Russell Wilson 4 TD passes, Seahawks’ new offense races past Colts 28-16 in rousing opener
Russell Wilson sensed the Colts were confused by Shane Waldron’s new schemes.
Confused — and poised to get beaten.
“It’s interesting because you can kind of smell the blood in the water, in a way,” Wilson said Sunday after game one of a new era for him and his Seahawks offense run by a first-time play caller, “when the defense gets tired, or they are processing, or they are thinking.
“To be able to sense that, feel that, know that, to go after it...stay in that attack mode. That’s what we were able to do, and that’s why we got a huge win.”
Wilson was almost effortless throwing four touchdown passes and completing 18 of 23 throws. Tyler Lockett beautifully caught two touchdown throws early, when the Colts were double-teaming DK Metcalf in coverage. Metcalf caught the sealing one late, when the Colts had to devote more attention to Lockett. Waldron also featured tight ends Gerald Everett and Will Dissly as wide receivers, lead back Chris Carson split out wide, rookie wide receiver Dee Eskridge on fly sweeps to put Indianapolis’ defense in a strategic box.
“We’re just getting started,” coach Pete Carroll said, “so it’s really exciting for us.”
The Seahawks’ 28-16 win in their 2021 opener Sunday was a tantalizing debut for Waldron’s new offense that didn’t play Wilson and its starters all preseason.
“We want to keep the defense guessing,” Wilson said after his 14th career game with four or more touchdown passes. “We want to constantly have them questioning who’s getting the ball? Where’s it going? What are they doing?
“And we were able to do that tonight.
“That’s what we can really bring to this season. ... We were able to control the game — and still be explosive.”
The best thing of this Seahawks 2021 debut, according to Everett, who caught a touchdown pass? This was but a fraction of what the offense intends to show and use this season.
There’s a lot they didn’t use against the Colts.
“A WHOLE lot,” Everett said on his way from the locker room to the team’s bus and flight back to Seattle.
“There’s a lot more that the league’s going to see.”
Wilson’s fourth TD pass, to Metcalf for 15 yards with 6:45 left, made it 28-10. It was the same seam route and look off of a safety that Wilson and Metcalf practiced this offseason at the QB’s home and training place in San Diego.
“I mean, it was just perfect,” Wilson said.
So was Wilson — almost. He finished with just the five incomplete passes in 23 throws, with 254 yards. His passer rating was 152.3, just off a perfect 158.3.
At halftime, when Seattle led 21-10 and confused the Colts into losing the game, Wilson’s rating was perfect.
Maybe 10% of NFL wide receivers make the catch Lockett did for his first touchdown. He adjusted twice to Wilson’s rainbow pass, over both shoulders, then leaned back to catch it, like Willie Mays.
“Or maybe he’s like (Ken) Griffey (Jr.), I don’t know, a Seattle thing,” Wilson said.
The 23-yard score put Seattle ahead to stay, 7-3, in the first quarter.
“Amazing,” Carroll said. “Just incredible stuff.”
The second one was Wilson’s turn to be beautiful.
With the Seahawks at their own 31-yard line and in a 2-minute drill late in the first half, Lockett just ran a simple head-fake outside move then got easily inside the Colts left cornerback. Wilson had all day to throw another of his gorgeous, accurate deep passes — “a moon ball,” he said. It was one of the easiest 69-yard passes possible. The cornerback was so far off, yet still didn’t react.
Seattle took a 21-10 lead from there into the fourth quarter.
Outside of Lockett early, the first half was tight end-palooza. It was Everett wide right, wide left, slot, tight right end with Dissly, tight right end alone. And that was just in the first 18 minutes Sunday, the first 18 minutes of Everett’s Seahawks career.
Seattle went up 14-3 early in the second quarter on Everett’s touchdown of 9 yards on a shallow crossing route from outside wide right. Everett, a four-sport athlete in high school including as a high jumper and triple jumper in track, raced right past linebacker Darius Leonard for the score.
The Seahawks’ offense made the All-Pro Leonard look non-existent. He had just five, inconsequential tackles. Leonard had as many sacks, hits on a quarterback or passes defensed as you had Sunday.
