Russell Wilson and the Seahawks had a lot of opportunities to win this game, but were unable to overcome their costly mistakes in a 23-16 defeat against the Rams. This game was an interesting game for the Seahawks. The first half and second half seemed to flip flop. This was shocking to some, left many in doubt. Seahawks promising Seahawks and the “Let Russ Cook” mantra came to a half after Sunday’s disappointing loss.
In the first half, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense got off to a fast start. They were able drive down the field on their opening possession. Alex Collins was able to score on a 13 yard toss. The Seahawks defense on the other hand were unable to stop Jared Goff and the Rams offense. They were able to keep the running game in check but the Rams were able to have their way in the passing game. This frustrated Seahawks fans because the defense seemed to blitz at the wrong time on many occasions, and it cost them greatly. Seahawks fans have made it clear that they believe Ken Norton Jr. is the reason why the defense is playing historically bad this season, many want Norton fired and replaced. To summarize the first half, Seahawks offense was somewhat cooking and the defense was getting burned. At the half, the score was 17-13 Rams on top.
In the second half, Russell Wilson made some head scratching mistakes. For whatever reason, Russell Wilson could not get anything going. Right when you thought “here they come”, they would get off track. Russell Wilson threw two interceptions that were simply bad decisions, and took some sacks that were on early downs. Russell Wilson is great at buying time by rolling around in the pocket, and then making a play but when that doesn’t work he seems lose a lot of yards by getting sacked. Those negative plays are often tough to overcome, especially in tight games. It didn’t help that Rams star Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was shadowing DK Metcalf all game and shut him down. Russell Wilson didn’t seem interested in even giving him an opportunity to make a play, until late in the game. DK Metcalf seemed frustrated at times with Wilson not targeting him. He would throw up both of his arms above his head signaling towards Wilson. The defense on the other hand played better in the second half. Jamal Adams was able to force a fumble. The defense were able to pressure and sack Jared Goff often. The stat line that I don’t think they will get enough credit for is the fact they were able to hold the Rams offense to just six points in the second half. They definitely played a lot better, but it will go unnoticed because of how bad the offense was. The offense could only score a disappointing 3 points in the second half.
This game was just one of those games that the Seahawks just couldn’t put it all together. The one sure thing is the Seahawks have a lot to work on. Coming into the game there questions regarding the defense, but after this game there seems be more questions that need to be addressed quickly. The Seahawks will have to figure it out quickly because they will host the Cardinals in four days on Thursday Night Football. Hopefully, they can get some key players back from injury. That would provide a boost to this team.
This loss dropped the Seahawks to 6-3 and they are rin a three way tie for first place in the NFC West. Which puts them in third place because they have lost head to head games to both the Cardinals and Rams.
The Seahawks will host the red hot Cardinals on Thursday Night Football at 5:20 PM PT. This seems like a must win game for the Seahawks, if they want a shot at a number 1 or 2 seed in the playoffs. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Seahawks. We will see if they can put the doubters to rest by having an answer and proving them wrong. Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, and the Seahawks are optimistic that they will get back to playing at a high level. For now, they have a lot of work to do to get there.
The Ball Game Report 