After an atrocious performance that somehow resulted in a win over the ragged Chicago Bears, the Seattle Seahawks’ season is now in limbo.
At 9-7, they secured a winning season in Mike Macdonald’s first season, but their playoff situation is unclear and unlikely.
Last week, the Seahawks fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in their last home game of the season. A valiant fight was topped off by an awful miscue on the final drive, resulting in Geno Smith‘s game-sealing interception.
Despite their nonexistent running game, Seattle could still hang in the game with Minnesota down to the final two minutes. However, the talent gap became clear towards the end of the game. Minnesota’s defense overwhelmed Seattle, while Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison ran rampant over Seattle’s defense. Minnesota was simply the better team, putting Seattle back in their place.
It’s The Little Things
One aspect that killed Seattle was their small mistakes, which a talented team like Minnesota could exploit.
Right before Sam Darnold‘s 39-yard go-ahead touchdown to Justin Jefferson, he had been sacked the previous play. Still, an unnecessary facemask from first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy gave the Vikings a fresh set of downs. Countless penalties on third down and failing to take advantage of the mistakes that Minnesota made eventually dug Seattle’s own grave.
It is hard to tell whether these mistakes were caused by poor coaching, a lack of discipline or an inexperienced team, but some aspects of the Seahawks’ play must be improved to succeed.
Minnesota is no slouch, though. They’re 13-2 and pushing to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. Seattle’s ability to stay with them shows that they have the potential to play tight games with the elite of the league and might only be a couple of pieces away.
Seahawks Shifted to Reverse in Week 17
Coming off the game against Minnesota, Seahawks fans and media were confident they could take care of the lowly Chicago Bears and their eight-game losing streak. However, this barely seemed to be the case.
A flip was switched within the entire team. Every positive from the Minnesota game became a weak point, while everything they struggled with they seemed to now excel in. The running game, which only mustered around 60 yards against Minnesota, topped that number in the first quarter with 91. The passing game with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, D.K. Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett couldn’t get anything going. The same defensive line that could barely muster pressure against Sam Darnold erupted for seven sacks against a poor Bears offensive line. The defense was stout, only allowing three points for the entire game.
The result was a three-hour, 6-3 slugfest on national television that many neutral fans wish they could unsee. While a win is a win this late in the season, this game revealed many harsh truths about the Seahawks.
It’s clear that they don’t really have an identity yet and are still figuring out what kind of team they want to be. One day, Geno throws 50 times, and they barely run the ball; the next, he throws 23 times while the run game dominates.
The Seahawks’ inability to pull away from a team on a nine-game skid and hold a lead since early November effectively makes them a middling team. They are good enough to hang with some of the best in the league but not good enough to blow out the bad teams.
If the Seahawks genuinely want to become a competitor, they still have much to figure out. With a young coach and a strong core of talent, they have the potential to be among the league’s elite. However, first, they must minimize their mistakes and find a more consistent identity from game to game. A winning season is a step in the right direction, but much more work must be done.
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