The Seattle Seahawks’ season opener hosting the San Francisco 49ers was eventful but frustrating as the Seahawks lost 17-13 in the final minutes of the game. The teams were evenly matched, with plenty of players and coaches on both sidelines deserving of praise- but I’m limiting myself to three studs and three duds for this one.An honorable mention is required for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was clearly the best playmaker on the offense and stuck out as a stud in spite of a costly fumble. He racked up 124 yards on 9 catches today and had potential for even more with 13 targets. He’s clearly one of the best route runners in the NFL and one of the only clear success stories the offense produced today.An honorable mention for duds goes out to Klint Kubiak, whose playcalling didn’t reach enough of a rhythm to give the defense a rest. Our 230 offensive yards are nothing to be happy about but our 22:02 time of possession leaves a lot to be desired. The preseason playcalling seemed fluid and fundamental, but today didn’t seem to use time, space or surprises as intended.
Julian Love
Studs has to begin with Julian Love. He racked up 10 tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss. He led the Seahawks on the stat sheet and on the field, and kept the secondary calm despite Nick Emmanwori’s injury forcing Ty Okada and Josh Jobe to step up.
Love and the defense bent to situational coverages without folding in the red zone to force three field goal attempts- the first of which Jake Moody doinked off the upright, and the second of which Love jumped through the D-gap- between the two tight ends- and blocked it.
He has been a revelation since joining the team in 2023 and is one of the best safeties in the NFL. He’ll be one of the Seahawks who I expect to shoulder pressure and take this team as far as it can go.
Josh Jobe
The famous football phrase ‘next man up’ couldn’t be exemplified any better than Josh Jobe’s Week 1 performance. When Nick Emmanwori left the game after his first career tackle, the Seahawks struggled to replace him with Ty Okada and Devon Witherspoon shifting inside, and Brock Purdy marched the 49ers down the field on the back of George Kittle to draw first blood and take the lead 7-0.But Jobe stepped in and played the majority of the game between outside corner and the vital nickel safety role and played his heart out. He registered 1 pass breakup and 2 tackles, but also allowed the rest of the defense not to break without one of its’ hardest pieces to replace in Emmanwori.Then, in the 4th quarter, he made an amazing play to pick off Brock Purdy in man coverage on Ricky Pearsall, who gashed the Seahawks for 108 yards on the day.
The broadcast replay showed the endzone angle of this interception where Jobe rode Pearsall’s hip across the entire middle of the field. Jobe’s ability to step up and play man defense shouldn’t go overlooked, and he’s the second stud from Week 1.
Ernest Jones IV
Ernest Jones IV dealt with a heartbreaking life event just over a month ago, losing his father during the first weeks of training camp. He took a few days off and expressed how the tragedy affected him in this Twitter post.
Jones IV wore his heart on his sleeve today and did everything he could to win the game for Seattle. He racked up 8 tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass deflections, but made one of the biggest plays of the game early in the 3rd quarter, playing the crucial Mike linebacker role in the middle of the Tampa 2 defense perfectly. He drops into the deep zone, replacing the safety’s deep middle zone in a traditional Cover 3, read’s Brock Purdy’s eyes and baits him to throw the in-breaking deep route to Jauan Jennings, where he’s backpedaled in a perfect line from the box to be in the perfect spot.
Jones IV crossed his heart and pointed to the sky after his turnover, and it’s safe to say his father is looking down proudly from above. Jones IV will continue to be one of the most meaningful forces on the Seahawks, and has brought nothing but physical, mental and spiritual excellence to Seattle since joining last December.
Riq Woolen
There’s no way around the shocker of a game that Riq Woolen had. He’s as athletic as anyone and consistently turns bad plays into good ones, as he did on one out route he broke up in the end zone. However, his fundamentals in coverage leave potential for blowup games, and consistency as a cornerback can be as volatile as a relief pitcher in baseball. By that logic, Woolen had the blown save tonight.While it’s easy to be optimistic about Woolen’s season still, there’s no position that hurts to have a bad game like he did today at cornerback. He let up multiple massive plays, including a 45-yard bomb to Ricky Pearsall that led to the 49ers game-winning touchdown, where he let the bill slip through his hands for what would’ve been a likely game-winning interception.The good news is that leaders on this defense have already come to Woolen’s defense as we move towards Week 2. Here’s an inspiring quote Brady Henderson posted from Ernest Jones IV on Woolen’s tough day:
Kenneth Walker III
The Seahawks’ run game failed to establish itself on the day overall, and limited the offense after the first half. They worked to get Kenneth Walker III the ball, but he found little to no space when he did get it, and garnered just 20 yards on 10 carries. It’s not completely his fault, but Walker will need to get more yards after contact to maintain his premiere workhorse status. Zach Charbonnet wasn’t great but had more success with 12 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown, and could see more work going forward until Walker gets going.
Anthony Bradford
The Seahawks’ offensive line had a tough task against the 49ers front seven, but no one struggled more than Anthony Bradford. He’s always had talent but hasn’t performed well past the preseason in past years, and although he showed improvement this preseason again, it seems like he’s having a harder time with NFL starters- again. Not every team will be this good, but we’ll need to see Bradford- or someone else- look better at the right guard spot against another team’s starters sooner than later for the offense to reach its full potential.
