Seahawks are blessed with wealth as San Francisco 49ers lose in Week 3

Geno Smith threw two interceptions. This was an example of how strange the Seattle Seahawks played in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season. Smith doesn’t throw interceptions as often as other quarterbacks in the NFL. Additionally, both of his interceptions were the result of intercepted passes.

One was his mistake when he threw the ball too high to running back Zach Charbonnet near Seattle’s own goal line, and Smith needs to get better at controlling the ball in that situation, he admitted as much in the team’s postgame press conference. But that didn’t stop him from completing 26 of 34 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins.

The point is, what Smith was able to do was enough to give the Seahawks a win and push the team to 3-0. Seattle is now one of five undefeated teams in the league. And even better: Unlike all but one of those teams, Seattle is in a division where every other team has at least two losses.

The San Francisco 49ers suffered a surprise loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday despite leading 14-0 after the first quarter. LA had a 0-2 record before the game. The 49ers have now lost two games in a row.

The other NFC West team, the Arizona Cardinals, lost to Seattle’s Week 4 opponent, the 2013 Detroit Lions, and are now also 1-2. In other words, the Seahawks lead the NFC West by two games after three games. There’s still a long way to go in the season, of course, but Seattle could be in a much worse position.

And even though Seattle has had to play three quarterbacks this season who are either rookies or long-term backups, the team could still have allowed more points than Seattle. The Seahawks’ defense is currently in the top ten in the league statistically, and that just means they’re doing a good job.

Things could far worse. The 12s could still be watching the Seahawks defense in 2022 and 2023. One might reasonably think that Seattle would have found a way to lose one of its first three games if they were still coached by Pete Carroll.