Denver Broncos Vs Seattle Seahawks MNF Preview
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The NFL sat back, watched all the NFL off-season drama unfold, then they squarely placed all the teams with dirty laundry against each other in week one, and the Broncos are no exception. If you have been hiding under a rock this off-season, you might not know that the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for three players (Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, and Noah Fant) and a boat load of draft picks including a few first rounders and a few second rounders in the next two drafts.
Russell Wilson spent the first 10 years of his NFL career as the Seahawks quarterback winning a Super Bowl against our Denver Broncos, and losing another on on the last play of the game against the New England Patriots. Russell’s first official game as a Denver Bronco, he has to return to where he career started and hunt for any additional closure he needed from that organization, and play as the bad guy in front of the 12’s and the fan base that loved him for so long.
The Broncos by most publications are considered a top 10 team in the NFL this coming season, but the reality is that they have a lot to prove and they must get out to a hot start. They have new ownership, new coaching staff, new starting quarterback, new offensive system, and the opportunity for growing pains seems to be very legitimate. Not to mention they didn’t play their starters a single rep in the pre-season so hopefully they come out fresh, ready to rock, and not flat and slow. Dan Hanzus has all four AFC West teams in his top 11 teams for his first power rankings of the year, and listed Denver has his 8th best team in the league to start the season.
Sharpe Football Analytics considers Denver to have a middle of the pack strength of schedule (16th hardest) and an estimated win total of 10.1 wins in 2022-23. The Seahawks have the 11th most difficult schedule and are only expected to win 5.8 games this season. This game, though there are emotional connotations for Russell Wilson, should be one of the easier road games the Broncos play this season. I think it’s even better that Geno Smith won the quarterback competition there, because playing against Drew Lock you could get some level of revenge and he could play his best career game vs a defense he practiced against for three seasons. I think that both Noah Fant and Shelby Harris did feel spurned by the organization and do have extra motivation on Monday night.
That being said, I don’t think this game is going to be particularly close. I think this Broncos defense was one of the best in the league last year when the offense struggled to put up 20 points a game, so this year the defense should be afforded the luxury of playing with more leads and more confidence that the offense will keep them ahead in games. I expect this Broncos defense to absolutely harass opposing quarterbacks and have one of the best pass rushes in the league combined with one of the most stingy secondary units in football. Justin Simmons is about to have a career year, Patrick Surtain II should solidify himself as a top 5 cornerback in the NFL, Bradley Chubb is going to stay healthy and prove that he was the right choice for the Denver Broncos in that 2018 NFL Draft.
I think the weaknesses of this defense is the linebacker position, but even there I like Josey Jewell when healthy, and Jonas Griffith played well enough last season during his limited stint to earn starter reps to begin the season. I think the next position that I worry about is cornerback simply because Ronald Darby is talented when on the field, but can’t ignore his history, K’Waun Williams has already been injured this off-season, and the depth is really just an injured Michael Ojemudia, rookie Demarri Mathis, and free agent acquisition Darius Philips. I hope this season with emerging from the pre-season healthy, the starters can have healthy year and put it all together.
When I look at the Seahawks offense, I worry for their offensive line and how they are going to hold up against the Broncos stacked front seven. I know they used the Broncos first round pick (#9 overall) on angry left tackle Charles Cross, and they used another fourth round draft pick on their starting right tackle Abraham Lucas, but I don’t believe they have the pieces in place yet to protect Geno Smith or will be capable of moving DJ Jones or Dre’Mont Jones to open up running lanes. This Seahawks team cannot be overlooked, they still have superstars DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Noah Fant, and four running backs they believe are all talented enough to play in the league, but Geno Smith is underwhelming, to say the least, as a starting NFL QB.
The Broncos offense is really going to have to show up this first game, because all of the hype around Russell Wilson, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Javonte Williams, and the noise coming out of training camp. We haven’t seen a single rep from those players outside of training camp, and they have a chance to come out and make a statement against guys like Jamal Adams, Jordyn Brooks, Quandre Diggs, and two starting rookie cornerbacks. The Seahawks defense has some good pieces, but when you’re starting rookie cornerbacks, you might be in for a long season. Outside of the pair of inside linebackers and Shelby Harris, I don’t recognize any other names on the Seahawks front seven, which isn’t any shade against them, just simply these are under the radar types of guys.
I expect the Broncos offense to be able to effectively move the football, the Defense should be out to make an early season statement and push as a top unit in the NFL, and the special teams looks to be leaps and bounds ahead of where they have been the last three seasons under Tom McMahon.
Prediction – Denver Wins 31 – 13
Bonus Points –
- Chubb has a multi sack day
- Surtain/Simmons force turnovers
- Jerry Jeudy leads the team in receiving yards
- Javonte Willaims has a 100-yard + rushing touchdown day
- Montrell Washington drops jaws on a kickoff or Punt return
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