The Seattle Seahawks pummeled the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field, 24-3, to push their record to 3-0. Last time the Seahawks started the season 3-0 was the 2020 season when they finished 12-4, losing at home in the wildcard round to the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s still extremely early in the season, but Seattle looks much improved on offense and, especially, on defense. Now, skeptics will say they haven’t played a ‘real’ quarterback yet (Bo Nix, Jacoby Brissett & Skylar Thompson/Tim Boyle) but you can only play who’s on the schedule.

Looking at the remaining games the only surefire top-5 QB they face is Josh Allen in Week 8. Even though the Seahawks don’t have to face a murders row of opposing QB’s they will face a number of high-powered offenses like the Lions, Vikings, Packers, Jets, Bills, Niners and Cardinals, so plenty of opportunity left for Mike Macdonald’s defense to build their credentials.

All 3 levels of the defense have improved drastically, particularly the secondary, which seems to be the key unit. They were excellent against the Dolphins, holding QB’s Skylar Thompson/Tim Boyle to 140 yards on 20/32 pass attempts, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s and 6 sacks taken. Even more impressive they held the dynamic wide receiver duo of Tyreek Hill (3 receptions for 40 yards) and Jaylen Waddle (4 receptions for 26 yards) to subpar receiving totals. Maybe once Hill/Waddle were targeted on a deep shot, but they were largely held to minimal gains on shorter routes due to the suffocating coverage. Seattle also did a good job getting those guys to the ground quickly when they did catch the ball. Another one of Miami’s play-makers, running back De’Von Achane, was held in check. He could only muster 30 rush yards on 11 carries and 28 receiving yards on 3 catches. A quiet game for one of the fastest player in the NFL.

The two times the Dolphins got into the redzone went poorly for them.

The first time came in the first quarter after QB Geno Smith’s pass was tipped by RB Zach Charbonnet and caught by cornerback Kader Kohou at the Seattle 6. With the Seattle defense in the shadow of their own goal-post they processed to hold Miami to 2 short gains and then forced an incomplete pass on 3rd down, which led to a field goal.

The second time came early in the 4th quarter when the Dolphins put together their best drive of the game that went for 11 plays, 50 yards with them getting down to the Seattle 3. Once there the defense stiffened up holding De’Von Achane to 2 short gains and then forcing an incomplete pass on 3rd and 4th down, resulting in a turnover on downs. This led to the Seahawks best drive of the game, and possibly the season.

The drive began at the Seattle 2 with Geno Smith steadily passing the ball for moderate yardage. He hit Noah Fant twice, Jaxon Smith-Njigba twice and DK Metcalf once with Zach Charbonnet rushing for 42 yards on 6 carries during the drive. He capped it off by bowling his way into the endzone for his 2nd TD of the game and effectively closing the door on the Dolphins hopes of a comeback. He was much, much better against Miami than New England, totaling 91 yards on 18 carries and 2 TD’s. It was good to see him rebound after such a poor showing, which should boost his confidence and the confidence in him by the coaching staff. Although, Kenneth Walker III should be able to return for the Monday Night game against the Detroit Lions.

Geno Smith had a solid game, passing for 289 yard on 26/34 pass attempts, 1 TD, 2 INT’s and 3 sacks taken. The two interceptions weren’t necessarily his fault, as they both bounced off the intended receivers’ hands, but turnovers are attributed to him nonetheless. So long as he’s given time, and a clean pocket, he shines. The more time afforded to him the better. It’s when he gets sped up, due to pressure, is when things go awry, forcing him into a tough/early pass or taking a sack. Which is why the amount of success the Seahawks can have on offense will be determined by the play of the offensive line.

The unit played OK against Miami; showing flashes of a consistent, solid group, but also getting overwhelmed a number of times halting any progress on the offensive side. For whatever reason, after the explosive 1st quarter, capped by DK Metcalf’s 71-yard TD, they were terrible. The offense had 6 drives with none of them going for more than 45 yards, including four 3 & outs, except for the aforementioned 11 play, 98 yard drive. The line kept giving up sacks and unnecessary penalties, crippling any type of flow offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb wanted to implement. Luckily, the Dolphins were poor and couldn’t generate anything on offense either.

Rookie Inside Linebacker Tyrice Knight had to step-up and fill in for the injured Jerome Baker. Early in the 1st quarter, he took a bad tackling angle and had to come out of the game for a couple of plays. When the TV showed him on the sidelines, he was getting a talking to by one of the coaches, assumingly the linebackers coach. Once he got back onto the field he was solid, ending the game as the 2nd highest tackler with 6 and 1 TFL. Maybe it was just the emotion and jitters that got to him on the field early. Whatever it was, he settled down nicely and could be a useful player going forward, especially if anymore injuries crop up.

Outside Linebacker Derick Hall had his best game of the young season racking up 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TFL and 4 QB hits. He was terrorizing the Miami offensive line all game. Getting him to play at a high-level and consistently rushing the passer would really help the defense. The other OLB Boye Mafe wasn’t as impactful as the first 2 games, but he still had a respectable game with 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 pass defended and 2 QB hits. Both guys needs to keep it up for the defense to reach it’s full potential.

Safeties Julian Love and Rayshawn Jenkins again displayed large on-field presence. Jenkins was damn good posting 10 tackles, helping get the speedy Dolphins play-makers to the ground quickly. Love was less influential than past weeks, but still managed 5 tackles and a tackle for loss. Going into the season, Jenkins signed a modest 2-year, $12 million dollar deal and looked like a stopgap option, which is why it’s surprising he’s been so good and necessary to the Seahawks early season success. If he keeps up his current pace, he’ll be one of the most underrated free agent signing of the year.

While most things went right against the Dolphins, the Seahawks did pick up a couple of crucial injuries to their somewhat feeble, and vulnerable to the run, defensive line. Star defensive end Leonard Williams hurt his midsection with rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II leaving the game due to his hamstring. Both left the game and did not return. Head Coach Mike Macdonald didn’t offer much in his post-game presser, saying, “I think we got a picture of it. I don’t what the results of that are. We’ll see here in the next couple of days.” It doesn’t sound promising those guys will be headed to Detroit.

Next up for the undefeated Seattle Seahawks is a Monday Night showcase, on the road, against the 2-1 Detroit Lions. Going up against offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, a finalist for the Seahawks job, should present an intriguing challenge for Mike Macdonald and the possibly undermanned defense. Coming into the season, the Lions were mentioned as one of the Super Bowl contenders with their offense expected to be in the top-5. They haven’t quite hit those levels yet, mostly due to QB Jared Goff not performing at his best. Their running game, a 2-headed monster consisting of David Montgomery (51 carries for 231 yards and 3 TD’s) and Jahmyr Gibbs (40 carries for 207 yards and 1 TD) will spearhead the attack for Detroit. The Lions also have one of the best offensive lines with Right Tackle Penei Sewell and Center Frank Ragnow near the top of their respective positions. Left Tackle Taylor Decker is highly-regarded as well. They present an immense challenge to an injury-riddled Seattle defensive line. Finally, a worthy opponent for the Seahawks to test themselves and gain some credibility.

GO HAWKS!