Seattle Seahawks‘ Paxton Lynch and Jazz Ferguson shined bright in the team's 22-14 win over the visiting Denver Broncos on Thursday night.
PFF's ReFocused series features immediate takeaways from the two analysts who graded the game live. The two offer a detailed breakdown of the game's most notable performances before the grades and advanced stats are reviewed and finalized by Senior Analysts.
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Final Score
Seattle Seahawks 22, Denver Broncos 14
Seattle Seahawks
Cody Barton was a bright spot for the Seahawks' defense. Barton played at a very high speed and made some nice run stops for a loss or short gains. DeShawn Shead had an unblocked sack of Drew Lock that resulted in a third-quarter safety.
With Russell Wilson getting the night off, Geno Smith got the start, but all eyes were on rookie receiver DK Metcalf. The Seahawks made it clear they wanted to get him the ball on both screens and with some deep shots. While tonight was more of a tease in this regard with no big plays being completed, Metcalf would have likely had a far bigger line if he had more accurate throws. A heavy dose of Wilson should cure this problem.
Paxton Lynch relieved Geno Smith against his old team and surprisingly played well. He picked apart Denver's secondary on play-action passes all night, and when the throws weren't open, he often capitalized with his legs.
Denver Broncos
The biggest play generated by the Broncos' offense was a 50-yard run by Royce Freeman. Rookie left guard Dalton Risner made a key block to spring the big gain. Risner had a strong performance as a run blocker.
Denver's defensive line was a bright spot all night, where Malik Reed and Dre'Mont Jones both had great nights rushing the passer and routinely beat their man no matter where they lined up.
Seattle Seahawks
Jamar Taylor had an up-and-down night. He was flagged for pass interference on one play and collected an interception of an errant Drew Lock pass as Lock he was hit as he was thrown.
Denver Broncos
Unfortunately, Denver's secondary didn't capitalize on the constant pressure the defensive line was generating. Linden Stephens was beat a few times, but this was a collective poor performance by the secondary.
Rookie quarterback Drew Lock led several drives that unfortunately were stalled through either drops, miscommunications or inaccurate throws. Lock led a late fourth-quarter scoring drive and hit Devontae Jackson on a flare route for a touchdown. New addition Theo Riddick was split out as a wide receiver and targeted on a slant route on fourth down but couldn't haul in the pass, as Seahawks' Austin Calitro jarred the ball loose on contact and ended the Broncos drive.
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