The Seattle Seahawks debuted their new-look offensive line in Sunday’s 26-20 Week 1 victory over the Denver Broncos. Fans were anxious to watch the performance after poor O-line play often derailed the offense in 2023. Their 2024 debut was a mixed bag.
Starting quarterback Geno Smith was sacked on two occasions. Those miscues were assigned to starting right tackle George Fant, who exited with injury, and his replacement Stone Forsythe allowed the other sack. Pro Football Focus credited the Seahawks’ offensive line with allowing seven total pressures.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald offered an honest assessment of the offensive line when speaking with the media on Monday afternoon.
“There’s room for improvement,” Macdonald said. “No one is going to turn on the tape of the first half and be excited by what we saw.”
Coach Mike Macdonald on his #Seahawks offensive line in the opener: “There’s room for improvement. No one is going to turn on the tape of the 1st half and being excited by what we saw.”
Encouraged by the bounce-back 2nd half.@thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/uHowfp8uHs
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 9, 2024
Macdonald is referring to a first half that saw Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet rush for just 22 yards on nine carries. The results got significantly better in the second half, with Walker finishing with 103 yards and a touchdown via 20 attempts and 5.2 yards per carry.
It was less convincing in pass protection. Starting right guard Anthony Bradford, the biggest question mark on the offensive line heading into the season, posted a pass-pro score of 30.9, according to PFF. Veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson had a 55.8 and was credited with allowing a quarterback hit.
The Seahawks are now getting ready for an underrated New England Patriots defensive front in Week 2 that sacked Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow three times and held him to 164 passing yards and 10 points in Week 1. It will be another litmus test for Seattle’s in-progress offensive line. Macdonald will continue evaluating this unit closely.
