The Morning After: Seahawks Lose in New Way, Claim Progress Versus Chiefs

Game Rating Offense Defense Special Teams Coaching Reader Rating8 Votes 2 The Seahawks can play on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday or any other day, and the result is going to be the same: painful football to watch. I wince when I turn on the games nowadays, and don emotional armor resembling a baseball catcher. The one flaw in my protective gear is my eyes remain unobstructed. I see the horror unfold in front of me and wish it was more a […]

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The Seahawks can play on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday or any other day, and the result is going to be the same: painful football to watch. I wince when I turn on the games nowadays, and don emotional armor resembling a baseball catcher. The one flaw in my protective gear is my eyes remain unobstructed. I see the horror unfold in front of me and wish it was more a Penny Wise-style nightmare that was not real, but consistently find it to be a Freddy Krueger-style, where the wounds do not disappear.

Seattle managed to hold the Chiefs to under 300 yards off offense, and “just” 24 points. They forced Kansas City to punt 6 times, which tied a season high for that powerhouse offense. It did not feel that way. Some of that was due to Patrick Mahomes having what felt like an unfocused game and receivers dropping some passes. The Chiefs did not really appear up for this game. The other part that dulled the Seahawks performance was the total lack of impact plays.

There were no takeaways. There was barely any pressure on the quarterback, and only one sack that happened in the third quarter. There was only one tackle for a loss. Seattle had fewer disasters and limited yards after catch. They defended the run with more discipline.

If you are a playoff team, that is basically a C grade performance. As putrid as Seattle has been lately, the coaches seemed pleased. Part of me hates coddling mediocrity. Part of me understands they are trying to cling to anything positive while leading these players through an absolute unraveling of the season.

We can say with certainty that the defense was not the worst part of this game. That is due, in part, to the offense being putrid. The offensive line, in particular, was awful. The interior offensive line is terrible. Austin Blythe is a bomb in the middle of every play, often causing crippling damage. Gabe Jackson was right there with him. I have nearly given up on the team caring about center enough to prioritize upgrading the position. Right guard, though, has to be a top priority on the offensive side of things.

Seattle desperately needs a quality interior blocker. They also need another receiver. There is nothing after DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Marquise Goodwin has been a decent additional weapon, but there is nobody who can step in as a starter on this team.

Geno Smith was not great in this game, increasing the volume of fans who think they should draft a young QB or not pay Smith. What I see is highly attributable to a weakening offensive line and total lack of running game. Smith has had one game where he carried the team when everything else was going wrong. That was the win against the Rams.

The line was so bad in this game, and the receiving options were so limited, his poor game is not the damning evidence some are making it out to be.

Smith could throw five picks in each of the last two games, and I would still be convinced drafting a QB with that Broncos draft choice would be a terrible decision. There are too many holes on this team to commit to young QB right now. Three of the top four picks need to be on defense, and the one on offense should be an interior offensive lineman or maybe a receiver, depending on who is available.

There is a decent chance the Seahawks could be losing their top five pick, as the Broncos are likely to beat the Rams, which would drop their choice down to around seven. A Rams surprise win would be the biggest holiday present Seahawks fans could hope for.

Similarly, a Packers win would help the Seahawks own draft pick climb higher. Cheer hard for the Cardinals, the Colts, the Rams, the Packers, the Browns, the Saints, the Raiders, and the Panthers. Oh, and the Falcons.

The most promising outcome of this latest loss was the coaching staff seeing that they had something in the run game, and Kenneth Walker III starting to go more upfield instead of bouncing everything outside. He still has a lot to learn there. He is doing a little bit of a Russell Wilson at times where he causes his blockers to lose leverage by running around them instead of running behind them. Check out his decision on the 3rd and 7 run later in the game where he picked the wrong hole and probably missed a big play.

Still, he went over 100 yards, which was good to see. I think this game was available to the Seahawks last week against the 49ers, but the team stayed away from it for some reason. Either way, they are making progress in that part of the offense, and that could have staying power into next season.

Outside of that, there is not much to analyze. Have a happy holiday season, and buckle up for who knows what in the final two games.