Sam Darnold, this new offense, — heck, this Seahawks season — will go only as its offensive line goes.
So far, it’s going bonkers.
Coach Mike Macdonald, new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and new line coach John Benton had their regular starting offensive linemen start Seattle’s second preseason game Friday night, minus left tackle Charles Cross. He’s recovering from a dislocated finger.
Left tackle Josh Jones. Rookie left guard Grey Zabel. Center Jalen Sundell. Right guard Anthony Bradford. Right tackle Abe Lucas. Tight ends AJ Barner and Eric Saubert. They were smashing.
They pushed Kansas City Chiefs regular defensive starters around Lumen Field as if the defending AFC champions were blocking pads. The Seahawks, third-to-last in the NFL in rushing last season, romped for 119 yards on the ground. In the first quarter.
Sam Darnold’s perfect debut as the team’s starting quarterback plus third- and fourth-down stops by starting safeties Coby Bryant and Julian Love in the red zone on a defense playing nine starters sent the Seahawks off to a 14-0 lead. Backup Drew Lock’s two touchdown passes to Jake Bobo in the first half continued Seattle’s 33-16 preseason victory over the defending AFC-champion Chiefs.
This dominant performance by the front-liners came three days after the team’s latest practice in full pads, on Tuesday. General manager John Schneider said on the Seahawks radio network’s pregame show Friday Macdonald told his players after it that it was the best practice they’d had in his two years as Seattle’s head coach.
Then this, on Friday night. It was why Macdonald fired Ryan Grubb after one, almost all-pass, no-run season and hired Kubiak. To run the ball like they did.
Compared to the offensive-line play that’s been the (sub)standard for Seattle for years, this was, for the second consecutive preseason game, sublime. And it wasn’t against preseason reserves who might be working in other industries at month’s end. It came against a Chiefs defense that was starting eight regulars, though notably minus star tackle Chris Jones.
It also came without leading rusher Kenneth Walker. Seattle again rested him, following Macdonald’s training-camp plan to preserve him for the season opener Sept. 7 against San Francisco.
The way they looked, played and felt Friday night, that opener can’t come soon enough for these Seahawks.
The Chiefs held out quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, but otherwise played their regular starting offense.
Another stellar night for O-line
The running, and the romping, started on the first snap.
Zach Charbonnet, starting for Walker, dashed untouched through the line for 13 yards. On the play, Zabel turned Chiefs’ regular starting defensive tackle Mike Pennel and pushed him out of the hole. Charbonnet sprinted through.
Though he fell down once on a run play to miss a block Friday, Zabel, the 18th pick in this year’s draft, could not have had a much better first two games of his NFL career. Zabel’s dominant run and pass blocking (so far) have shown why the Seahawks made him their highest-drafted interior offensive lineman since eventual Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson in 2001.
Darnold completed four passes in four attempts. Three of them were to Barner, fellow tight end Elijah Arroyo and rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts, in the new-throwback-old position Kubiak will be using plenty this season.
Kubiak gave the 49ers something to study and prepare for in week one when he brought in rookie third-string quarterback Jalen Milroe on the opening drive. The third-round pick from Alabama replaced Darnold for a third-and-short play near midfield. The bullish Milroe lowered his shoulders for a 2-yard gain and first down via a quarterback sneak.
The new starting offense played with pace, rhythm and an attitude, a nasty one Macdonald is demanding this season. The unit’s perfect opening drive, 81 yards in 10 plays, ended when Charbonnet ran 15 yards for a touchdown.
On his TD trot, Charbonnet got blocks by Jones and Zabel that crashed their two Chiefs defenders down to the other, right side of the line. Charbonnet also got a crunching kick-out block by new tight end Eric Saubert, on the defensive end on the left edge.
Charbonnet could have steered an aircraft carrier through that hole.
The Seahawks had 90 yards rushing on nine carries 11 minutes into the game. And that included the 2-yard QB sneak by Milroe.
Klint Kubiak’s offense shines
As is Kubiak’s design, the running game set up an efficient, effective play-action passing game. Darnold and Lock combined to complete 14 of 16 passes, many of them roll-outs and bootlegs to the outside after faking handoffs that had worked so well on runs.
Lock had a quarterback rating of 151.0 for the game. Perfect in the NFL is 158.3.
How is this Seahawks offense, and Kubiak, different?
Seattle had a third and 3 in Chiefs territory on the next-to-last play of the first quarter. Kubiak ran Holani off tackle. The play gained 3 yards for a first down. That extended the drive that ended with Lock’s first touchdown pass to Bobo, a 12-yard screen pass early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. For years that third and 3 was a pass, with a four-, maybe 5-wide formation and an empty backfield — and with pressure on the quarterback by a defense that flew off the snap into the backfield knowing the Seahawks weren’t going to run the ball.
Seahawks who helped themselves
Quinton Bohanna started for the second consecutive preseason game, at defensive tackle. He and Pili continued to take advantage of 33-year-old veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins being out indefinitely. Hankins has a back issue. He hasn’t practiced at all in training camp.
Bobo has been in a battle with Dareke Young, veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Cody White to be the fourth and fifth wide receivers on a roster that may keep only five to begin the regular season when 90 gets cut to 53 players Aug. 27.
Young continued his strong month with three catches for 52 yards. That included a 24-yard catch over the middle from Lock to convert a third and 13 in the second quarter. That allowed the drive to continue deep into Chiefs territory. Lock rolled out and threw incomplete into the end zone to backup tight end Nick Kallerup for a turnover on downs at the 2.
On the next snap, Pili dumped Kansas City running back Elijah Mitchell in the end zone on a running play for a safety. T
The Seahawks led 16-7.
Lock’s second 12-yard touchdown pass of the quarter to Bobo, when the 6-foot-4 receiver jumped over a smaller defender in the end zone to catch it, put Seattle ahead 23-7 into halftime.
White had a standout night making tackles on special teams. That and his constant production when he gets his chance on offense helps his chances to make the roster. The team may hope to get him through waivers onto the practice squad for the second consecutive season.
Damien Martinez ran behind fellow rookie Bryce Cabledue’s pulling block from the left side of the offensive line to the right for a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. That increased the Seahawks’ lead to 30-10.
Milroe replaced Lock with 3:30 left in the third quarter. He ran four time, three on scrambles looking to pass, for 16 yards. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 34 yards; Milroe is 9 for 15 throwing through two preseason games.
He led the offense to the Chiefs 4-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Milroe’s incomplete pass trying to connect with rookie Tyrone Broden on third down forced Seattle to settle for a short field goal from Jason Myers and a 33-10 lead.
Myers earlier prevented a Chiefs touchdown on a kickoff return. The kicker made a diving, shoestring tackle at midfield in the second quarter.
Macdonald and special-teams coach Jay Harbaugh won’t be happy that the Chiefs’ only touchdown of the second half came on an 88-yard punt return with 3 minutes left.