The Seahawks host the Broncos to open their season for the second time in three years, but plenty has changed for both teams since that 2022 Seahawks victory, including the head coach of both teams, as well as the quarterback in Denver. With a lot of newness on both teams, here are five things to watch when the Seahawks face the Broncos Sunday at Lumen Field:

1. Can Mike Macdonald's defense, and the 12s, make life difficult on rookie quarterback Bo Nix?

Lumen Field, one of the loudest stadiums in football, pro or college, is challenging for any quarterback. So too is Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald's defense, as was so apparent last season as the Ravens defense put together a dominant season. Both of those challenges—crowd noise and a scheme designed to confuse opposing offenses—become even more of a problem for an inexperienced quarterback. And it just happens that the Broncos don't just have a young quarterback, but a rookie who is making his first NFL start in former Oregon standout Bo Nix.

A home opener is always a lively environment for the Seahawks, but with a new era under Macdonald kicking off, and with a rookie under center, Lumen Field figures to be particularly raucous for this game.

"Excited to be at home, excited to be in front of the 12s," Macdonald said. "It's going to be loud. I hope that my ears are ringing, I hope that we have trouble communicating (on defense)."

Playing at both Auburn and Oregon, Nix experienced plenty of loud environments, including an ear-splitting crowd for Washington's win over Oregon last season, but he and his coaching staff know that Macdonald and company will have plenty in store to challenge him beyond just crowd noise.

"They give a lot of different looks, a lot of different packages, and then they'll bluff out," Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Lombardi told reporters in Denver. "Everyone's mugged up in there and you're thinking it's going to be cover zero or some sort of overload pressure and then they all bluff out. That's the hardest thing. If they brought it every time, it's easy to have a plan. If they never bring it, it's easy to have a plan. It's a mixture of the same looks and dropping out, just rushing forward, blitzes and stuff. It definitely keeps you on your toes.

"You try to give (Nix) indicators in formation or with the motion or something. Any first game, especially a first game where there's a new coach with a new team, different personnel that he had in Baltimore, you try to cover all the variables you can and understand that it's not going to be perfect. The big thing is just keeping your poise through all the unknowns and making the adjustments during the game."

2. Which coaching staff does the best job of handling the element of the unknown that comes with a season opener?

There are challenges of preparing for a football season with a new coaching staff, particularly when installing new schemes on both sides of the ball, as the Seahawks have been this year. One early-season advantage, however, especially in Week 1, is that opponents don't know exactly what Seattle is going to look like on either side of the ball. Yes, there are preseason games to study, but like every team the Seahawks didn't go very deep into their playbook for those games, and yes, Mike Macdonald's defense will certainly have a lot of elements of what he ran in Baltimore, just as Ryan Grubb will bring concepts he used at the University of Washington with him to Seattle, but surely there are plenty of wrinkles added to both schemes, both to suit the personnel on the team, and also because with so many new faces on the coaching staff, there are sure to be new ideas being added to what Macdonald and Grubb had in mind.

Denver, meanwhile, is led for the second straight year by Sean Payton, and is also returning both its offensive and defensive coordinator, but given the newness on the roster, particularly at quarterback with Nix taking over, the Broncos will no doubt look quite a bit different as well. For both teams, that will mean making plenty of adjustments on the fly, while at the same time focusing on sticking to their own fundamentals and principles in hopes that the scheme, and the execution of it, are good enough to overcome any curveballs an opponent can throw at them.

"I think when you're playing an uncommon opponent, I think you have to kind of look at yourself," defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. "You have to be led by your rules, you have to understand how you align, you have to be able to communicate at a high level. Really, if you take that and then you look at the start of the season, the start of the season is about execution and fundamentals. Really and truthfully, everyone's still finding out who they are. That's the growth of the NFL, teams evolve over the season. It's our chance to go out there, it's all about us on Sunday. It's about us, how we approach it, and when we go out there how we execute."

3. How does DK Metcalf do against All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II?

One of the big stories out of Denver this week was the lucrative new contract extension signed by Patrick Surtain II on Monday, and it was a well-deserved pay day. Surtain quickly developed into one of the league's best young cornerbacks since Denver drafted him in 2021, leading to Pro-Bowl selections each of the past two seasons, and first-team All-Pro honors in 2022.

And while Surtain likely won't cover Metcalf on every snap, those two are sure to face off a decent amount on Sunday, and when they do, it will be one of the best matchups on the field. Metcalf is coming off a very strong training camp, and seems to be taking to Seattle's new offense well.

"I'll speak to just my experience of him in being here for the last six months," Macdonald said. "He's just a beast, man. I've told you this, but you have to account for where he's at at any given point. We got a couple guys like that, but DK's definitely at the top of the list of people that can go take it to the house on any play. Whether it's a catch and run or taking the top off the defense. Hopefully Denver has a hard time finding him on Sunday."

4. Does Geno Smith open the season picking up where he left off after a "phenomenal" training camp?

Geno Smith has been one of the most talked about players in training camp, not only because he plays the highest-profile position in the game, but also because he is coming off a training camp that players and coaches alike have been raving about.

"He's been phenomenal," receiver Tyler Lockett said. "… He's had the best camp that I've seen him have. His mindset, he still has that mindset of that dog mentality, 'I've got to go out there and grind, I've got to go out there and get it."

Said cornerback Devon Witherspoon, ""Geno has been on one in camp. He's definitely been on top of his game. This year it's going to be like, who knows what he's capable of. I don't want to say sky's the limit, because I don't place a limit on it. We're all watching and waiting just like everybody else."

Smith has maintained the level of drive and perseverance that allowed him to win a starting job after seven years as a backup, then go on to make back-to-back Pro Bowls, so some of the improvement his teammates are talking about simply comes down to the work he put in this offseason. There has also been plenty of talk, however, about what Ryan Grubb's scheme will do for Smith and his weapons in the passing game.

And because Grubb kept his offense vanilla in the preseason, and with Smith barely playing, no one knows for sure what the offense will look like this Sunday and beyond, but if training camp was any indication, Sunday could mark the beginning of a big year for Seattle's quarterback.

5. What does the new-look linebacker group look like in the middle of Seattle's defense?

Inside linebacker has been one of the most consistent position groups for Seattle for more than a decade, thanks largely to the great careers of Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, as well as the four-years Jordyn Brooks spent playing a big role in Seattle's defense. But with Wagner and Brooks both moving on in free agency, the Seahawks will play without Wright, Wagner or Brooks on their roster for the first time since Wright was drafted in 2011.

To replace Wagner and Brooks, the Seahawks signed Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker in free agency, and while neither have the type of resume Wagner built in Seattle, both players are coming off strong 2023 seasons and are players Macdonald and company trust fully to help run their defense. Behind those two is rookie Tyrice Knight, who has got a lot of work with the No. 1 defense due to an injury that sidelined Baker for a good portion of camp. Baker is practicing this week and isn't listed on the injury report so he appears to be good to go, but Knight will be ready if called upon.

Linebackers play a big role in Macdonald's scheme—Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen earned first and second-team All-Pro honors, respectively, last season—so Dodson and Baker have a big opportunity in front of them this season. And while Baker has missed some time, Dodson has really been thriving of late now that he is fully up to speed, having missed most of the offseason workout program due to injury.

"As he's gone through camp, I felt like it was probably 10 or 12 days into camp, there was a real shift," defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. "Especially, you felt his speed, his ability to play sideline-to-sideline. Now, the last two weeks his communication has gone through the roof. The understanding, the way he's lining people up. He's getting more confident. He's doing a great job."