What to watch for when Seahawks face Dolphins, plus Bob Condotta’s prediction

21 Sep 2024, 08:00 by Bob Condotta · The Seattle Times

Seahawks vs. Miami Dolphins

When: 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Lumen Field.

TV: CBS with Kevin Harlan (play by play), Trent Green (analyst) and Melanie Collins (sidelines).

Most recent game in series: Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to Travis Homer and David Moore, and Chris Carson rushed for 80 yards and two TDs to lead the Seahawks to a 31-23 victory at Miami on Oct. 4, 2020.

Point spread: Seahawks by 4.5.

Key injuries: The Seahawks are expected to again be without starting running back Kenneth Walker III, who is battling a nagging oblique injury. Zach Charbonnet is expected to start. Seattle will also be without edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu for a third consecutive game and right tackle George Fant for a second consecutive game. Weakside linebacker Jerome Baker (hamstring) also appears unlikely to play. Seattle on Saturday placed Fant on Injured Reserve, assuring that Stone Forsythe will start in his place again, and signed McClendon Curtis from the practice squad to add depth. Seattle also elevated ILB Patrick O’Connell and OLB Tyus Bowser off the practice squad. O’Connell adds depth with Baker likely out and Bowser adds depth at OLB with both Boye Mafe (knee) and Derick Hall (hip) listed as questionable and Nwosu already out.

Last week’s games: Seattle won at New England 23-20 in overtime last Sunday. The Dolphins lost 31-10 at home to Buffalo on Sept. 12.

The big story: The Seahawks can improve to 3-0 for the eighth time in franchise history and the first since 2020. A win and losses by Arizona (against the visiting Lions) and the 49ers (at the Rams), and the Seahawks could take a two-game lead in the NFC West.

Key matchup

Seahawks’ defensive front seven vs. Dolphins’ Skylar Thompson

The X-factor in this game is how Miami will adapt to playing without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion Sept. 12 and was placed on the injured reserve list this week.

Stepping in is Thompson, who started two games in the regular season and a wild-card game for an injured Tagovailoa in 2022 but did not play last season. He was 8 of 14 for 80 yards at the end of the Bills loss.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was a seventh-round draft pick out of Kansas State in 2022 and is regarded as a heady leader with solid athleticism — he ran for 1,087 yards and 26 TDs at Kansas State — who is unproven overall.

Seahawks coaches this week noted that Tagovailoa gets rid of the ball quickly, but Thompson’s running ability could mean he’ll be more apt to extend plays.

The Seahawks have five sacks in two games, which ranks 15^th in the NFL. But according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, they are third in pressures with 31, indicating that they are getting a lot of movement up front and off the edges.

Key player

Center Connor Williams

The Seahawks rushed for just 46 yards on 18 carries against New England. And though playing without Walker factored in, the bigger issue was Seattle’s offensive line.

“We’ve got to move people, man,” Macdonald said this week.

Everyone this week, though, stressed patience, noting that the offensive line has a lot of new and moving parts. Notably, Williams didn’t begin practicing until mid-August after being signed earlier in the month and still recovering from an ACL injury.

Williams has played every snap the first two games and will face the team with which he played the previous two years, surely hoping to prove a point.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb this week marveled that Williams has been able to do as well as he has with the time he missed and the quick integration into Seattle’s offense.

“I think it’s amazing,” Grubb said. “And the guy works really hard at it, and I think that he’s only going to get better the more comfortable he gets; the faster he plays it is going to keep getting better.”

Key stat

3.5

That’s the Seahawks’ yards allowed per pass attempt. Macdonald’s reputation as a defensive guru has not taken any hits during his first two games as the Seahawks coach. They have allowed just 128.5 passing yards per game, second-fewest in the NFL, and 3.5 per attempt, the fewest.

The caveats: the Seahawks faced a rookie QB in Denver’s Bo Nix in Week 1 and a run-oriented New England offense going with veteran journeyman Jacoby Brissett in Week 2. How well Thompson can get the ball to his receivers is hard to know. What Seattle does know is Tyreek Hill, who is averaging 15.4 yards per catch, will be dangerous when he gets it. The Seahawks defensive backs must be sure tacklers when Miami’s receivers get the ball in space.

Three other things to watch

Knight getting his day in the sun?

With Baker out, rookie Tyrice Knight is likely to get the start at weakside linebacker. Macdonald, though, also hinted that other inside linebacker combinations could be in the works.

But Knight, a fourth-round pick out of UTEP, will surely get his snaps. Macdonald said this week one key is for Knight to continue to get better with diagnosing plays, something that tends to come with experience.

“I think it’s just constant improvement,” Macdonald said. “ … the game moves fast, and each week you’re kind of learning a new offense and how they operate. So you’ve got to stay poised, kind of apply your rules. But he’s a cool customer, man. He doesn’t ever seem like he’s rattled or anything like that, so he’s going to be just fine.”

A DK-Ramsey rematch

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf used to get two matchups a year against seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey. But Ramsey was traded from the Rams to Miami in March 2023, meaning the two didn’t face off last season.

They will again Sunday, though Metcalf this week seemed to downplay the pending reunion with Ramsey. “Looking forward to another battle,” he said. “Nothing different, still football at the end of the day, though.”

But their history means it’s sure to be interesting.

Running-back rotation?

Charbonnet will start if Walker can’t play, as seems likely. But unlike the Patriots game, when Charbonnet was on the field for all but three snaps, the Seahawks could mix in 2023 seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh. McIntosh played only two snaps last week and has yet to touch the ball in five career games.

Some have wondered if pass blocking might be one reason the team didn’t play McIntosh more. Macdonald on Friday, though, said he has confidence that McIntosh can handle that task.

“I’d say overall [he’s] in the right spot,” Macdonald said. “Trust him to go get the job done when he is out there.”

Prediction

Seahawks 24, Dolphins 16. Before Tagovailoa was sidelined this figured to be the first real test of how the defense has progressed under Macdonald. Now the game is harder to read. Assuming there’s some drop-off in Miami’s offense this feels like a golden opportunity for the Seahawks to get to 3-0.