Seahawks dominate on all fronts in 40-10 win over Broncos
SEATTLE – Could a Hawks game make die-hard fans any happier than this one?
Yes, yes. We know it’s preseason. But it was still a blowout against a good team.
The Seahawks dominated the Denver Broncos across the board in a 40-10 victory Saturday night in the first preseason game at CenturyLink Field.
The Hawks, who started out slow in their first preseason game against the San Diego Charges, didn’t wait around long. Quarterback Russell Wilson, who put up fairly pedestrian numbers in the first game, got the game off to a ruckus start in a hurry. After the Seahawks defense stopped Payton Manning’s first drive, Wilson capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a 12-yard pass to Wide receiver and former Huskies standout and undrafted second year-player Jermaine Kearse.
A quick footed Wilson looked uncomfortable at times, overthrowing a number of open wide receivers. Still, Wilson went 8-for-12 with two touchdowns and 127 yards passing. Tavaris Jackson looked good again too, going 4-for-7 with 93 yards and one touchdown to Wide Receiver Stephen Williams. Jackson is in competition with Brady Quinn, who was the third Seahawks quarterback to enter the game, going 3-for-4 with 13 yards.
As good as the offense looked, it was the defense and special teams that made the jaw-dropping plays. The roller coaster Hawks’ defense gave up 163 yards to Manning but held him when it counted to just one touchdown. Most notably, the defense force three fumbles, with one fumble recovered in the Hawks’ own end zone and returned 106-yards by Brandon Browner with 9:12 left to go in the second quarter, hypothetically breaking the previous 104-yard regular-season fumble return record.
The Seahawks secondary – popularly known as “The Legion of Boom” – also looked strong, with Safety Kam Chancellor recording 11 tackles and Linebacker Bobby Wagner clocking in for eight.
Kearse, scoring on a touchdown pass from Wilson, also returned a kick 107 yards for a TD with 1:52 left in the first quarter. Golden Tate looked strong attain in his role as a punt returner and wide receiver, catching two passes for 42 yards and returning a punt 33-yards.
The Hawks will look to continue to whittle down their stacked roster before they face the Green Bay Packers at 5 p.m. Aug. 23 at Lambeau Field.
Minutes of the game here:
-- Sorry for the lack of updates lately, the game has turned into a bit of a slog with the Hawks up by so much. Two minute warning has the Hawks still up 40-10
-- Broncos get a field goal. A lot of backups in as the Hawks lead 40-10 with 10:33 left in the game.
-- Brady Quinn in at QB for the Hawks. Tavaris Jackson looked strong again, going 4-for7- with one long touchdown to Stephen Williams.
-- Woah. Another TD on a pass from Jackson to WR Stephen Williams. Williams and T-Jack connected quite a few times last week, and then follow it up again with this 38-yard TD pass. Hawks lead 39-7 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
-- Kicker Carson Wiggs misses a long field goal for the Hawks. Wiggs is the Hawks' backup place kicker at the moment. Don't see him taking field goals too often in the regular season.
-- There's the old Tavaris Jackson we're used to seeing. Jackson rushes to pick up 17 yards. The Hawks have the ball on their own 48.
-- 4-and-outs for both teams. Hawks get the ball on a punt return around their own 40-yard line. Special note: Marshawn Lynch touched the ball twice for a total of one yard. Don't expect to see him too much more in the preseason. Got to keep Beast Mode's body in shape for all of the regular season hits he'll take.
-- Tavaris Jackson is in as the Seahawks start the second half. He hopes to follow up a stellar performance in the Hawks' first preseason game. Wilson went 8-for-12 with 127 yards passing and 2 TDs.
Seahawks lead the Denver Broncos 33-7 at the end of the first half.
-- Another passing touchdown from Wilson to Sean McGrath, but Hauschka misses the extra point. Hawks go up 33-7 with 32 seconds left in the first half. Hawks are dominating the game on all levels so far.
-- Another turnover by the Seattle Defense. Oswieler stripped in the backfield, and Aaron Schofield recovers. Hawks have the ball on the Broncos 38. Wilson is still in the game for his fifth drive. Looking to run a two minute offense.
-- Hawks and Runningback Robert Turbin can't convert on fourth down. Denver takes over on downs on their own 38. Starting to see more defensive backups come in.
-- Wilson is still out on the field for his fourth drive of the game. He is 5-for-8 with 93 yards and 1 TD so far. Hawks have the ball on the Denver 46.
-- Manning is out of the game for the Broncos. Brock Osweiler is in. Manning looked strong, but was stifled by a number of turnovers. Manning went 11-for-16 with 163 yards and 1 TD.
-- Hawks up by 20 after a 41-yard field goal from Steven Hauschka. Hawks lead 27-7 with 6:03 left in the first half. Quite different from last week's slow start, huh?
-- Hey, look. It's the Seahawks offense. This is the first time Wilson and the rest of the O has touched the ball in 43 minutes. No need when your defense is doing all the work, I guess.
-- I can't believe this. Hawks recover a fumble in their own endzone and run it out for a touchdown. A 100-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Brandon Browner. The fumble was caused by Linebacker Heath Farwell to put the Hawks up 24-7 with 8:03 left in the game.
-- Broncos complete a 4th Down conversion. Have the ball 1st and goal on the 2 yard line of the Hawks.
2nd Quarter -- Broncos have the ball on their own 45. Both teams still have a majority of their starters in at this point.
-- Jermaine Kearse returns a kickoff for a touchdown! What a run. 107 yards. The Hawks go up 17-7 with 1:40 left to go in the first quarter. What a way to answer the Bronco's TD.
-- Manning completes an 11-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker. The TD caps off a 9-play 80-yard touchdown drive. Seahawks lead 10-7 with 1:52 left to go in the first quarter.
-- Big 33-yard completion from Manning on third down to put the Broncos 1st-and-10 on the Hawks' 15-yardline. Lets see how the Hawks goal-line Defense holds up.
-- Bobby Wagner sacks Peyton manning for a 3-yard loss. Hawks are hot, baby.
-- Steven Hauschka hits a 42-yard field goal after a Hawks penalty pushes the team back. Hawks lead 10-0 with 5:03 left in the first quarter.
-- Can't stop the Hawks! Wilson completes a 33-yard pass to Golden Tate to put the Hawks at the Broncos 21.
-- Hawks defense creates another turnover. A Manning pass to Julius Thomas is stripped by Brandon Browner. This is the third turnover forced by the Hawks' defense so far this preseason. It follows a long Manning completion.
-- Touchdown Seahawks! Hawks score on a 12-yard pass from Wilson to Wide Reciever Jermaine Kearse. The TD caps a 10-play, 65 yard drive to put the Hawks up 7-0 with 8:37 left in the first quarter.
-- Bit of a stall here as a Broncos defensive lineman, Derrick Wolf, needs to be carried off the field in the stretcher. Even brought out the ambulance. Hate to see that in a preseason game. Hawks have the ball within the Broncos 10-yard line. A good mix of run and pass so far from the Hawks.
-- Wilson, baby! Sean McGrath catches a 23-yard pass from Wilson to the Broncos 20.
-- The Hawks are driving into Bronco territory. However, the Hawks have already received two holding penalties for a total of 20 yards, really putting a damper on the progress.
-- There we go, Russell. Wilson completes his first pass attempt on the first play of the game to Golden Tate for 9 yards. The Hawks get the first down on a short Robert Turbin run.
-- Manning passes three times but only completes one and the Hawks force a 3-and-out. Golden Tate signals for a fair catch and the Hawks take over on their own 35.
First Quarter -- Kickoff! Seahawks kick to the Broncos for a touchback.