Seahawks Week 4 Preview: Detroit Lions

Are you ready for some football?

When I was a kid, Monday Night Football was a huge deal. It felt like your team was really on the map - really relevant - if the NFL scheduled them for Monday Night. And of course the Seahawks experienced their fair share of Monday Night moments. From Bo Jackson’s epic game (18 carries for 221 yards and 3 TDs including the 91 yarder into the tunnel) to the Fail Mary, the Hawks like to entertain. Even last year, the Seahawks had a great interception return from Devon Witherspoon on Monday night in a 24-3 victory over the New York Giants in week four. Later in the season, Drew Lock provided his own heroics in a upset victory over the heavily favored Philadelphia Eagles. Monday Night remains special to me, and I am guessing many fans. Maybe it is because of these entertaining games or maybe it is because it is the only game on that night.

Well, most times it is the only game.

This year, the NFL is putting the Dolphins-Titans up on Monday Night in the same time block as the Lions-Seahawks. Luckily, no one will be watching Dolphins-Titans. Not even the fans in those cities will be tuning in for a Tyler Huntley-Will Levis poop show.

For the Hawks, this game is more than Monday Night eyeballs and attention. This is a chance to cement themselves among the league’s elite. Despite ranking at the top of the league in yards allowed and quarterback pressures, the Seattle defense has only faced Bo Nix, Jacoby Brisett, and Skylar Thompson. Jared Goff and the Lions offense provide a new challenge. Maybe more importantly, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery provide a new challenge. The Lions and head coach Dan Campbell want to shove that ball down your throat with the run game. Seattle needs to respond with force, with violence and with determination. On the flip side, the Hawks need to be able to move the ball against Pro Football Focus’ third ranked defense (with Seattle being #1).

Lions Offense

Projected Starters (with PPF position rank)

QB Jared Goff (30th/33 QB)
RB David Montgomery (1st/50 RB) or Jahmyr Gibbs (14th/50 RB)
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (20th/107 WR)
WR Jameson Williams (36th/107 WR)
WR Tim Patrick (84th/107 WR)
TE Sam LaPorta (40th/67 TE)
LT Taylor Decker (19th/67 T)
LG Kayode Awosika
C Graham Glasgow (16th/65 G)
RG Kevin Zeitler (7th/65 G)
RT Penei Sewell (5th/67 T)

In the Trenches

The Seahawks catch a break this week with Lions Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow missing the game due to a pectoral injury. Graham Glasgow slides over from left guard to center and Kayode Awosika enters the starting lineup. Michael Niese may see some action as well at left guard. Any small dent in the armor of the Detroit offensive line is a good thing for Seattle as this Lions unit is the best in the NFL. Penei Sewell is a first team All-Pro tackle and he plays on the right side! Can you imagine having tackles so good that you can play an all-pro on the weaker side? Thus, it is no surprise that the Lions can run the ball. Detroit is 4th in the league in rushing yards per game in 2024 and was 6th in 2023. The dynamic duo of Gibbs and Montgomery follow this elite offensive line to the tune of 4.5 and 5.2 yards per carry respectively.

Lions Playmakers

Sadly for opponents the playmakers don’t stop with two elite running backs. The Lions feature one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in Amon-Ra St. Brown. While St. Brown has been good in 2024, he put up awesome numbers last year. In 16 games, St. Brown recorded 119 catches for 1515 yards and 10 TDs. Silly. Oh sorry, was that not enough offense for you? No worries. The Lions are led this year by wide receiver Jameson Williams who has 209 receiving yards at 19 yards per catch. Williams runs somewhere between a 4.2 to 4.4 40 yard dash time which is to say, he’s fast. Thank goodness Sam LaPorta is banged up.

Matchups to Watch

With the Lions offensive line setting the tone for this team, the matchup to watch is in the trenches. The Seahawks may be without Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy in this game which will make for tough sledding. While everyone is excited about Mike Morris and the potential return of Uchenna Nwosu, the Hawks don’t have enough talent without Williams and Murphy. Johnathan Hankins has been awesome against the run this season and Seattle will need another great game from the big man to stymy the Lions. The Hawks have to find a way to keep Montgomery and Gibbs from going off so the Lions become more one dimensional. Thus the trenches are the matchup to watch this week.

