Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers preview: Both teams look for winning record
The San Diego Chargers will travel up the coast on Sunday to play with the Seattle Seahawks in a meeting of 1-1 squads.
The Chargers will be hoping to win their second straight game after a disappointing opening day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Charger rebounded from that loss in week two to trounce the Jacksonville
Jaguars 38-13.
The Chargers are still without Pro Bowl receiver Vincent Jackson and starting LT Marcus McNeill who are both holding out over contract disputes with the notoriously frugal Chargers.
The Seahawks go into the game with doubts surrounding their first round pick, starting tackle Russell Okung, who did not practice Thursday with an ankle injury.
Fortunately for the Chargers, the players they do have on hand are pretty good. Philip Rivers has started the season playing up to his high standards, averaging over 300 yards passing per game. Rivers will
need to well as he shouldn't expect to lean too heavily on the running game.
Starting running back Ryan Mathews has been ruled out of the game with a high ankle sprain, meaning that the Chargers will rely on the backup tandem of Mike Tolbert and Darren Sproles. Tolbert played very
well in relief of Mathews against the Jaguars, rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Tolbert and Sproles will be in tough against a Seahawks defence that has given up very little on the ground. The Seahawks have limited opposition running backs to just 118 yards on 54 carries, and average
of 2.2 yards-per-carry.
The Seahawks have not been so dominant against the pass, but have certainly held up. They are yet to allow a 100-yard receiver and have two interceptions to offset the two touchdowns they have given up.
The Seahawks defence has been solid, its offence...not so much. Inconsistent is a more appropriate adjective for a unit that ranks 13th in the league in points scored, but has also turned the ball over four
times. They come up against a ball-hawking secondary in the Chargers.
Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is coming off a game where he threw three interceptions. This does not bode well with the Seahawks coming up against a Chargers defence coming off a game with a few interceptions
of their own. Antoine Cason had two interceptions as the Chargers picked off the Jaguars' David Garrard four times in their blowout win against Jacksonville.
Interceptions or not, Hasselbeck might have to throw it out there a bunch if the Seahawks are going to win. Seattle doesn't have a lot at the running back position. Justin Forsett is the current starter,
having been signed off the practice squad in 2008.
The Seahawks are better than a lot of people gave them credit for in the off-season, but they will struggle this season and it's unlikely they beat the Chargers on Sunday. San Diego has to keep winning to
make up for a loss in the division to the Chiefs and they should do so behind Philip Rivers on Sunday.
Prediction: Chargers 27 Seahawks 13
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