Coming off a commanding Week 1 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers last Thursday, Earl Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks will be challenged to shut down yet another high-octane offense in Week 2 as they head on the road to San Diego to take on the Chargers Sunday afternoon.

While the Seahawks were on a long week, after their Thursday night NFL kickoff win, San Diego is on a short week, having played in the last game of Week 1, Monday night in Arizona. ET III took advantage of the extra rest to watch his opponents Monday night.

“You really get to sit down and see it from a fan’s point of view, but also from a player’s mindset,” Earl said. “You get to see [Rivers’] favorite targets and what he likes to do in certain situations. You see how they use their personnel and the QB’s intentions.”

The Chargers enter the contest with something to prove after they squandered an 11-point lead late and let the Arizona Cardinals come back to win 18-17 on Monday night. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers looked strong, despite the loss and completed 21-for-36 passes for 238 yards, including a perfect 6-for-6 82-yard drive to open up the second half with a touchdown.

Sunday will mark the first time Seattle has seen Rivers and the Chargers in the regular season since 2010, ET III’s rookie season. The Hawks emerged victorious 27-20 in that affair thanks in large part to No. 29, who picked off Rivers twice, the first two interceptions of his NFL career.

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However, Rivers did throw for 455 yards in that game, something that Earl and the Hawks will look to contain this time around. In comparing Rivers and Aaron Rodgers, who the Seahawks contained last week, Earl was quick to note that his defense was ready to step up to the challenge once again.

“They’re two different quarterbacks with two different schemes and two different throwing styles,” No.29 said. “I just think it’s going to be another test. I can’t really compare the two other than the fact that we’re a great defense. If we play our game we’re going to make any quarterback look normal.”

Earl_Week2_PracticeThe Seahawks and Chargers also met a month ago in a preseason contest in Seattle, but the starters in that game on had extremely limited roles on both sides of the ball.

Rivers only played one series in the game, but No. 29 still took something away from the matchup.

“The biggest thing to me was just formation awareness,” Earl said. “They kind of hid [Rivers]. He only played like seven snaps. I guess they don’t want to see him against us on film so he wouldn’t be nervous for this game. We’re confident in what we do. I’m always going to say this. I’m never going to change.”

Earl also explained to the media why he personally prefers to play against a traditional pocket passer such as Rivers rather than a dual-threat QB like Rodgers or his teammate Russell Wilson.

“I would rather play a pocket passer,” Earl said. “When you’re playing someone like a Kaepernick or a Russell Wilson, even Aaron Rodgers, they can run and create with their legs or throw it down the field. I’d rather play someone like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning because you know they’re going to pass the ball and I’m middle-field safety so I’m going to get a lot of action so of course that’s my type of game.”

Earl wasn’t especially active in last week’s matchup against the Packers, as Rodgers largely avoided throwing the ball to his side of the field and completely avoided teammate Richard Sherman. But the Chargers made it clear this week they would not avoid throwing the ball in the direction of Earl or Sherman.

But while shutting down a certain side of the field can have its benefits and change the complexion of the game, Earl said that he is most focused on taking the contest into his own hands by making plays wherever and whenever possible.

“We’ve been through this, maybe for the last two years,” No.29 said. “It’s not the first time. In the middle of the field [last season], I only got the ball thrown to me eight times. It’s nothing that’s not normal for this defense. Every player is going to get their respect.

“You just gotta find ways to make plays. That’s why I’m always around the ball, hoping for a tip or hoping to see the moment where it kind of stops to get my first in there and knock the ball out.”

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Earl and the Seahawks defense enter Sunday’s game confident that they can do just that, and in watching other teams in the league play during his down time last weekend, ET III said he learned something about the Legion of Boom.

“It made me realize that we’re different,” ET III said. “It really did, in a lot of ways. We’re in sync and we’re swarming the ball. We just have a different sound. It’s funky and nasty; James Brown-type stuff. It’s very unique.”

The Seahawks will put their sound to the test on the road Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, with kickoff set for 1:05 p.m. PDT on FOX.

RELATED LINKS

  • Thomas: Seahawks like James Brown (ESPN.com, Sept. 9, 2014)
  • Earl Thomas: “I’m All In, No Matter What” (Seahawks.com, Sept. 11, 2014)
  • Seahawks at Chargers Keys to the Game (Seahawks.com, Sept. 13, 2014)
  • Five matchups to watch: Seahawks at Chargers (Seahawks.com, Sept. 13, 2014)
  • Seahawks at Chargers Preview (Seahawks.com, Sept. 13, 2014)
  • Seahawks defense fresh thanks to deep rotation up front (The News-Tribune, Sept. 13, 2014)
  • Chargers vs. Seahawks Preview (ESPN.com, Sept. 14, 2014)