Another week and another back-and-forth affair involving the Seahawks.
A full 60 minutes of football on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York, produced 78 points and 839 yards of offense. Unfortunately for Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks, they were on the short end of a 44-34 score. It was the second loss in three games for the first place team in the NFC West.
Quarterback Russell Wilson and company, including big-play wideouts D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, fell behind early and never caught up. The 2020 NFL MVP candidate was sacked five times and finished with all four of the team’s turnovers via a pair of interceptions and two lost fumbles. He would also throw for 390 yards and two scores in the 10-point setback.
A loss is never good. But there’s still plenty of reason not to be too concerned when it comes to the team from the Pacific Northwest.
1. QB Russell Wilson: It’s been quite the start for the nine-year veteran, who still hasn’t missed a game since taking over as Carroll’s starting quarterback in the season opener in 2012. His numbers this year are imposing as he hit on 710 percent of his throws for 2,541 yards, 28 scores and only eight interceptions. But five of those picks have come in the last three games and that has certainly raised some eyebrows. Wilson has thrown for at least two scores in each of the club’s eight outings this year.
2. Business as usual: Take a look at the Seattle Seahawks’ two losses this season in which the club scored at least 31 points and still fell short of victory. Welcome to the NFL in 2020, in which shootouts have become commonplace. But as strange as it sounds, this is the kind of football Pete Carroll’s team has been playing since the start of ’19.
Keep in mind that a season ago, the playoff-bound Seahawks finished 11-5 and scored only seven more points (405) than they allowed (398). And more times than not, Russell Wilson and company has gotten the best of these kind of games. Dating back to last season and including the playoff split with the Eagles and Packers, Carroll’s club owns an 18-8 overall record.
3. Bunched up NFC West: It’s been called the best division in the NFL, although that was before the San Francisco 49ers dipped below the .500 mark on Thursday night. The happiest team in the NFC West this week was the Los Angeles Rams, who never took the field but watched the Niners, Seahawks and Cardinals all bite the dust in Week 9. The Seahawks remain atop the division with a 6-2 record and own a 1-1 mark within the division.
There’s still a half a season to play and the Seahawks still have four games vs. their divisional rivals. And the club is one of four in the NFC with a conference-high six victories. But Carroll and company certainly have some adjustments to make.