As was the intent with hiring Waldron, the Seahawks also ran for 140 yards, 91 of them by Carson on 16 carries. That was an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Eskridge’s two fly sweeps netted 22 more yards rushing.
Seattle had a gaudy 7.2 yards per play in Waldron’s debut game.
“The day, to me, really goes to Shane,” said Carroll, who hired the 42-year-old Waldron from being the Los Angeles Rams’ passing-game coordinator in January to replace fired Brian Schottenheimer as Seattle’s offensive coordinator.
“His first time out, and chance to show it, I am really, really proud of what he was able to do, because he went for it the whole time.
“We did exactly how we’ve been practicing...and he handled it with such a cool, overall mentality.”
“This is what I’ve been talking about. This is what I’ve been hoping for,” Carroll said.
“I’ve never seen this kind of chemistry be so obvious between the caller and a quarterback.
“I hope this is just the first step of a great march together.”
And:
“There’s so much we can do,” Wilson said. “There’s a lot more that we can do.”
Defensive line shows out
The Colts’ best unit is their offensive line — though it was missing Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher because of an Achilles tear he had for the Chiefs in January’s AFC title game.
Seattle’s recently worrisome defensive line often dominated the Colts’ front.
End Benson Mayowa had a sack on third down in the third quarter to end a Colts drive. Then Darrell Taylor, in his first NFL game after a rookie 2020 season lost to injury, had the defensive play of the game on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Taylor zoomed in for a violent sack of Indianapolis’ debuting Carson Wentz to keep Seattle ahead 21-10.
Seattle’s varied defensive front sacked Wentz three times and hit him nine times.
Wentz is now 0-6 in his career with Philadelphia and Indianapolis against the Seahawks, who have sacked him 18 times in those six wins.
The Seahawks began the game in their base, 4-3 defense, then used Ugo Amadi as a fifth defensive back in nickel early.
Then, as the Colts sent 226-pound running back Jonathan Taylor plowing into them for 16 yards on three rushes early, the Seahawks went to five defensive linemen in an effort to stop the run. At one point in the second quarter Al Woods, the 330-pound defensive tackle, was a left defensive end with fellow tackles Poona Ford and Bryan Mone inside him.
The Colts countered that by having Wentz pass more against Seattle’s five defensive linemen.
Briefly in the first half, the Colts won that in-game chess match. The Seahawks’ ends awkwardly and ineffectively dropping into coverage when they read pass at the snap. With the Colts at first down just outside the 10-yard line in a 14-3 game, Seattle had the five D-linemen and sent Jamal Adams blitzing. Defensive ends Rasheem Green, who had a sack, another pressure of Wentz and was otherwise in the Colts’ backfield much of the first half, and Carlos Dunlap dropped into coverage. So it really was only a four-man rush for Seattle on Wentz’s easy, 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal in the second quarter.
Pascal did a simple out-and-up move to the goal line in front of late-arriving safety Quandre Diggs. That cut Seattle’s lead to 14-10.
It was reminiscent of much of the 2020 season. Yes, Adams set an NFL record for defensive backs with 9 1/2 sacks last season. But the many more times he blitzed and didn’t get to or affect the quarterback meant the Seahawks’ pass coverage down the field behind him was exposed for big plays and scores.
The Colts were threatening with 10 minutes left in the game, at the Seahawks 26-yard line down 21-10. Coach Frank Reich chose to go for the first down on fourth down for the second time in the second half.
For the second time, Indianapolis failed.
In the third quarter, Jamal Adams had leaped over Wentz as he was taking the direct center snap for a quarterback sneak. Wentz dropped the ball. Cornerback D.J. Reed recovered, and the Seahawks stayed ahead 21-10.
The All-Pro safety said he knew from playing Wentz in previous years the QB sneak in that situation was a likely play. Adams was trying to steal the snap.
Then with 10 minutes left, Taylor flew in off the left edge of Seattle’s defense as if he’d been shot from a bazooka. The edge rusher destroyed two Colts on fourth and 2: right tackle Braden Smith, who was tackling him in desperation, and Wentz. Taylor drilled the QB for a sack that gave Wilson and the offense the ball on downs. Seattle still led 21-10.
