on Sunday for a loss of 20 yards, although the sack that would set up a safety seemed to be more an issue of Wilson forgetting how long he had been looking downfield. The Broncos defense was able to get after Wilson quite a bit for portions of the game.
When it came to run blocking, the offensive line wasn't able to form as many creases as usual but they rarely allowed Marshawn Lynch to get stuffed for a loss of yards. There was a total of five tackles for a loss from Denver and four hits on Wilson for the game.
Russell Okung suffered an injury that looked scary as he lay in pain on the field, but he was able to come out after halftime and finish up the game.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Peyton Manning came out with a clear plan of getting rid of the football quickly and efficiently. Manning took just one sack in the game for a loss of seven yards, after being brought down by O'Brien Schofield. The Denver Broncos offensive line was dominant for large stretches of the game, rarely allowing any pressure.
The defensive line accounted for one pass defense, seven quarterback hits and four tackles for a loss of yardage. Montee Ball led the Broncos in carries, but he was rarely able to find running room. He finished the game with 14 totes for 38 yards.
As a team the Broncos rushed the ball 20 times for just 36 yards. Brandon Mebane and Kevin Williams proved key in making the Broncos offense one dimensional.
Grades: B+
Linebacker
6 of 10
Bobby Wagner tied for the team lead in tackles for the game with 11 and also registered a hit on Peyton Manning. K.J. Wright had eight tackles of his own, one of them for a loss. Overall the linebackers seemed to improve a bit from last week, but Denver's tight ends factored into the game in key spots.
Broncos tight ends Julius Thomas, Virgil Green and Jacob Tamme combined to make six catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns. While the yardage total doesn't jump out, surrendering two more touchdowns to tight ends is alarming.
Wright and Kevin Pierre-Louis would typically draw those assignments with help from safeties, depending on the routes run. It is an improvement, but it is being noticed as a possible weakness in a very stingy defense.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
Kam Chancellor came out and played a heck of a game following the poor showing we saw from him against the San Diego Chargers. He made nine tackles in the game, defended two passes (one a near interception) and picked off a pass in the red zone.
He had a presence on nearly every play and was a key cog for the defense's success in the game. Though he allowed the game-tying two-point conversion, Richard Sherman had another solid game against a less-than 100 percent Demaryius Thomas.
Sherman had great pass defense and hardly allowed any completions to a target within his coverage. The San Diego Chargers' proclamation of Sherman being exposed remains yet to be proven. Byron Maxwell was beaten consistently by a heavily used Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders finished the game with 11 receptions for 149 yards. Wes Welker didn't make his return to action a big one, waiting until late in the game before he started moving the chains. Marcus Burley did a great job of smothering Welker leading up to that point.
Despite all that, the defense did surrender more than 300 yards through the air. Maxwell's poor performance drags this grade down a bit. That combined with the horrendous coverages seen on the Broncos final drive of the game.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Special teams played a major role in this close game, with a combined 14 punts between these two Super Bowl contenders. Punter Jon Ryan had six punts for an average of 50.2 yards and landed five of them inside the Broncos' 20-yard line.
Bryan Walters did well on his many punt return opportunities, averaging over seven yards on his five returns. Percy Harvin made just one kick return for 13 yards. The Broncos did well to keep him quiet in all aspects of the game.
Steven Hauschka missed what's become a routine field goal for him, from 46 yards out. The miss nearly came back to haunt Seattle when Peyton Manning led Denver down for a game-tying touchdown. Hauschka still made two other field-goal attempts, with 28 yards being his long for the day.
The Broncos were only able to return two of their six punt opportunities for an average of 7.5, while allowing 22 yards on one kick return. It was a solid night for the coverage units.
Grade: A-
Coaching
9 of 10
The Seahawks appeared poised and focused for this game, following their tough loss in scorching San Diego weather. The offense struggled mightily for the majority of the game, being set up for two field goals and forging three long touchdown drives in the second quarter and overtime.
The defense rebounded a bit from their poor Week 2 performance but again allowed over 300 yards passing and their first 100-yard receiver in 14 games. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will need to draw up some new schemes for defending opposing tight ends.
Seattle has allowed five touchdowns to tight ends over the last two weeks. All-in-all, the team maintained its composure under pressure, after the Broncos touchdown toward the end of regulation, it went out and still got the W.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | B+ |
| WR/TE | B |
| OL | B- |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B |
| DB | C+ |
| Special Teams | A- |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
It was a solid game against a quality opponent for the Seattle Seahawks. They worked their strengths utilizing the run to set up deep throws, and the defense was dominant up until the fourth quarter when the offense hung them out to dry a couple times.
The Seahawks now sit at 2-1, a game behind the now 3-0 Arizona Cardinals for first in the NFC West.
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