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Stacy Rost: Seahawks have one of NFL's most explosive offenses

The Seattle Seahawks entered this season with the hope that they would make the playoffs — having won 10 games last year set that as the lowest bar — but that didn’t mean there weren’t questions on offense.

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In fact, it was the sheer number of question marks on that side of the ball that kept Seattle from being a more popular pick to win the NFC West. Or worse, that made Seattle a less-than-inspiring offense in preseason previews.

You could hardly blame anyone for doubting. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald might’ve drawn praise for turning one of the NFL’s worst rushing defenses around, but gone were the most consistent faces on Seattle’s offense.

Could the strength of that defense be enough? What were critics to make of a Sam Darnold-led group? Could Jaxon Smith-Njigba flourish without DK Metcalf’s ability to draw attention from defenders? Could a first-round rookie guard and a new offensive coaching staff be enough to fix an offensive line that had finished in the bottom third of the league for a decade?

Through the first month of the season, Seattle’s encouraging play there has quelled most of those doubts. But even more surprising, an offense most assumed would include Darnold as a game manager at quarterback has suddenly become one of the league’s most explosive.

Defense remains the strength of this team, but the offense is pulling its weight sooner than expected. That explosiveness is most apparent in that connection between Darnold and Smith-Njigba. Seattle has 14 pass plays of 20 or more yards, and Darnold is second in average completed air yards (7.9). Darnold has also only been sacked six times, so credit to that improvement up front.

Smith-Njigba is second league-wide in receiving yards behind the Rams’ Puka Nacua and has had a reception of 35 yards or more in every single game this year. As it would turn out, the answer to “Who becomes the explosive pass play target without DK Metcalf?” was already on the roster. And in case JSN isn’t enough, rookie Tory Horton has emerged as a strong candidate there as well.

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After a Week 1 loss to the 49ers saw a frustrating lack of play-action, Klint Kubiak’s offense now has the ninth-most yards on play-action pass attempts.

The Rams and Seahawks’ success with explosive pass plays is especially intriguing considering their personnel usage; the Rams use 11 personnel more than any other team (78.4%), while the Seahawks use it less than anyone else (31%) and instead use heavier formations (credit to The Athletic Football Show for initially noting Seattle’s lack of 11 personnel usage).

On Friday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, Michael Bumpus said that while Seattle hasn’t found consistent production from its run game, its commitment to it is helping Darnold connect on those deep shots. The Seahawks have the second-most run play percentages in the league behind only Philadelphia.

“You’re getting under center, you play-action the football, and you’re pressing down the field,” Bumpus said. “A lot of their routes are like 25-yard deep cross or lots of wheel routes. They’re not dinking and dunking. The threat of the run affects the defense and it doesn’t force the offense to take shots, but it does make those bigger shots a bit more available.”

The next step for the offense isn’t finding a downfield threat – something it sure seemed like they’d need heading into Week 1. Rather, it’s finding ways to get more payoff from those rushing attempts. The Seahawks’ 3.6 yards per rush attempt is up from last season, but not good enough for a team that wants the run to be central to its identity, and they have way too many attempts falling flat. It’s a goal that may not be realized on Sunday against a stout Tampa Bay defense that’s limited opponents to the second-fewest yards per carry (3.3). But it can, and surely will, be a goal as this team rounds into October.