The second “revenge game” of the season ended similarly to the Sunday revenge game between Baker Mayfield’s Carolina Panthers and his love-lost Cleveland Browns. Last night’s contest was one of the most anticipated of the season since the 2022 NFL schedule was released. Everyone was hyped about Russell Wilson returning to Seattle to open the Monday Night Football slate. As I have previously outlined, Wilson was part of a blockbuster trade from the Seahawks to the Broncos, and there was tremendous pressure for the Broncos and Wilson to show up in Seattle on MNF and shove a gigantic win down Pete Carroll’s throat.
That did not happen. Instead, fans of the Seahawks and Broncos chewed their nails down until their fingers were bleeding. Less so for the Seahawks fans.
Analysts across the board anticipated a warm welcome for Wilson when he returned to Seattle after a 10-year career. Instead, he was greeted by a booing crowd who seemingly forgot that Russ gave them nine Pro Bowl appearances, two Super Bowl appearances (one win – against Denver when the Seahawks embarrassed Peyton Manning’s Broncos with a 48-8 win) and eight seasons in the playoffs. Rude. The unwelcome return seemingly rattled Russ. But he’s all class all the time and didn’t even mention it post-game.
All that aside, the Broncos disappointed, and the gameplay was confusing at times. For example, the first play for Russ was a throw to tight end/fullback Andrew Beck, who barely touched the ball with his fingertips. Wilson threw to Beck two more times and completed 52 yards, then faded into the ether, never to be heard from again.
It appeared that the Broncos were trying to confuse the Seahawks when wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy were underutilized in the beginning, and Wilson only targeted them 14 times throughout the game. It was a shame to see their talents mostly wasted, and Jerry Jeudy finished as the star with 102 receiving yards and one touchdown where he blazed down the sideline for 67 yards.Â
Conversely, running back Javonte Williams shined as he rushed for 43 yards over seven attempts and surprisingly caught 11 of 12 receiving attempts for 65 yards. He cemented himself as a solid rusher and receiver over fellow running back Melvin Gordon. Williams showed up as a beast and will continue to rise this season.Â
Gordon and Williams both had embarrassing moments when each fumbled the ball at the one-yard line and missed two touchdown opportunities. The Seattle defense was on fire last night and continued to stop the Broncos’ running game.Â
The MVP of the game emerged in the first half as Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith proved that he shouldn’t be counted out and figuratively flipped the bird to all the haters out there who left him out of the conversation. He finished the game completing 23 of 28 attempts, tossing two touchdowns over 195 yards. Those two TDs went to companion tight ends Will Dissly (remember him?) and Colby Parkinson, leaving fellow TE Noah Fant fighting for the limelight.
While the Seahawks’ defense shined, the Broncos’ defense potentially lost the game with 12 penalties, which caused a loss of 106 yards. Quite the difference from last year when the Broncos had the sixth-fewest penalties per game with an average of 4.9 per game. It was apparent that they were playing angry and not wisely.
Between the QB play, spreading the ball around, and the defense, it’s clear that the Seahawks not only won the game by points but also played a mental game that caused the Broncos to falter and fail.
That point was punctuated at the end of the Monday Night Football contest when Russ confusingly brought the game clock down to 20 seconds and called a timeout. Then, in another head-scratching move, new head coach Nathaniel Hackett made the call to bring kicker Brandon McManus out to kick a potentially game-winning and career-long field goal of 64 yards. Pete Carroll attempted to ice McManus and called a timeout. Unfortunately, McManus showed us the future as he missed the first attempt and subsequently missed his second attempt.
The Broncos were fourth and five, and no one knows why they didn’t attempt a junk throw or run the ball for the first down, which would have put McManus within an easy field goal range. In the end, the Broncos lost 16-17 and will have to adjust their strategy going forward.
Overall, the Broncos under-delivered and the Seahawks over-delivered. Geno Smith showed that he is a viable quarterback in this league and shouldn’t be overlooked. Russell Wilson showed his vulnerability and needs to straighten himself out. The Broncos’ defense needs to calm down and play like the cohesive unit that they are. And the Seahawks need to keep their momentum and continue to ball out.
I’m here to break down all the Monday Night Football moments throughout the season and will be back next week to talk about all the action when the Tennessee Titans (0-1) visit the Buffalo Bills (1-0) and in an unprecedented move, there will be a second MNF game at the same time between the Minnesota Vikings (1-0) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1-0).
