While Russell Wilson had a very sharp performance for the entire first half, the ability of his defense and of Jermaine Kearse, who wan’t likely to be even playing in the NFL this season was probably the reason the Seattle Seahawks looked so dominant during their second preseason game.

Wilson finished with 8-of-12 from 127 yards and two touchdown passes, as the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 40-10. Wilson found Sean McGrath and Kearse for his passing touchdowns, and the Seahawks didn’t seem too phased by not having Percy Harvin available.

Kearse was probably the biggest surprise of the day and of the preseason, cementing his spot on the roster for the Seahawks both as a receiver with his 12-yard touchdown catch, but also with his returning game, bringing back a 107-yard kickoff return for the touchdown.

It wasn’t the only big non-offense touchdown for the Seahawks on the day, with Brandon Browner picking up a fumble in the endzone and bringing it back 106 yards for the touchdown. In all, the Seahawks forced four turnovers off of the Broncos, including three fumble returns.

Wilson, who didn’t even look like a likely starter this time last year, seems like one of the more game-ready quarterbacks around the NFL, two-games into the preseason at least.

It wasn’t all peachy for the Seahawks, who might have been a disturbing defensive presence early in the game, but later on struggled to slow down the no-huddle offense coming from Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Manning finished with 11-of-16, throwing one touchdown pass to Wes Welker, with Antonio Winfield, the closest man to the event and a player brought in to upgrade their nickel defense, missing the coverage on the slot receiver.

Marshawn Lynch didn’t really get a chance to show what he has at this stage of the preseason, getting only two carries, running for a total of 1 yard. Golden Tate looked quite sharp in the moments he had to impress, catching two passes off of Wilson for 42 yards. Later on, it was Brady Quinn and Tarvaris Jackson (one touchdown pass) who took over quite well for Wilson at quarterback.

Stephen Williams might be on his way to some NFL redemption. The last time he did anything meaningful was in 2010, playing for the Arizona Cardinals. So far in the preseason he has caught two touchdowns for long plays, this time with a 39-yard pass he caught in the second half from Jackson. The Seahawks would have like to have a deeper corp of wide receivers last season, and it seems like this year their wishes might be fulfilled, even beyond the acquisition of Harvin.

The Seahawks have a chance to win what might be the most top-heavy division in all of football, although the 49ers have been looking very impressive as well early on in the preseason. Russell Wilson having the edge in the caliber of wide receivers he has to throw to, because it seems that both teams are eerily similar in a lot of other aspects across the field, might be the factor that gives his team the edge at the end of the regular season.

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