Seattle dominated NFC West favorite San Francisco 31-6 in Peter Carroll’s debut as head coach, doing many of the little things that made him a successful college coach at USC. Keep in mind that the Seahawks also looked great in a 28-0 rout of the Rams in last year’s season opener before losing three straight by a combined score of 82-46. Carroll now has the challenge of preparing his team mentally for this tough road game following such s a big victory.
Carroll’s defense limited the 49ers to 263 yards of total offense and held All-Pro running back Frank Gore to just 38 yards on 17 carries. Seattle made San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith look terrible in forcing him to throw two interceptions, including one that was returned 32 yards for a touchdown by Marcus Trufant. The Seahawks will try to do the same thing to Denver’s Kyle Orton after he threw for 295 yards with one touchdown and an interception against the Jaguars.
Denver’s offense struggled a bit despite Orton’s efforts, as he was sacked three times and pressured throughout the game. Orton played behind an offensive line that included two rookies in center J.D. Dalton and right tackle Zane Beadles while All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady made his first start since undergoing knee surgery five months ago.
The Broncos made a deal with New England this past week to acquire running back Laurence Maroney, who should give them some depth and help spell second-year starter Knowshon Moreno. Maroney played under Denver head coach Josh McDaniels when he was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots.
McDaniels has been trying to find a way to deal with injuries in the offensive backfield since training camp began, and Moreno had missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury. Moreno still managed to rush 15 times for a team-high 60 yards in his return while rookie quarterback Tim Tebow totaled only two yards on two carries in his first action as a pro.
The Broncos have won 10 straight home openers, which is the longest streak in the NFL. Denver has not started the season with consecutive losses since 1999, although the road team has won the last two meetings when they have squared off during the regular season. Maddux Sports has released our Sunday NFL picks and this just happens to be one of the games are playing. Dont miss this easy winner and have a winning Sunday follow the best handicappers on the Internet today.
