GREEN BAY, Wis. —The Seahawks and Packers are locked in a defensive struggle at Lambeau Field, where Seattle leads 3-0 after two quarters of play. Here are a few notes from the first half of the Seahawks' Week 1 game:
- With less than a minute to play in the first half, the Seahawks used two plays to put themselves in a position to put some points on the board. Quarterback Russell Wilson found receiver Doug Baldwin for a gain of 34 yards before he scrambled for a gain of 29 more to set up a 33-yard field goal from kicker Blair Walsh to open the scoring in Wisconsin as time expired in the half.
- If there were any doubts about Tyler Lockett's readiness as he returns from the leg injury that cut his 2016 season short, the Seahawks receiver put them to rest during the opening kickoff, looking like his speedy and shifty self as he took the ball out of the end zone all the way up to Seattle's 43 yard-line. Lockett also was back returning punts for the Seahawks, bringing one back seven yards and hailing for a trio of fair catches on his other three tries.Â
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- Wilson felt pressure from Green Bay on the offense's opening series, nearly taking a sack on first down from Packers linebacker Nick Perry before managing to throw the ball away, and taking a sack from Perry on third down to stall Seattle's initial drive. Wilson finished the half 6-of-13 for 58 yards with a 59.1 quarterback rating.
- With Thomas Rawls (ankle) inactive, rookie Chris Carson lined up as Seattle's running back to start the game, but it was veteran Eddie Lacy who got Seattle's first carry. The former Packers running back had two touches for eight yards on the Seahawks' second offensive possession. Lacy finished the half with four carries for six yards.Â
- Nazair Jones showed sticky hands on Green Bay's opening drive, intercepting a pass from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers near the line of scrimmage and returning it 24 yards the other way. The rookie defensive tackle nearly scored on the play, but it was wiped out by an illegal block penalty on the Seahawks.
- Cornerback Jeremy Lane was ejected from the game in the first quarter for what officials specified as "throwing a punch" on Jones' interception return. Justin Coleman, who the Seahawks traded a 2018 seventh-round pick to the New England Patriots for last weekend, replaced Lane at nickel cornerback in Seattle's defense.
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- Cliff Avril recorded a first-quarter sack of Rodgers on a key third down, stalling what to that point looked to be a promising Packers drive. As he did last season when he recorded a career-high 11.5 sacks, Avril has has again pledged to build a home capable of withstanding natural disasters in his native land of Haiti for every sack he gets in 2017. Avril went down with a shoulder injury midway through the second quarter but walked off the field under his own power. His return was listed as questionable, but Avril rejoined the Seahawks defense on its next series and was able to finish out the half.
- Michael Bennett also got to Rodgers, sacking him early in the second quarter on a third down near midfield that forced Green Bay to punt the ball away. Bennett and defensive end Frank Clark combined for a sack later in the second quarter to force Green Bay into a third-and-long situation.
- Jon Ryan was busy, punting five times, including one that was downed by Seattle at Green Bay's own 2-yard-line and another that was fair caught at Green Bay's 5-yard-line. Special teams coverage as a whole looked solid over the first two quarters, with Neiko Thorpe and D.J. Alexander each tallying a special teams tackle.
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Pregame photos from the Seahawks' Week 1 game against the Packers in Green Bay.