SEATTLE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The undefeated Seattle Seahawks travel to play the Detroit Lions on Monday night, hoping to extend a streak in the series. Seattle has beaten the Dan Campbell-led Lions in each of the past three seasons.
The Seahawks have won six straight matchups, including a playoff win in the 2016 season and early last season when they lost a 10-point lead in the last 3:08 of regulation and went on to win in overtime when Geno Smith threw a second touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett.
A key matchup will be Detroit quarterback Jared Goff against the NFL’s top-ranked team against the pass.
Seahawks player to watch
RB Zach Charbonnet. The second-year pro, who played at Michigan and transferred to UCLA, had career highs with 91 yards rushing and two TDs against Miami.
Lions player to watch
QB Jared Goff. He has more INTs (four) than TD passes (three) through three games and has been fortunate to have one of the NFL’s best tandem of running backs.
Key matchup
Goff against the NFL’s top-ranked team against the pass. Goff has completed 59 passes to his top five receivers, but they have been caught an average of just 4.9 yards past the line of scrimmage. If the Seahawks can shut down Detroit’s passing game, they can load up the box to slow down a running game led by RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. There’s a chance that might happen. The Seahawks are the first team since the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers to win their first three games while holding each opponent to fewer than 150 yards passing.
Injuries
Kenneth Walker (oblique) seems on the verge of returning after missing two games, although with a condensed schedule of three games in an 11-day span, Seattle could opt to hold him out another week. … OLB Uchenna Nwosu (knee) has a chance at making his season debut after missing the first three games. … Leonard Williams (ribs) and Byron Murphy II (hamstring) left last week’s game with injuries, taking key players off the defensive line. … Lions C Frank Ragnow (pectoral) will be inactive Monday night. … DE Marcus Davenport, a key addition in the offseason, had a season-ending elbow injury last week and starting LB Derrick Barnes had a long-term knee injury in the same game. … DB Brian Branch was in concussion protocol at the start of the week. … TE Sam LaPorta (ankle), DT Alim McNeill (shoulder) and CB Terrion Arnold (knee) are also banged up.
Series notes
Seattle has beaten the Dan Campbell-led Lions in each of the past three seasons. … The Seahawks have won six straight matchups, including a playoff win in the 2016 season and early last season when they lost a 10-point lead in the last 3:08 of regulation and went on to win in OT when Geno Smith threw a second TD pass to Tyler Lockett. … Detroit is 1-8 against the Seahawks this century, winning 28-24 in 2012 after Matthew Stafford threw a go-ahead TD pass to Titus Young with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Stats and stuff
Seattle has a chance to be 4-0 for the third time in franchise history, joining its teams in 2020 and 2013. … Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, a former Michigan defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh, has a chance to join Josh McDaniels (Denver in 2009) as the second NFL coach younger than 40 to start 4-0 since 1933. … Charbonnet, filling in for Walker, ran for 42 yards on a 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins. … Smith has completed 75% of his passes. … Seattle LB Boye Mafe and Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson have at least one sack in each of the first three games. … Detroit is averaging 18.7 points in regulation and has scored just three points in the fourth quarter this season. … Montgomery and Gibbs have combined for 438 rushing yards and 130 receiving, scoring five of the team’s seven TDs. … WR Jameson Williams had a combined 200 yards receiving in the first two games and was held to a total of 2 yards on one catch and one run last week. … Hutchinson has an NFL-high 6 1/2 sacks. … Jack Fox was the NFC special teams player of the week after pinning the Cardinals inside their 20 on four of his five punts, including a career-high three inside the 10 and one inside the 5.
Fantasy tip
Seattle WR DK Metcalf is the league’s only player with 100 yards receiving and a TD catch in two games. He has had at least six catches in three straight games against the Lions, who are below average against the pass.
