Seattle Seahawks – 10
Green Bay Packers – 38
There has been a longstanding narrative, that the Seahawks just are not the Seahawks on the road. Over the past few years, they have tried their best to help disprove that storyline, but what 2016 has shown us is that it is not only alive and well, but worse than ever before. What happened on Sunday was a complete and utter nightmare as the Seahawks faced their worst loss in six years, ending an NFL record 85 games straight without an 11+ point loss. I could easily just end this article right here, and anyone who watched that game would simply understand. That was a game that should never happen to a team with a caliber of talent that the Seahawks are blessed with. On every level it was an embarrassing beat-down of monumental proportions, a type of game that Seattle is used to giving out to opponents. A type of game, like last week when they mauled the Panthers to the tune of 40-7. In fact, this past two weeks is really a microcosm of the 2016 Seahawks season. Blowout win one week, blowout loss the next. Nuclear hot to artic cold. The past few games have really left those of us in the Pacific Northwest wondering “what is this team?” There has been five times this year that the Seahawks have not won a game, (four losses, one tie), all of which have occurred on the road. In three of the non-wins, the offense scored less than 10 points. In the other two, they were only able to score 13, and 10. It is not like they are facing some truly historic defenses. The Saints, Bucs, and Packers all rank in the bottom third of the League. The Packers are even ranked 30th!
Somehow, each loss/non-win becomes a little more embarrassing than the last, with each game losing less explanation of how it could happen to a team as talented as the Seahawks. In the 9-3 loss at Los Angeles, you could justify that Wilson was seriously hurt and it was the Rams first game in the City of Angels in over 20 years. After the 6-6 tie against Arizona, you could argue that no one knows us better than the Cardinals, and the fact Seattle escaped with at least a tie is a sort-of win in it of itself. A five point loss to the Saints was unfortunate, but it was still Drew Brees in the Super Dome. Finally, a 14-5 loss in Tampa was supposed to be the last straw. How could it truly get much worse than that? Only five freaking points against the Bucs? Three weeks later, I was proven so, so wrong. There was no excuse for this game. I don’t want to hear anyone say it was because Earl was out, Rodgers never targeted replacement Steven Terrell. The offense was healthy, the defense still had plenty of talent to slow down Green Bay. This game was lost because of the unbelievable ineptitude of the offense and Russell Wilson.
Absolutely nothing went right for the Seahawks. On the first series of the game, Aaron Rogers found Davante Adams for a 66 yard touchdown pass. Seattle did manage to answer with a 13 play field goal drive. However, Wilson missed a wide open Doug Baldwin, forcing them to settle for only three points. On the following Seattle possession, Wilson missed Jimmy Graham for another potential score. One possession later, Wilson threw his first interception of the afternoon. The Seahawks could only watch as Green Bay increased the lead to 14-3, then 21-3. Trying to close out the half with at least some points, Wilson led the offense down the field. Unfortunately, Wilson picked a poor time to try out his Johnny Manziel impression, throwing a disgustingly ill-advised pass across his body only to fall in the arms of another Packer defender. The Packers have been hot on offense the past few games, this was a game that the Seahawks offense needed to carry. As they have failed to do a number of times this season, they could not live up to their responsibilities. Russell Wilson threw his third interception on the opening drive of the second half, as he targeted Jermaine Kearse in double coverage, which was tipped and picked-off in the end zone. It was becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2014 NFC title game, bad decisions from Wilson (who threw two more picks before the game was over), and tipped balls falling the wrong way. Unlike that historic game, there was no miraculous comeback to be found. Fun fact: this was the first time the Seahawks have ever lost while wearing the all-grey alternate uniforms.
The Good – Uhhh… not much. There were no new critical injuries, so there’s that. Seattle also recorded a single sack, despite having no pressure on a hobbled Aaron Rodgers. I put this in the “good” category because it was the first Seattle sack in three weeks, avoiding a franchise record three straight games without one sack. Small victories were the only kind to be found in a game like that.
The Bad – Russell Wilson. I cannot believe I am putting him in this category. But 5 interceptions!? Good heavens. A friend texted me during the game asking me “Seahawks or Jets?” I could hardly tell the difference as Russell Wilson was clearly pretending to be Ryan Fitzpatrick. Wilson entered Lambeau field with 5 interceptions on the season, and he left with 5 more, tying his career high with 10 interceptions to only 13 touchdowns. He has had 8 interceptions in the last 5 games. Compared to Aaron Rodgers who only had 5 incompletions all afternoon.
The Ugly – Honestly, Seattle’s realistic playoff hopes. Sure, barring an unprecedented collapse combined with an incredible comeback from Arizona, the Seahawks are still likely to win the NFC West and make an appearance in the post season. What they will do in it is… murky at best. Due to the Lions winning and the Seahawks losing, Detroit overtook Seattle in the 2nd seed. That moves the Hawks to the 3rd seed, and no first round bye, forcing them to play the lowest seeded wild card. As it stands currently, the 6th seed is held by the Buccaneers. You know, the same Buccaneers who beat Seattle. Not to mention the Bucs are an exceptional road team. The first round bye is still attainable, however, if the Seahawks want to make the Super Bowl they would have to play at least one road playoff game. After Sunday’s loss, the Seahawks are guaranteed a losing record on the road. No team has ever won the Super Bowl with a losing road record. While there can always be sports “firsts”, I don’t know if this inconsistent Seattle team can be that squad. You might say I am overreacting about a bad loss, but am I really? It's week 14! They are 2-4-1 on the road, that is a healthy sample size to analyze their realistic chances. What Seattle team will we get on the road? One that can drop 31 on the Patriots? Or one that can barely get to 3 against the Rams? Speaking of the Rams...
Looking Ahead – Quick turnaround for the Seahawks as they have their rematch with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. The Rams are the biggest enigma in the NFL. Talented defensive roster, able to knock off the best in the League occasionally, but never able to put it all together. The Rams always seem to have Seattle’s number, as they have beaten the Seahawks in the last three meetings, and 4 in their last 5. Including a 23-17 win last season at CenturyLink, their first in 11 years. The Rams lost 41-14 Sunday against Atlanta, which means that they’ll probably find a way to make it a one score game on Thursday. Los Angeles finally did fire Head Coach Jeff Fisher on Monday morning, two weeks after he signed a contract extension. Fisher had tied Dan Reeves for the 2nd most losses by a head coach in NFL history, astonishingly this was after 5 losing seasons as their coach. Why they stuck with him for so long, I have no idea. Hopefully his absence and lack of a full week to implement a game plan for a rookie quarterback will play into Seattle’s favor as the Seahawks try to regain their footing.
