Seahawks improve to 3-0 after penalty-filled win against Dolphins

SEATTLE — Put all the asterisks you want next to the three wins the Seattle Seahawks have so far this season.

Sure, they’ve beaten a rookie QB making his first career start and backups in weeks two and three.

And all three wins came with some head-scratching, anxiety-increasing moments.

But the reality is that they are 3-0 — one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the NFC and one of only three 3-0 teams in the NFL. Kansas City and Buffalo are 2-0 heading into games they play either Sunday night or Monday.

The Seahawks got there Sunday afternoon with their most dominant win of the young season, 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.

The two teams combined for 22 penalties for 177 yards.

The Seahawks led 17-3 at halftime, outgaining a Miami team going with backup Skylar Thompson at QB in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa. Thompson left leave in the third quarter with a chest injury and was replaced by Tim Boyle.

After six straight drives in the middle of the game without a point — four punts, a missed field goal and an interception — the Seahawks put the game away with an 11-play, 98-yard march in the fourth quarter.

Geno Smith threw two interceptions off tipped passes, each of which led to Miami’s best chances of the day to score.

But the Seahawks defense, which held the Dolphins to 205 yards, held both times, forcing a field goal on a drive started at the 6, and stopping Miami on downs after a later drive that got to the 2.

Smith finished 26-of-34 for 289 yards and a touchdown.

Second-year running Zach Charbonnet, again starting for the injured Kenneth Walker III, had the best game of his career with 91 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.

And the Seahawks defense had six sacks — two by second-year rush end Derick Hall and one each from Dre’Mont Jones, Boye Mafe, Jarran Reed and Tyrel Dodson.

In what was the biggest negative of the day, the Seahawks played the entire second half without two key defensive linemen who left with injuries — Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II. Williams left with a rip injury and Murphy a hamstring.

The Seahawks will get what many will perceive as its first big test of the season a week from Monday at Detroit.

The 3-0 start is just the eighth in team history and the first sine 2020

The Seahawks used big plays to break the game open in the first quarter.

They settled for a 56-yard Jason Myers field goal following its first series.

The Seahawks stopped Miami on a third-and-1 at the Seattle 39 with a Devon Witherspoon stop of Jeff Wilson.

The Dolphins decided not to go for it and sent Jason Sanders out for a 57-yard field goal that missed.

The Seahawks took over at its own 47 and needed just five plays to reach the end zone, a drive keyed by Smith passes of 11 to Noah Fant and 22 to DK Metcalf, with Charbonnet then plowing over from four yards. That made it 10-0 Seattle with 6:44 left in the first quarter.

Smith made his biggest mistake of the game, when on a third-and-15 from the 5 he dropped into the end zone and while under pressure forced a pass that went off Charbonnet’s hands and picked off by Miami’s Kader Kohou, who returned it to the 6. A play call asking Smith to drop into the end zone could also have been blamed.

The Seahawks’ defense didn’t budge and Miami had to settle for a 23-yard Sanders field goal.

On the first play of their series, Smith dropped back, got time, and lofted a deep pass to a wide-open Metcalf for a 71-yard TD.

The Dolphins appeared to be in a zone defense, and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey — who was covering short — let Metcalf go to be picked up by safety Jevon Holland. Metcalf cut in and back out and Holland bit, allowing Metcalf to break into the open.

That made it 17-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Thompson then left the game with 9:35 in the third quarter with a chest injury and did not return, replaced by 29-year-old Tim Boyle, who is 0-5 in a career that dates to 2019, including a loss as the starter for the Lions at Lumen Field in 2021.

The Dolphins decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 from their own 47 with 8:02 to play in the third quarter on what was the third snap for Boyle. His pass to Braxton Berrios was broken up by Riq Woolen and the Seahawks took over.

The Dolphins got another chance to make a game of it when a Smith pass intended for Lockett was tipped by Zach Sieler and caught by veteran Calais Campbell, giving Miami possession at its own 48 late in the third quarter.

Boyle completions of 11 and 13 yards helped set up Miami with a first-and-goal at the 3.

But again, the Seahawks defense didn’t break.

Two De’Von Achane runs picked up just one yard.

Miami tight end Durham Smythe couldn’t bring down a third-down pass in the back of the end zone under tight coverage from Rayshawn Jenkins.

A fourth-down pass in the flat to Achane fell incomplete and what was Miami’s last legitimate shot to make it a game had ended.

The Seahawks uncorked their only real drive of the final three quarters, going 98 yards in 11 plays to put the game away. Charbonnet gained 42 yards on six carries to key the drive, fittingly getting the TD on a 10-yard run over the left side.

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