Seahawks standout players and room-for-improvement in preseason Week 1

Seahawks football is back! Seattle kicked off their preseason late Saturday afternoon in a rare exhibition thriller, as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 32-25 with seconds left on the clock.

It’s always worth noting to take everything – the good, the bad and the ugly –  with a healthy grain of salt as teams shake the offseason rust. As such, I am slightly amending the Studs and Duds list for the preseason and dubbing the categories “standouts” and “room for improvement.”

In a year where many believe the Seahawks are headed for implosion, Seattle gave fans some reason for hope with more than a few standouts.

Standouts: Quarterbacks Geno Smith and Drew Lock

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

For the first time in well over a decade, the Seattle Seahawks have a bonafide quarterback competition. On Saturday night, Geno Smith and Drew Lock made strong cases they deserve to be the No. 1 option when the Denver Broncos roll into Seattle Week 1.

Geno Smith started the first half and despite a pair of sluggish drives to begin the game, the longtime Seahawks backup settled in. Smith led Seattle on a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive to get within a score before halftime, finishing the game completing 10-of-15 passes for 101 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Drew Lock took over after intermission and completed 11-of-15 passes for 102 yards and two touchdown passes. Unfortunately, Lock’s night ended when the offensive line missed a block on a Steelers pass rusher, forcing him to fumble, eventually leading to Pittsburgh’s game winning drive.

Room for Improvement: Rookie cornerbacks

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

The Seahawks drafted a pair of rookie corners in Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen. Both players were seen as solid picks and received praise coming from training camp.

However, both received classic “welcome to the big league” moments on the first two drives of the game.

The Steelers starting offense marched down the field and capped off the opening drive with a wide open touchdown to receiver Gunner Olszewski, thanks in part to blown coverage from Woolen.

On the following drive, Coby Bryant fell victim to fellow rookie George Pickens. In fairness to Bryant, Pickens made a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone and Bryant had a decent remainder of the game.

Standouts: DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer

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