There are two immediate reactions I have from this game.
The first is just a crushing lack of energy at the prospect of another nine-win season, Seattle’s third in a row, with little evidence the Seahawks are driving towards a bigger status within the NFL.
The second is bitter frustration at just how badly they messed this game up. This wasn’t a loss in the manner of the 49ers, Bills and Packers games, or even the Giants debacle. Yet it’s just as irritating because so many factors contributed towards Seattle’s downfall.
I’ll expand on these two issues in reverse order.
Look at everything that went wrong, and the sheer number of different people responsible for this loss. Tre Brown being penalised for off-side then giving up a touchdown on the next play. Tariq Woolen’s coverage, awareness and effort. Byron Murphy’s ill-timed facemask penalty. Ernest Jones dropping an interception that could’ve iced the game. Geno Smith’s interceptions. Geno Smith’s sack that made it very difficult for the Seahawks to kick a game-tying field goal. The play-calling on offense.
Where do you start when all this goes wrong? People will try to pin it on one person but on reflection, so many different people contributed. That’s not a good sign for this team. They have to be cleaner than this and get out of their own way.
I do think, like most people, that the writing is on the wall for Ryan Grubb though. The predictable nature of his offense, the total inability to craft a running game despite the weekly talk of wishing to establish one, the situational decision making. Grubb will likely be replaced in the off-season. The Seahawks need someone who can deliver a proper complementary vision to Macdonald’s defense. They need someone who understands the NFL, how to call plays in this league and can get this thing back on track.
That brings me back to the first point in this article though. It can’t be the only change. The Seahawks badly need a more disruptive off-season. They’re just muddling along — adding a bit here or there but never taking any great stride forwards. They’re an uninteresting team to non-Seahawks fans. They lack stars, they aren’t taken seriously and yet they do enough every year to avoid a ‘bad’ label that would actually provoke some broader, more urgent change.
They need a transformational off-season. Without it, they’ll just carry on being a middling team that fans are happy to sell their season tickets to avoid watching in person. They’ll go on losing games at home (3-6 this season, now 16-18 since fans returned post-Covid). The franchise will continue to feel flat and stuck in a rut. It’s coasting at the moment and needs a jolt.
They’ve got to take some risks. I don’t mean ill-advised trades either. They need to consider everything and follow through with some big calls to further shape this roster and staff.
Otherwise we’ll be back here in 12 months saying the same things.
