Will Russell Wilson win with the Broncos at his ‘old love’

It was February 3, 2014, when the Seattle Seahawks took on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Starting quarterback for the eventual winners from Seattle was Russell Wilson and there he was a playmaker until the end of last season. From this season, however, he will be wearing the jersey of the Denver Broncos. In his first appearance for his team, he is now returning to his old stomping grounds.

This very fact makes the last game of NFL week one a special matchup. That’s because the Seahawks find themselves in a bit of a shakeup with the departure of their playmaker of many years. In Denver, on the other hand, the franchise seems confident they’ve found the missing piece of the puzzle to finally make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Based on these omens, the visitors are favourites in the match. With Wilson returning to Seattle ahead of the Seahawks vs Broncos clash, the odds for a win for the visitors at Lumen Field Stadium are a maximum of 1.40.Kickoff for the game is Tuesday morning, 2:15am German time.

Seattle Seahawks – Statistics & current form

In the NFL, parting ways with an elite playmaker often results in a rebuild. The impact a quarterback has on a team’s bottom line is too great. Russell Wilson continues to be one of those. After 174 games, ten seasons and a Super Bowl victory, the aforementioned separation took place in the summer.

Thus a step backwards at this position is likely, because in future the playmaker will be called Geno Smith. Until now, he has been Wilson’s backup and can look back on 34 starting appearances in nine years with various NFL teams. Only twelve of his appearances were won by his respective team.

Pete Carroll and his philosophy

In return of the trade with Denver, Seattle not only secured two first-round draft picks, but also received several players. Among them was Drew Lock, who had been with the Broncos since 2019 but never lived up to expectations there. The fact that Geno Smith decided the quarterback duel in his favour shows that he also failed to convince the Seahawks.

Under the direction of the 70-year-old Pete Carroll, who has been in charge of the Seahawks since 2010, Seattle finished last in the NFC West Division for the first time last season. This was the worst performance since 2000 for the franchise, which reached the playoffs eight times in the last ten years.

Carroll, who has played various positions in the NFL since 1974, believes his team’s running game plays a big role. He said in the wake of the Wilson trade that they need a ball distributor (“We need a point guard.”) at the playmaker position. That suggests he has built Seattle’s offense on short, quick passes and a lot of running. The latter is supported by the second-round pick invested in this year’s draft for Kenneth Walker, for one, and the fact that four running backs made the squad.

There was also the loss of some key personnel on defence. Carlos Dunlap, for example, should be mentioned here. This ensures that there are defensive question marks ahead of the Seahawks vs Broncos clash. The betting odds on the hosts conceding at least 26 points to the visitors are 1.86.

Denver Broncos – Statistics & current form

The Broncos may be commonly referred to as the “wild card” of the NFL. With the trade for Russell Wilson, the franchise has finally found a quarterback who belongs to the absolute top of the league. The first games will show whether Wilson and the team work under rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was most recently offensive coordinator in Green Bay for two years.

Wilson is finding good offensive circumstances with his new employer. The group of pass receivers has a tremendous amount of talent. Receivers Jeudy and Hamler were both selected in the 2020 draft by Denver and will be key pieces in the passing game behind Courtland Sutton. Furthermore, the team has a good running back duo in returners Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, who is entering his second season.

There is also a new addition on the defensive side in terms of officials. Ejiro Evero comes from Super Bowl champion LA to take on his first coordinator position in the NFL. Looking at the personnel at his disposal, it is clear that he finds enough potential in his ranks to form a good defence.

Between the Seahawks and Broncos, a tip on the visitors seems realistic, but we also see some question marks with Denver. The new cogs have to mesh and Wilson was far away from his best form in the second half of last season.

Seattle Seahawks – Denver Broncos Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Bookmakers set the line at over/under 44.5 total points. Since the clash in Super Bowl XLVIII, there have only been two matches in which this mark has been surpassed twice. In the upcoming duel between the Seahawks and Broncos, however, we tend to predict that it will be a game with fewer points.

The record speaks for itself with a 35-21 spread of wins in Denver’s favour. If the Seahawks beat the Broncos for the 22nd time, odds are possible in the matchup up to 3.30.

Seattle Seahawks – Denver Broncos Tip

Both teams start the 103rd NFL season with some minor or major question marks. Nevertheless, the betting odds are clearly distributed and therefore betting on the visitors between Seahawks and Broncos brings very little value. That is why we opt for the recommendation on relatively few points, which we already mentioned briefly above. We currently see more question marks than exclamation marks in the Seattle offence.

We reckon that there is still some sand in the gears of the Denver offence and do not believe that it will score more than three touchdowns.

We also realistically see a turnover in the form of an interception from new starting quarterback Geno Smith. In 45 total NFL games so far, he has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 34-37.