On the first play following Taylor’s brilliance, Wilson hit Metcalf on a 30-yard pass. A few plays after that, Wilson to Metcalf from 15 yards for a touchdown put the Seahawks ahead 28-10 with 6:45 left.
Rhattigan makes history
If not for a Department of the Army service deferment, Jon Rhattigan would be a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s infantry with his Class of 2021 mates from the United States Military Academy right now.
Sunday, he covered Jason Myers’ opening kickoff of the season — and made Seahawks history. Rhattigan, the undrafted rookie linebacker promoted from the practice squad to the roster Saturday, became the first West Point graduate to play for Seattle.
He was also on the kickoff- and punt-return units. In the third quarter, Rhattigan sprinted down the field on Michael Dickson’s booming punt to the 5-yard line and put a vicious hit on Colts returner Nyheim Hines. It drew some “ooohs” in the press box.
The former plebe-through-”cow” at West Point, a backup linebacker his first three seasons for Army, made a bid Sunday to get on the roster for good. Terms of his practice-squad call-up are Rhattigan returns to the practice squad Monday without having to clear NFL waivers.
If Rhattigan hadn’t received an NFL contract for this season, from Seattle or any other team, the terms of his service deferment from the Department of the Army say he is poised to receive his delayed commission and begin serving as his West Point classmates already are: on active duty in the Army.
“Regardless of what happens, I’m going to represent myself, the Academy and the Army the best I can,” Rhattigan said last month.
He did that Sunday.
Eskridge debuts
Top rookie draft choice Eskridge made his NFL debut in the second quarter. His first play was a fly-sweep motion, then the speedy wide receiver ran a deeper out route while Everett caught a pass from Wilson underneath him in the short, right flat.
Then Eskridge ran what he recently called “my specialty.” On his first fly sweep run, he sprinted past every Colts defender except for Leonard--but only after a 13-yard gain.
In the fourth quarter, Eskridge ran another fly sweep. He gained 9 yards to the Colts 24, but at the end of the play Indianapolis cornerback Rock Ya-Sin blasted Eskridge. He left the game, slowly walking across the field with the help of a doctor and trainer.
Carroll confirmed Eskridge has a concussion. He will go into the NFL concussion protocol this week. His status is unknown for Seattle’s home opener next Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
Center switching
As he had all training camp and in the preseason games, Kyle Fuller started over Ethan Pocic at center. It was Fuller’s second NFL start at the position, which he played collegiately at Baylor
Pocic entered for one drive in each half. In the second half with Pocic in, Wilson got sacked twice in three plays of the drive. Colts tackle Deforest Buckner got Wilson on third down, after Wilson wanted Pocic to snap it sooner than he did.
Fuller entered for the next drive. Pocic returned for a couple more plays, then sprained his knee. Carroll doesn’t know how seriously Pocic is injured.
Penny hurt. Again.
Folks wondered why the Seahawks kept five running backs on their 53-man roster coming out of the preseason.
This is why: Often-injured Rashaad Penny got hurt again.
After he ran twice for 8 yards in the first half of the opener, the Seahawks’ first-round pick from 2018 left Sunday’s game with an injured left calf. Carroll said Penny’s calf tightened on him.
He had a broken finger as a rookie. He had reconstructive knee surgery in December 2019 after a non-contact injury catching a pass in a game at the Los Angeles Rams. That sidelined him until December 2020.
Sunday was the first game of the final season of Penny’s rookie contract. The team declined its fifth-year option for 2022 on Penny this past spring.
With running back Alex Collins inactive Sunday, Carson got the bulk of snaps at running back. DeeJay Dallas, who returned a kickoff 22 yards in the first quarter after the Colts took the opening possession to a field goal, and Travis Homer were the other available running backs.
Extra points
*Carroll is now 7-5 in season openers leading Seattle.
*Wide receiver Penny Hart, who had a few plays in the first half, left the game with a concussion. After Eskridge left with what appeared to be the same injury, the Seahawks were down to three wide receivers: Metcalf, Lockett and Swain.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
