Abraham Lucas picked up right where he left off in Week One, and for the Seahawks that meant leaning on the same old force they’ve come to expect from their homegrown right tackle.
Seattle’s 13-10 win over New England was tight, but Lucas helped make the difference on the ground. The Everett native and Washington State product was a key part of a rushing effort that produced 97 yards against the Patriots’ top-tier defense, with much of that work happening on the right side. That push mattered because it gave backup quarterback Drew Lock some breathing room when Seattle did need to throw.
Lucas also brought the kind of violence that turns linemen into fan favorites. He threw in a few pancake blocks, including one sequence where he drove Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones deep toward the sideline. And he showed up with a new visual wrinkle too: a vertical nose bar facemask that gives him a straight-up 1980s offensive lineman vibe.
The run-blocking numbers back up the eye test. Last season, during Seattle’s Super Bowl run, Lucas posted an 84 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked seventh among all NFL offensive tackles.
That’s a far cry from how he entered the league - a third-round pick known almost entirely for pass protection in Mike Leach’s passing offense. At Washington State, Lucas logged more than 2,200 pass-protection snaps over four years as a starter and didn’t give up a sack as a senior.
He’s still just 27, and before the 2025 season he signed a three-year, $46 million extension.
Two days after helping knock off New England, Lucas was back at Archbishop Murphy High in Everett for another milestone. He helped unveil the school’s new weight room, now called the Lucas Athletic Center, during halftime of Archbishop Murphy’s game against Sehome. Lucas pulled down the tarp to reveal the name under red lights, and The Everett Herald reported his financial contribution was in the six-figure range.
The night also gave him a chance to watch his younger brother, Andrew Lucas, do his thing. The Wildcats senior running back, listed at 6-1 and 195 pounds, scored three touchdowns. Andrew Lucas doesn’t have any known offers yet, but his Hudl numbers - a 4.69 in the 40 and a 35-inch vertical - could make him a walk-on candidate for Washington State.
Another Coug making noise was former Washington State wideout Kyle Williams, who could be in line for more work in New England with AJ Brown going on IR because of a high ankle sprain. Brown is expected to miss at least six weeks, and Williams has moved up to No. 4 on the Patriots’ unofficial depth chart behind Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins and Demario Douglas.
What Williams brings that the others don’t is true vertical juice. Last year he hit 21.78 MPH on a 72-yard touchdown run against Tampa Bay, the third-fastest speed in the league behind Jahmyr Gibbs and teammate TreVeyon Henderson.
Even if his role against Pittsburgh this Sunday stays limited, he should at least be leaned on as a kick returner. Williams returned two kicks for 58 yards against Seattle.
Former Arizona Cardinal safety Jalen Thompson also made his Dallas Cowboys debut on Sunday Night Football, lining up next to first-round pick Caleb Downs. Dallas lost 28-20 on the road to the Giants, but Thompson delivered one of the few standout defensive plays for a unit that had little else to celebrate. He delivered a heavy hit on Devin Singletary late in the second half to force a fumble, though New York recovered it.
Thompson is already in his eighth NFL season despite just turning 28, a result of jumping into the 2019 supplemental draft only weeks before his senior season at Washington State. The 5-11, 190-pound safety signed a three-year, $33 million deal this offseason to be a centerpiece of the Cowboys’ secondary.
There were also smaller Coug notes around the league. Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu recorded a sack of Jalen Hurts in the first quarter of a 24-22 loss to Philadelphia, then left in the third quarter with a groin injury and did not return.
Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley had eight tackles and half a sack in Los Angeles’ 26-14 loss to Arizona. Panthers safety Chau Smith-Wade played just 19 snaps and finished with one tackle in Carolina’s 59-37 loss to Chicago.
Cornerback Jaylen Watson made his LA Rams debut in Australia, started opposite former Chiefs teammate Trent McDuffie and played every snap in a 27-7 loss to San Francisco, finishing with four stops. Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks played 100 percent of the snaps for the first time in his career in Kansas City’s 31-10 win over Denver on Monday night and added four tackles.
And then there’s Cameron Ward, where the early warning signs are starting to flash in Tennessee. The former Coug and Miami quarterback was 19 of 32 for 140 yards and one touchdown in the Titans’ 23-10 loss to the Jets.
As a rookie, Ward started all 17 games, completed 60 percent of his passes, threw for 3,140 yards and 15 touchdowns with 7 interceptions, and was sacked 55 times - the all-time NFL record for a single season - while also losing 7 of 11 fumbles. Against New York, he was sacked three times.
In Other News...
Washington State Enters Home Opener With One Issue It Can't Ignore
Two losses in, Washington State is already staring at a familiar early-season problem: an offense that has not found enough rhythm and a protection unit that has left too much on the quarterback. Kirby Moore said the Cougars need collective improvement and hinted at changes in player rotations as the staff looks for answers before the home opener, a game that can steady things quickly or deepen the concern if the same issues follow them back to Pullman.
Caden Pinnick has become part of that conversation too after brushing off questions in his postgame session, then later acknowledging the mistake and saying he needs to grow from it. Washington State is trying to clean up more than just the passing game, because the defense has also been asked to carry too much of the load and fatigue is starting to show after so many snaps in recent games. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Suddenly Has Two Position Battles It Cant Ignore
Washington States early season has already turned into a test of depth, and the pressure is showing up in two places the Cougars can least afford it: cornerback and wide receiver. Multiple starters are sidelined, the defensive backfield has needed reshuffling, and the passing game is leaning on players with far less experience than the staff probably wanted at this point.
The timing makes the next game against Duquesne especially useful, if not ideal, for sorting through the options. It could give younger Cougars a chance to log meaningful snaps and start separating themselves in roles that suddenly look open, while the coaching staff keeps trying to patch together two spots where the margin for error is already thin. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Home Opener Puts Kirby Moore's Biggest Early Test Front And Center
Washington States first game at Martin Stadium under Kirby Moore arrives with a little less polish and a lot more urgency after the Cougars opened with a loss at Kansas State. The home opener against Duquesne should give Moore and his staff a cleaner look at where this team stands, but it also comes with the kind of early pressure that can shape a first season fast, especially with injuries already affecting key pieces.
Duquesne comes in carrying its own concerns, having started the year with two losses and sitting last in the FCS in total offense. For Washington State, that makes this more than a routine September matchup. It is a chance to steady the tone, get healthier where possible and show some growth in front of a home crowd before the schedule starts asking tougher questions. [Read more 🡒]