Seattle Seahawks: Opponent Preview – Jacksonville
This week the Seattle Seahawks welcome another southern team, Jacksonville, to the Emerald City. The rebuilding Jaguars should leave Seattle with another Loss.
So, far Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has not delivered very good results. All the blame can’t be put on him. Shane Waldron calling run plays repeatedly that yield little to no results, then putting Smith in third down and long situations is just not smart.
However, Smith’s decision-making, both pre and post-snap, further complicates matters for the offense. This week’s matchup should hopefully provide some better results for both Smith and the Seattle Seahawks offense. Subsequently, they find themselves in the NFC West basement.
Seahawks Defense vs. Jacksonville Offense
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is second in the NFL with 79 tackles. He’ll look to add to that total against a team that struggles to move the ball downfield.
2021 number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence leads the Jags offense. He’s had an alright rookie year while learning on the fly. Consequently, the Jaguars’ offense ranks 25th in total yards.
Jacksonville does have some weapons that Lawrence can use to win a game. His top two receivers, Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault, can break big plays. Jags starting running back James Robinson gained 1,000 yards in his rookie season of 2020. This year, he’s on pace to do it again. Not bad for an undrafted free agent.
While nobody should expect this Seattle Seahawks defense to morph into the Legion of Boom, they should be good enough to limit Jacksonville to around 13 points. Maybe.
The Seattle Seahawks rush defense ranks 30th in the league, allowing an average of 134.1-yards on the ground. If Jacksonville is smart, they will utilize a rush-heavy attack while sprinkling in some rollouts and bootlegs. It will force Seattle’s defense into choosing whether to stop Lawrence’s running or his passing.
A dilemma that could put a kink in the Seahawks’ chances to win. This analysis may be obvious and simplistic. But there are legitimate concerns that defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr won’t have a game plan to stop this kind of offensive attack.
This is a Bobby Wagner appreciation tweet. @bwagz
9+ seasons in and still balling. (via @nflthrowback)
📺: #NOvsSEA — TONIGHT 8:15pm ET on ESPN
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/0qZ6vAzpeH— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2021