The Seattle Seahawks had a solid, foundational, win over the Los Angeles Chargers to kick off the preseason. It may not have been flashy or too exciting, but it was a great way to start. Winning 16-3 is not as impressive as in which the manner it was won.
The Seahawks dominated time of possession, nearly doubling the Chargers. What impressed me the most is how they were able to do so, and it was running the ball. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet did not play on Saturday against Los Angeles. Instead, the likes of George Holani, Kenny McIntosh, and Kobe Lewis took the lion’s share of carries, as all three are competing for that No. 3 running backs spot.
So far, the competition is as tight as ever. As a team, the Seahawks rushed for 156 yards on 39 total carries. McIntosh led the way with 40 yards on eight carries. Lewis followed suit with 33 yards on ten carries himself, with Holani rushing six times for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Seattle has struggled to get their run game be a more consistent factor for the last two years. This is all the more frustrating because it does not appear to be a talent issue.
The Seahawks did something tonight I did not see much of last year: they sustained long drives. They ate up the clock and managed to convert on third downs. In fact, as a team they were 11-for-20 overall. One of those they did not get was at the end of the game when they were already leading 16-3 and the win was assured, and the one before that was still within field goal range to make the game truly out of reach for Los Angeles.
The ability to sustain drives is going to be critical for this team, especially with a defense rebuilding. The Seahawks defensively last year were not good enough to be left stranded on the field, thanks to an offense that routinely struggled on crucial third downs.
Again, I am well aware this is merely a preseason game when both teams are playing the most vanilla game plans imaginable with second and third stringers. But still, it is hard to not be encouraged that Seattle was able to engineer multiple drives of 12+ plays. Even the one that resulted in a turnover on downs at the Chargers’ 2-yard line ate up eight minutes of clock, winding the third quarter down to a point where Los Angeles had only one possession in this quarter.
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