The Seahawks will face their most formidable task when they take on the Detroit Lions in front of a nationally televised audience. The bright lights of Monday Night Football will serve as a magnifying glass for head coach Mike Macdonald and his players. There are plenty of questions leading up to this game.
CAN THE SEAHAWKS START FAST AND SUSTAIN MOMENTUM?
Facing the NFL sack and quarterback pressure leader in Aidan Hutchinson, the Seahawks must establish a running game and sustain. Hutchinson has 25 pressures and 6.5 sacks. An effective run game will lead to more play action for Geno Smith, which would slow down Hutchinson, defensive right end Alim McNeill, DT DJ Reader, and DE Josh Paschal, all of who are the cornerstones of the Lion’s no. 4 ranked rush defense. The return of Ken Walker II after missing two games will boost the offense. Walker III will likely split time with Zach Charbonnet, who has admirably filled in but lacks Walker’s breakaway speed.
CAN STONE FORSYTE REPEAT HIS PERFORMANCE?
In last year’s game, Stone Forsythe started at right tackle and contained Hutchinson, who had two tackles and one pass defense but no sacks or quarterback hits. Forsythe will no doubt rely on help from Anthony Bradford. Another good fundamental game from Forsythe would increase the Seahawk’s chances of pulling the upset. The Seahawk’s offensive line needs to take another step forward. In the Dolphins game, quarterback Geno Smith was sacked three times and under duress for most of the game.
WORST TIME FOR INJURIES TO FRONT SEVEN
The team’s injury report on Saturday added salt to the wound when it was announced that linebacker Boye Maye was ruled out and would join Bryon Murphy II and Leonard Williams. Both players did not practice all week, so their absence from the game was expected. Another blow was the announcement that Uchenna Nwosu would miss his fourth consecutive game and that Jerome Baker ( hamstring ) would be questionable for the game.
LIONS POTENT RUN GAME
The news could not have come at a worse time, as the Seahawks will face the fourth-best run offense in the NFL. The Lions’ two-headed run monster, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, is averaging 163 rushing yards a game. Montgomery is averaging 77 yards per game, while Gibbs is averaging 69 yards per game. For head coach Mike Macdonald, the injuries will provide an opportunity for several players to prove their worth.
We’ve got four guys that are down, that’s four more guys are going to be up. Looking forward to seeing those guys play. When you talk about having depth on your football team, you want the feeling to be like, ‘Okay, I can’t wait to see whoever’s going to get that opportunity now. Said Macdonald ‘So that’s our view, is that guys are going to have more opportunities than they’ve usually had and looking forward to seeing what they do.”
ELIMINATING PENALTIES IS A MUST
One key stat the Seahawks will need to reduce if they are to have any chance as a team is penalties. Against the Dolphins, the Seahawks had 11 penalties for 92 yards. While the Dolphins’ 11 penalties for 85 yards negated the Seahawks’ horrendous transgressions, the Seahawks cannot have a repeat performance against a disciplined Lions team.
” So those are things that we’ve talked about as a team, and the guys know, and it’s obvious on tape, and its great coaching points and opportunities to learn from, said Macdonald of eliminating the penalties. “So, I expect us to grow. Kind of what we’re talking about all throughout the week is we have such an opportunity to grow as a team and take another jump. So hopefully we do that.”
HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPETITION LIONS
| 2024 REGULAR SEASON | SEAHAWKS | LIONS |
| Record | 3-0 | 2-1 |
| Total Yard Gained | 1,032 | 1,199 |
| Total Offense ( NFL Rank) | 344.0 (8) | 399.7 (40 |
| Rush Offense | 97.3 (23) | 163.0 (4) |
| Pass offense | 246.7 (3) | 236.7 (7) |
| Points Per Game | 24.3 (T9) | 20.7 (16) |
| Total Yards Allowed | 746 | 880 |
| Total Defense | 248.7 (20 | 293.3 (10) |
| Rush Defense | 116.3 (15) | 76.7 (4) |
| Pass Defense | 132.3 (1) | 216(19) |
| Points Allowed/ Game | 14.3 (4) | 17.7 (4) |
| Possession Avg. | 29:06 | 32:88 |
| Sacked/Yds.Lost | 8/47 | 4/30 |
| Sacks Made/Yds.Lost | 11/76 | 8/59 |
| Interceptions By | 2 | 3 |
| Penalties/Yds | 23/183 | 19/206 |
| Punts/Avg | 14/50.4 | 11/49.5 |
| Turnover Differential | -1 (T21) | -1 (T21) |
2024 STAT LEADERS
| SEAHAWKS | LIONS | |
| Rushing | Zach Charbonnet 141 (43-3, 5-3) | David Montgomery 231 (51-4.5-3) |
| Passing | Geno Smith 787 (103-77-3-3-93.8) | Jared Goff 723 (106-70-3-4-70.2) |
| Receptions | DK Metcalf 17 (262-15.4-2) | Amon- Ra St. Brown 21 (207-9.9-1) |
| Scoring (Non kicker) | Zach Charbonnet 24 | David Montgomery 18 |
| Sacks | Mofe/ Hall 3.0 | Aiden Hutchinson 6.5 |
| Int | J. Love & R.Woolen 1 | Kerby Joseph 2 |
| Punting | Michael Dickson 50.4/39.3 net ( 1 in 20 ) | Jack Fox 49.5/44.0 net ( 8 in 20) |
| Kicking | Jason Myers 25 (6/7 FG, 7/7 PAT) | Jake Bates 20 (5/5 FG, 5/6 PAT) |
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