In Week 3 the Seattle Seahawks showed what new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak could do with the team’s offensive weapons when given an opportunity to tee off on a bottom tier defense.
With that said, the 44-13 final was closer than it could have been, as the Seahawks scored just six points in the second half after jumping out to a 38-6 halftime lead. That big lead allowed the team to give many of the starters rest ahead of the short week, meaning that many key players will come in better rested
compare to those of the Arizona Cardinals, who battled to the finish in a close game that went down to the wire against the San Francisco 49ers.
Those getting rest included many of the bigger names on offense, including Charles Cross, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Ken Walker, among others. However, the most important name to note was rookie offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue, whose first career regular season offensive snaps were one of the primary factors behind the Hawks dominant victory.
Interestingly, the two starting offensive linemen the Seahawks did not rest, Grey Zabel and Abe Lucas, are both under contract through 2028, while those who sat down earlier are not under contract for nearly as long. That is not to say that the decision was made based on contract status, just that it seems clear they wanted to give those two the most work in order for Zabel to continue his development, while allowing Lucas to continue to knock rust off.
On the defensive side of the ball the team came into the game against New Orleans without Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori, meaning if any of that trio is able to play against the Cardinals it would be a welcome addition.
With that said, whether it was due to injuries or whether Macdonald simply wanted to continue to give his starters more snaps in the system, several key members of the defense played over 90 percent of the defensive snaps against the Saints. Those include Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Ernest Jones and Coby Bryant, with Ty Okada playing every single snap as he filled in at safety with Love out due to a hamstring injury.
On special teams the Seahawks had, unquestionably, one of their best performances in recent memory. This was due in part to the youngsters who were thrown into the special teams mix in 2024 playing with more experience in the system, while at the same time adding veteran special teamers during the offseason.
Specifically, against the Saints Chazz Surratt and D’Anthony Bell both logged 20 special teams snaps, while Eric Saubert was on the field for 14 special teams snaps. Here is how many special teams snaps those three logged for their teams in 2024:
- Chazz Surratt (New York Jets): 272 special teams snaps
- Eric Saubert (San Francisco 49ers): 302 special teams snaps
- D’Anthony Bell (Cleveland Browns): 394 special teams snaps
And now it’s on to Thursday Night Football at State Farm Stadium for a primetime game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