Lions Defense

Projected Starters (with PPF position rank)

LE Josh Paschal
NT DJ Reader
DT Alim McNeill (14th/117 DT)
DE Aidan Hutchinson (1st/105 DE)
LB Alex Anzalone (10th/75 LB)
LB Jack Campbell (35th/75 LB)
LB Malcolm Rodriguez (54th/75 LB)
CB Carlton Davis (53rd/95 CB)
S Brian Branch (20th/74 S)
S Kerby Joseph (8th/74 S)
CB Terrion Arnold (91st/95 CB)

In the Trenches

Oh boy is Aidan Hutchinson a problem for opposing offensive lines. The third year player out of Michigan is leading the NFL with 6.5 sacks while also scoring the highest grade for an end player by Pro Football Focus. From snap counts, it appears that Hutchinson will line up on both sides of the defensive line which is bad for the Seahawks. Hutchinson against Charles Cross would be fun. Hutchinson against Stone Forsythe is like watching a horror film. However, the Lions are not just a one man show in the trenches. Detroit has the second best run defense in the NFL and the third best pass rush. So that’s cool.

Lions Playmakers

Hutchinson is the star of this list with his 37.9% win rate on pass rush plays. For comparison, Dallas rush end Micah Parsons has a 20.7% win rate and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett is at 20.9%. Hutchinson wrecks opposing team’s plans. However, the Lions have interesting playmakers at the linebacker spot as well. Linebackers Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez both grade out well by PFF standards in the run game. Meanwhile Alex Anzalone has a good coverage grade. The front seven for the Lions simply make plays and are a force.

Match ups to Watch

For the Seahawks to have success, they need to win matchups in the passing game. While it would seem that a shaky offensive line is a problem, the Hawks have been throwing the ball quickly to their elite trio of Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf. Geno Smith gets rid of the ball in 2.55 seconds which is partly a product of that line but also a product of the Ryan Grubb offense. If the Lions have a weakness on defense, it is their secondary. Both corners are having tough seasons thus far with both starters ranked in below 100 among corners when it comes to coverage grades. Last week, Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson both had decent games (above 60 yards) but the week before Chris Godwin went off for 117 yards in a Tampa Bay victory. Seattle needs big games from DK and JSN to stay in this game on the road.

Prediction

The Seahawks are a good football team and could very well prove they are elite this Monday night. However, with injuries to Williams and Murphy, plus the offensive line issues, it just seems unlikely on the road. I would love to be wrong, but I think the Lions win this one.

Seahawks 16 (+3.5), Lions 24

NFL Picks

Record through three weeks (including Hawks predictions): 7-8-2 (wins-losses-push)

In addition to predicting the Seahawks result each week, I will pick five more NFL games for your reading pleasure. Last week, another 3-3 record. This week, undefeated! I can feel it.

Commanders at Cardinals (-3.5)

I really need to stop picking against Jaylen Daniels. It is like I am the fun police except I am policing myself. But I think the Cardinals are pretty good. They blew out the Rams and lost by just seven points to the Lions. The Commanders defense is atrocious, ranking last in nearly every pass defense category. Kyler goes off in a shootout.

Broncos (+8) at Jets

That’s just too many points to give Robert Saleh. The Jets looked good against the Pats last Thursday, but the Broncos have a legit defense and Bo Nix is getting better. The Jets may win, but it will be closer than eight points.

Rams (+3) at Bears

This is probably my favorite line of the week. I would take the Rams money line in this one. You are telling me that I can get points with Sean McVay? Yes please. Against Matt Eberflus and a rookie QB? Yes please.

Steelers (-2.5) at Colts

The Steelers defense is awesome and Anthony Richardson throws about six passes per game that should be intercepted. This game will be like 17-14 but the Steelers will cover.

Bengals (-4.5) at Panthers

Why do I keep picking the Bengals? Am I an idiot? Don’t answer that question. The Bengals are 0-3 but have Joe Burrow still at QB. The Panthers had the classic rally game with Andy Dalton at QB. They come back down to earth and the Bengals are desperate.