A year ago at this time, Klint Kubiak had turned the Saints into the surprise of the NFL – leading an offense that had scored 91 points in the first two games.

He did not have nearly the same fortuitous start with his Seattle crew, but the Seahawks finally seemed to find their stride in the second half at Pittsburgh. Now, as Kubiak’s old team comes to town, we will see whether they can put together a full game.

After a confounding opener in a 17-13 loss to the 49ers, Kubiak’s offense looked much more like we expected in the 31-17 win vs. the Steelers. The Hawks actually ended a 22-game streak of not scoring on the first possession. While the running game struggled early, Ken Walker ended up with his best day since the 2024 opener. Sam Darnold moved the ball around, getting Cooper Kupp much more involved and hitting Tory Horton for his first TD. 

After two games, it has become pretty clear that Darnold is indeed the quarterback the Hawks thought they were getting. He has gotten rid of the ball quickly, owned the middle of the field, created explosive plays and shown great resilience.

He has offset pressure in both games with quick passes. He has peppered the interior of the field, taking advantage in Week 2 especially of Cooper Kupp’s post-catch skills (42 of his 90 yards) and his tight ends (he hit A.J. Barner for a TD).

Darnold and the Seahawks are second in the NFL in explosive plays (13 to the Ram’s 14), because Darnold has been spreading the ball inside and out – using his full skillset.

“Sam can throw it to the numbers. Sam can throw it outside. Sam’s got plenty of horsepower,” Brock Huard said on 710 Seattle Sports. “But he really likes to throw between the hashmarks. And just like anything, if you build your (team) to be strong from the inside out, then some of the best ways to attack is from the inside out.”

Darnold rallied from his two bad interceptions as well. His third-down pass to Barner and next-play 43-yard bomb to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to set up Walker’s TD run sealed the game.

“I think Sam’s playing great football right now,” Mike Macdonald said. “Tough as nails, unflappable.”

The ongoing question is whether the Seahawks’ line can hold up against stout defenses. Charles Cross and Grey Zabel are playing stellar ball, as expected, so it just comes down to the three others keeping it together more often than it falls apart.

In Pittsburgh, they benefited from the Steelers losing a couple of front-seven guys to injuries – that opened up things in the second half. It also helped that Kubiak used more 12 personnel. Robbie Ouzts took out two linebackers on one play, and the tight ends seemed a much bigger factor as well. Kubiak needs to keep helping out the right side of his line and running Walker and Zach Charbonnet behind Cross and Zabel.

If he does that, maybe his Seahawks will approach the early performance of his 2024 Saints.