In a way, I’m grateful for the old familiar melancholic feeling after witnessing a disappointing defeat. In recent years they haven’t felt like they mattered all that much. This one stung.
This Seahawks team feels like it could do some damage in the NFC. That’s what makes it all the more difficult to take.
However, I’m going to start by choosing to focus on the positives — because I think the positives are potentially long-lasting and significant and the negatives are explainable, fixable and come with justifiable injury-related excuses.
Sam Darnold was exceptional. Nobody should be lingering on a flukey interception at the end, pinging off a Tampa Bay helmet and elevating the ball into an area where it could be picked off. It’s unlucky and I think without that deflection, the ball just hits the turf and they’re onto the next play.
Seattle’s quarterback made things happen today, highlighted by explosive plays downfield and a truly sensational improvised touchdown to Tory Horton. It was a masterclass of quarterbacking between two exciting QB’s getting a second chance at a career. It’s a shame Darnold won’t get the bulk of the attention this week as a potential MVP candidate because he didn’t win the game. Baker Mayfield will get it instead — but he deserves it. Both players were sensational.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the best receivers in the league. He has arrived at that status. His chemistry with Darnold is superb and he’s a pleasure to watch. The Seahawks have a star on their hands and a winning duo for their passing game — complemented wonderfully by a very solid supporting cast.
The offensive line is not flawless but it is far better than it was last year and I’d suggest it’s the best it’s been in years. The running game is coming to life and is gradually improving.
Finally, I have absolutely no doubt that Klint Kubiak was the right man to be offensive coordinator and I think they nailed that hire.
These are all major highlights for this team. When you turnover so much on offense, to feel this good about the unit is such a positive. If Darnold continues to play at this level you have a 28-year-old quarterback reaching the prime years of his career. If he retains his current play and we’re saying the same things in the off-season, I’d argue this year will be a success irrespective of what else happens. Finding a quality young quarterback is very difficult and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
However, they lost today for two main reasons (at least in my opinion).
Firstly, they’ve got to stop getting in their own way. Stodgy game-planning and key errors cost them in week one against San Francisco. They made hard work of a game they mostly dominated against Pittsburgh (trailing 14-7 at half-time when they should’ve been winning). In Arizona they were coasting until things unravelled at the end. They shouldn’t have needed to rely on a last gasp drive-and-kick to win that one.
Today the missed field goal early on was an unforced error and so was the Jalen Milroe fumble. I don’t understand why they persisted with the Milroe package and said so after the Green Bay pre-season game. He had not shown enough ‘juice’ to feel like it was worth persevering with. It isn’t producing an X-Factor, it’s just producing a moment to watch through your hands. It isn’t doing the player or team any favours. When they went with it today, I was immediately fearing the worst. The call and the execution was poor. Time to shelve this idea.
It’s as if they justified the Milroe pick in round three at the time because they could find an immediate role for him. Now, they feel obliged to pay lip service to that original thought. Don’t. It is what it is and it isn’t worth the risk. Darnold is playing too well to take the ball out of his hands and put the third string quarterback on the field, even just to hand it off or try and pitch the football.
They need to find a way to avoid putting themselves in difficult spots, or not capitalising fully on their own successes. They need to get out of their own way.
Secondly, the defense is clearly looking broken due to the injuries. Mike Macdonald’s system doesn’t rely on individuals. It relies on everything working together and connecting. The pass rush won’t work if the coverage stinks and vice versa. Today, the coverage was awful and easily abused. When you then take Derick Hall off the field early on and reduce your pass-rush options further, it’s a bad mix.
The lingering injuries for Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon are concerning. They need to get both players back because people were taking the field in that secondary today who, to put it bluntly, are probably practise squad level at best.
They might need to get creative in the trade market soon, as they did a year ago, to fix some issues on defense and cover injuries.
A final point on this being another home loss. I think this one is a bit more easier to stomach all considered (it’s hardly the Bills or Packers game from last season, or the 2024 Steelers game) — yet it really is deflating that the ‘Lumen losses’ continue to stack. With a seven-point lead late on it was a great chance for the defense to step up, make a play and get the kind of great home win to show things were turning. Instead, it’s two defeats out of three at home and they are still struggling to beat good teams at Lumen Field.
There are way more positives than negatives for this team and there’s still a great opportunity to have a very strong season in a wide open NFC. However, Jacksonville (A), Houston (H) and Washington (A) are three tough games to have next — especially with injuries. This is going to be a real test.
