What we learned

• Seahawks 31, Steelers 17

  Week 2, in Pittsburgh

1. Seattle’s defense is legit.

   The Seahawks were missing two of their top five defensive backs with Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmonwori out yet Pittsburgh wide receivers finished with a combined five catches for 49 yards. Of Pittsburgh’s 20 completions, exactly two gained more than 20 yards. The Seahawks are one of three teams in the league that have held each of their first two opponents to fewer than 20 points. The Packers and Rams are the other two. The Texans and the Raiders could join that group if either allows fewer than 20 points on Monday night.

2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is just fine without D.K. Metcalf.

   I will admit to wondering whether Smith-Njigba’s productivity would dip in the wake of Metcalf’s trade. Without an over-the-top threat like Metcalf, I figured opposing defenses would be able to pay more attention to Smith-Njigba. Well, he’s second in the league in receiving yrds and has accounted for 17 of the 38 passes that Sam Darnold has completed in two games.

3. The receiving core is not what you’d call deep.

   To say that Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp are responsible for 75-percent of Seattle’s passing game is not really an exaggeration. They’ve been on the receiving end of 332 of Darnold’s 445 passing yards through two games. Tory Horton is the only other receiver who has even been targeted. I don’t think that’s what you would call sustainable.

1. Why isn’t Seattle riding the hot hand at RB?

   Week 1, I was puzzled as to why Kenneth Walker got twice as many second-half carries as Zach Charbonnet given the fact it appeared clear Charbonnet was the more effective back in that game.

In Week 2, the roles were completely reversed, and Walker’s 19-yard touchdown on third down with 3:41 left was pretty much the clincher.

2. How worried should we be about Sam Darnold’s turnovers?

   I didn’t blame him for fumbling away the chance at a game-winning score against San Francisco. You can’t expect him to be prepared to have his right tackle shoved into his lap. That first interception in Pittsburgh was on him. He was late on a throw and Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey took a big risk undercutting the route. The second pick came on a deflection from an unblocked defensive lineman. But as I say that, I feel like I’m cutting him an awful lot of slack for three turnovers in two games. What I do know is that given the way Seattle is constructed, the Seahawks can’t keep winning games if they turn the ball over twice per game.

3. How good is the NFC West?

   In Week 1, it was the only division that didn’t have a single team score more than 20 points. However, after Week 2, the teams in the division are a combined 7-1 with the only defeat being Seattle’s intra-division loss to San Francisco. Heading into the season, I had no idea how good the division was going to be. Two weeks in, I still have no idea how good the division is going to be.