The Seattle Seahawks took care of business in Week 1 and defended home turf against the visiting Denver Broncos. It was hardly pretty, but in the NFL there are no style points. The only thing that matters is who ends the game with more points, and in this case, it was the Seahawks who prevailed 26-20.

The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. Week 1 is only one game, one step in a long journey. Still, it is always great to get off on the right foot, especially after such a brutal first half. Seattle came back and earned the victory, and will head into Foxboro next week for a chance to keep their winning ways going.

But for now, let us look back on the biggest takeaways from Sunday afternoon's game.

No. 1 - Seahawks red zone defense shines

Twice in the first half the Seahawks defense was put into terrible positions. On the second play of the game, they were backed up in their own red zone thanks to a Geno Smith interception. They did not allow a first down and held the Broncos to only a field goal. Later, after a muffed punt from Dee Williams, the Seahawks defense was forced to defend their goal line again. Once more, Seattle only surrendered a field goal. Denver had two drives start at perhaps the most advantageous position possible, and were not able to come up with even a first down. It is truly impossible to blame the defense for giving up those points, as from that range they are basically automatic.

No. 2 - Defense overall was suffocating

While the Seahawks defense shined brightest in the red zone, it was an incredible performance overall from the much-maligned unit. We are only one game into the Mike Macdonald era and already the improvement is noticeable. Seattle played fast, crisp football and forced the Broncos to earn all 231 total yards they accumulated. In recent years, it's not hard to imagine this same Denver team running all over the Seahawks. Instead, they struggled to score points when they weren't literally gifted field position in Seattle's red zone or from safeties. Of the Broncos' 20 points, 10 came from a Geno Smith interception, a muffed punt, and two safeties. Denver only scored on two drives that did not begin deep in Seahawks territory.

Seattle held the Broncos to 5-of-18 on third down, and intercepted rookie Bo Nix twice.

No. 3 - Offensive line still needs work

The Seahawks' offensive line very nearly cost Seattle the game. In the first half they were about as shaky as I can recall. Particularly in the interior.

Particularly Anthony Bradford, who I listed firmly as a Dud this week.

However, Bradford was hardly the only fault on the line. The Seahawks were getting punished up front the entirety of the first half as Denver kept bringing the heat. The fact Seattle gave up two safeties at their own one yard line is a direct result of bad o-line play. Seattle is going to have to clean this up in a hurry, because you can bet the New England Patriots are going to be blitzing early and often next week.

The one bit of good news is the fact they did look considerably better in the second half, keeping Geno Smith clean and opening up plenty of running lanes for Kenneth Walker III.

No. 4 - Seahawks stay (mostly) healthy

Every game, fans across the league are holding their collective breaths each week to make sure their team gets out of Sunday with their health. Wins are the top priority, of course, but close behind it has got to be gauging how injured the the team got. Fortunately for the Seattle Seahawks, they escaped Week 1 without a bloodbath like last year.

The only notable injury (that we know of, so far) was to right tackle George Fant, who is of course filling in for Abe Lucas who is on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Fant left in the first half and was immediately ruled OUT of the game with a knee injury. When asked during the postgame press conference, head coach Mike Macdonald was not able to give much of an update. We of course at Seahawks Wire will monitor the situation moving forward.

The other injury-related concern came from running back Kenneth Walker III, who left the game late with abdominal pain, but told the media he was fine.

No. 5 - The Seahawks own the Broncos

One can't help but think about the bigger picture in the Seahawks vs. Broncos rivalry that has emerged in the last decade. For years, Seattle and Denver were bitter division rivals. Now that they are in separate conferences, their meetings are much more rare. But what has come as of late is firmly a rivalry in favor of the Seahawks.

Sunday was the fifth time since Feburary of 2014 where these teams have met, and Seattle has won four of them. Of course, the most important was Super Bowl XLVIII. Since then, the Seahawks have won all three home games - two of them by a score of 26-20, and the other the infamous Monday Night Football game where Russell Wilson returned to Lumen Field.

Week 1 of the 2024 season was another addition into this series, and while it may not be as memorable as the last time these teams have met, it's still going down as one more W in the win column for the Seahawks over the Broncos.

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This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: 5 takeaways from Seahawks Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos