The only thing that would be more surprising than the nauseating season opening home loss by the Seahawks would be if they repeated the thrilling shootout victory over the Lions in Detroit from last year. Seattle comes into this game as one of the worst teams in the NFL, whether you judge that from statistics, health, or vibes. Detroit enters riding the high of a road win over the Super Bowl champs for their home opener, with a city bursting at the seams at the thought they may finally have a winner.

Seattle is probably not as bad as their performance in week one. They get back Devon Witherspoon, and their offensive game plan has to be better because it cannot be worse. That said, Seahawks fans should brace for the real possibility that things get worse before they get better. They will likely be missing both their starting tackles, and will be facing more skilled edge rushers on the road. Seattle may have only had one decent half of offense last week, but that might be one more than they muster this week.

You would like to think the week one loss would be a wake-up call that would have Seattle roaring into this week. That might happen, but it also may only be enough to make this a competitive loss. The Seahawks would almost certainly need Witherspoon to be a game-changer in his first professional game and a number of takeaways to win this one. Jared Goff is on the precipice of setting the NFL record for consecutive passes without an interception.

Seattle is staring an 0-2 start in the face. Their best hope might be to see some progress that they could build on in coming weeks.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories. 

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Seahawks Offense vs Lions Defense

Lions key advantages on defense

Aidan Hutchinson is a skilled and relentless edge rusher. He is the heart of this Lions defense, and will likely have a mouth-watering match-up against either Stone Forsythe or 41-year-old Jason Peters. He had 7 pressures against KC. He should turn more of those into sacks in this one.

Seahawks key advantages on offense

The Seahawks will come out with one of two game plans: they will either turtle-up and try to make this a low-scoring slugfest with a heavy emphasis on the run game, or they will do the opposite of what everyone is expecting and spread the field with aggressive passing before reverting to the run as the game wears on. The former is a better bet for what they will do, but the latter could happen.

The Lions secondary is not great, and their linebackers struggle in coverage. Look for the Seahawks tight ends to get more involved, and for their to be more passes to RBs.

Lions Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Lions key advantages on offense

This is the offensive line I wish the Seahawks had built. They have a terrific guard, center, and tackle duo. It will be surprising if the Seahawks can generate any more pressure this week than they did in the first game.

Goff has been a fun joke for Seahawks fans, but the truth is he has turned into a quality quarterback who makes far fewer bad plays than he once did. He has some great weapons in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. Sam LaPorta is a talented rookie tight end. This has been one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL, and they are facing one of the worst defenses.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

The secondary is going to have to step up. This pass rush will not get home quickly or regularly. The only reasonable hope would be for the talent in the secondary to play to their potential. Seattle must maintain their performance against the run while dramatically improving their pass defense.

Special Teams

Seattle had a decent start in the return game and in coverage.

Be sure to tune into Real Hawk Talk Wednesday night!

Thanks to Sarah and Chris Rood for sponsoring this series!