Seattle Seahawks‘ Russell Wilson completed 14-of-20 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns on his way to a 21-20 win over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.
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Final Score
Seattle Seahawks 21, Cincinnati Bengals 20
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle fans couldn't wait to see the impact of edge defender Jadeveon Clowney, and he didn't disappoint. He made several key plays, but his impact took significant attention away from other defenders. None more important than the role played by Quinton Jefferson, who recorded multiple pressures on the day.
Cornerback Tre Flowers assembled a slew of tackles on the day. However, that is not always the best indicator of a quality performance at the position. Flowers was flagged for multiple penalties that extended drives for his opponent and gave up a ton of yards in coverage.
DK Metcalf displayed his speed to get behind the defense in this game. He also showed the ability to make contested catches down the field, making a few explosive plays throughout the game
Chris Carson had one miscue with a fumble early in the second half. Outside of that, he forced a number of missed tackles as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. He had a great cut on an inside zone on Seattle's last drive, forcing multiple missed tackles and picking up a big first down after Cincinnati had used all of their time outs.
Rookie Takeaways
Metcalf made a few highlight-reel catches in this one and finished the game with a team-high 89 receiving yards from four catches.
Cincinnati Bengals
Seattle tried just about everything to stop John Ross. They came away with the victory, most importantly, but Ross had himself a fine day while collecting a pair of touchdown passes to stand out as the top offensive performer for the Bengals. The day was not without difficulties, as Ross did drop a few early passes prior to his breakout performance.
While the passing offense picked up a good portion of their slack, the Cincinnati ground game struggled throughout. Leaving early with an ankle injury, running back Joe Mixon simply could not find open lanes on any of his six carries. The Bengals will be in for a difficult stretch should Mixon missed extended action, as Gio Bernard is not built to handle the lion's share of the carries.
Sam Hubbard showed up both rusher the passer as well as against the run. He gave both offensive tackles for Seattle fits off the edge with his speed rush around the outside. Especially Germain Ifedi, who had a rough day in pass protection
Rookie Takeaways
Rookie guars Michael Jordan struggled as a run-blocker, but his play in pass protection was strong.