Getty Russell Wilson celebrates with fans after winning in Indianapolis.
The Seattle Seahawks kicked off the 2021 NFL Season with a 28-16 victory on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw four touchdowns during his first game in Shane Waldron’s offense, prompting head coach Pete Carroll to rave about the “obvious” chemistry.
Carroll spoke out about his team’s performance during his postgame press conference. He called the 69-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Tyler Lockett “incredible” and compared the receiver to legendary centerfielder Willie Mays. Carroll continued and expressed optimism about the future of the Seahawks offense as Wilson and Waldron grow together.
“Yeah, this is what I’m talking about and this is what I was hoping for and I had never seen this kind of chemistry be so obvious between the caller and the quarterback and I hope that this is the first step of a, you know, great march together,” Carroll said after the game.
Wilson only attempted 23 passes during the game, completing 18 of them for 254 yards. He started producing early, to the point that his first completion was a 23-yard touchdown to Lockett. He then found new tight end Gerald Everett and receiver DK Metcalf for scores before connecting with Lockett once more.
The Seahawks Had Complete Balance on Offense
GettyD’Wayne Eskridge breaks a tackle in his rookie debut.
While Wilson led the way with his four-touchdown day, the rushing attack provided the necessary balance to keep the Colts defense on its heels. Chris Carson led the way in his standard starting role, rushing 16 times for 91 yards. His 33-yard scamper on the team’s first series, in particular, put Wilson in position to find Lockett for the early touchdown.
Rookie D’Wayne Eskridge contributed with big plays of his own prior to taking a hard hit to the head. He utilized his speed on two rush attempts — one for 13 yards and another for nine. Waldron used Eskridge on the fly sweeps that became a staple of the Rams offense during his time working with Sean McVay.
Despite having two players leave due to injuries, the Seahawks still rushed for 140 yards during the win. Carson and Eskridge topped the list while Wilson, Rashaad Penny, DeeJay Dallas, and Freddie Swain all contributed on chunk plays.
“We got our a** kicked. Especially in the first half, we didn’t do enough, and then in the second half, we made some adjustments,” Colts linebacker Darius Leonard said in his postgame press conference. “We kind of got it going, but we didn’t have enough takeaways. If you want to win football games, you have to take the ball away, and we only had one. We have to make sure that we get more takeaways. They had two turnovers. If you count the fourth downs, there are takeaways there, so we have to be better there.”
The Seahawks Have an Opportunity To Continue Rolling
The Seahawks kicked off the season with a decisive win over the Colts, and now the offense will have another opportunity to continue rolling. The next date on the schedule is a home game against the Titans, the second consecutive AFC South team.
The Cardinals kicked off their season with a 38-13 win over the Titans in Nashville. Quarterback Kyler Murray led the way with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run. Meanwhile, running backs Chase Edmonds (63 yards) and James Conner (53 yards) provided balance on the ground.
The Seahawks will spend the week watching game tape and finding out exactly how Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins, and the other Cardinals players exploited the Titans’ defense. Once Sunday arrives, Wilson and his playmakers will have the opportunity to showcase offensive chemistry en route to another win.
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