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Rookie who stood out: OTs Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas

None of Seattle's rookies had a standout performance against Denver. Some of them (RB Kenneth Walker III) didn't play, while others (CBs Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant) had some forgettable moments. Left tackle Cross and right tackle Lucas were hardly flawless in their NFL debuts, but the young bookends of Seattle's offensive line did their part to give Geno Smith plenty of clean pockets. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this marked only the third time since 1970 that an NFL team started a pair of rookie tackles in its season opener.

Geno Smith was clearly the undercard on Monday Night Football, a contest hyped up as Russell Wilson's Broncos debut and grudge match against Pete Carroll and the Seahawks. But it was the journeyman QB out of West Virginia who got the postgame-interview treatment after mind-boggling clock management by Wilson and new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett helped secure a 17-16 Seattle win. Geno went 23-of-28 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns -- nearly all of the production coming in the first half -- and avoided the crushing turnovers that have haunted him in the past, as the Seattle defense repeatedly turned away the Denver attack from in close. All and all, a fun night at Lumen Field, especially for the other QB. Said Geno after the game: "They wrote me off. I ain't write back, though."

They came up big when they had to against Denver with their goal-line defense. The offense moved the ball, but needs to score more.

Civically, Seattle had a surprising amount of bile for Russ. Between the lines, Pete Carroll's squad got a surprisingly efficient performance from Wilson's successor, Geno Smith, and some massive clutch plays from a largely no-name defense.

By EPA per dropback, Geno Smith's performance ranked 12th among all quarterbacks, ahead of players such as Jackson, Carr, Brady, Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers. Mostly dinking and dunking, Smith completed 82.1% of his passes, the second-highest mark in Week 1, while throwing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks offense, with a feisty Rashaad Penny having a couple of longer runs called back by penalties, looked downright functional while the defense swarmed behind a raucous crowd. Fun stuff in Seattle on Monday night, and now Pete Carroll can chew gum in peace.

I'm an idiot. I recently predicted on The Ringer NFL Show that I was initially too low on the Seahawks, and here we are. Geno Smith, an improved offensive line, a well-coached defense, a spry Rashaad Penny, Pete Carroll, you name it—they all exceeded preseason expectations. Only two teams (Falcons and Texans) had lower odds to have the worst record in the NFL than the Seahawks before upsetting the Broncos as 6.5-point home dogs in Week 1. I'm still not buying them to make the playoffs, but they're far from the league's doormat.

Geno Smith's first half: 17-of-18, 164 yards, two touchdowns. Smith's second half: 6-of-10, 31 yards. Seattle's second-half possessions before killing the clock at the end: fumble, punt, punt. It was fun to get excited about Smith in the first half and it was a fun win for him and the Seahawks, but it's still an offense that will struggle more often than not.

Pete Carroll got an early birthday present in the form of big slice of vindication.