INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts close out the first quarter of their 2017 season when they travel to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 in a nationally-televised matchup on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
With the season right around the corner, let's take a close look at the matchup:**
Week 4:**
Indianapolis Colts at Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, Oct. 1; 8:30 p.m.
CenturyLink Field2016 synopsis:
The Seahawks in 2016 finished with a 10-5-1 overall record, winning the NFC West Division championship. After defeating the Detroit Lions, 26-6, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, Seattle would see its season end with a 36-20 road loss to the eventual NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons the next week in the Divisional Round.
The Seahawks had an above-average offensive attack last season, finishing 12th in the league in yards per game (357.2), as they placed 10th in passing yards per game (257.8), but were 25th in rushing yards per game (99.4).
Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson led the Seattle offense once again in 2016, at-times battling through injuries to complete 343-of-546 passes for 4,219 yars with 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, though he was sacked 41 times on the year. Wilson also ran the ball 72 times for 259 yards and a touchdown.
His main weapons on the year were wide receiver Doug Baldwin (94 receptions, 1,128 yards, seven touchdowns) and tight end Jimmy Graham (65 receptions, 923 yards, six touchdowns). The running game was led by Christine Michael (117 attempts, 469 yards, six touchdowns) and Thomas Rawls (109 attempts, 349 yards, three touchdowns).
The Seattle defense, meanwhile, continued being one of the top units in the entire league in 2016, ranking fifth in total yards allowed per game (318.7), including eighth in passing yards allowed (225.8 per game) and seventh in rushing yards allowed per game (92.9).
They were led by linebackers Bobby Wagner (167 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three passes defensed, one interception and one fumble recovery) and K.J. Wright (124 tackles, 4 sacks, five passes defensed, one fumble recovery), while the secondary was locked down once again by Richard Sherman (58 tackles, four interceptions, 13 passes defensed, one fumble recovery). Cliff Avril (11.5 sacks, five forced fumbles) and Frank Clark (10 sacks, two forced fumbles) led the Seattle pass rush.
In all, Baldwin, Graham, Sherman, Avril, Wagner, Wright and defensive end Michael Bennett were selected to the Pro Bowl, while Wagner earned First Team All-Pro honors.
Key additions: Safety Bradley McDougald, halfback Eddie Lacy, guard Luke Joeckel, linebacker Arthur Brown, defensive end David Bass, guard Oday Aboushi, linebacker Terence Garvin, linebacker Michael Wilhoite2017 NFL Draft picks:
Defensive tackle Malik McDowell (Round 2, Pick 3), center Ethan Pocic (Round 2, Pick 26), defensive back Shaquill Griffin (Round 3, Pick 26), strong safety Delano Hill (Round 3, Pick 31), defensive tackle Nazair Jones (Round 3, Pick 38), wide receiver Amara Darboh (Round 3, Pick 42), free safety Cedric Thompson (Round 4, Pick 4), safety Michael Tyson (Round 6, Pick 3), tackle Justin Senior (Round 6, Pick 26), wide receiver David Moore (Round 7, Pick 8), running back Christopher Carson (Round 7, Pick 31)Key losses:
Linebacker Brock Coyle (49ers), defensive tackle Tony McDaniel (Saints), safety Steven Terrell (Chiefs), wide receiver Devin Hester (free agent), safety Jeron Johnson (free agent), tight end Brandon Williams (Colts), defensive end Damontre Moore (Cowboys), fullback Will Tukuafu (free agent), safety Kelcie McCray (free agent), defensive tackle John Jenkins (Bears), tackle Garry Gilliam (49ers), cornerback Perrish Cox (free agent), tackle Bradley Sowell (Bears)
Series history vs. Colts: Colts lead, 7-4Last matchup:
Oct. 6, 2013: Colts 34, Seahawks 28 (Lucas Oil Stadium; Indianapolis)
2017 Colts Season Previews:
• Week 1 (at Los Angeles Rams)
• Week 2 (vs. Arizona Cardinals)
• Week 3 (vs. Cleveland Browns)
• Week 4 (at Seattle Seahawks)
• Week 5 (vs. San Francisco 49ers)
• Week 6 (at Tennessee Titans)
• Week 7 (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Week 8 (at Cincinnati Bengals)
• Week 9 (at Houston Texans)
• Week 10 (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Week 12 (vs. Tennessee Titans)
• Week 13 (at Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Week 14 (at Buffalo Bills)
• Week 15 (vs. Denver Broncos)
• Week 16 (at Baltimore Ravens)
• Week 17 (vs. Houston Texans)
The analysis from those producing content on Colts.com does not necessarily represent the thoughts of the Indianapolis Colts organization. Any conjecture, analysis or opinions formed by Colts.com content creators is not based on inside knowledge gained from team officials, players or staff.
