Seahawks Get a Wake Up Call in 30-21 Loss to Chargers

It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t encouraging, it wasn’t even “just one of those losses”, it was nearly total domination as the San Diego Super Chargers swatted the Seattle Seahawks in front of a raucous Qualcomm Stadium crowd on Sunday.

The final of 30-21 didn’t signify the domination that took place, though until the final 1:52 of the football game the Hawks still had a chance to pull off an improbable win under the circumstances.

The defense just couldn’t get off the football field and couldn’t stop Antonio Gates. The offense (for all the quick drives Russell Wilson and Co. put together when down two scores) couldn’t block and/or catch on their most crucial possessions. Even special teams contributed when Percy Harvin fumbled away a kickoff late in the 2nd quarter that set up Gates’ second of three touchdowns.

Overall, this Seahawk team was obviously explosive enough and good enough to keep themselves in the game despite not really doing anything worthwhile. But I felt the team got away from themselves in this game, ignoring the run game and trying to make too much happen behind the arm of Wilson. This is what happens to Seattle sometimes when they go on the road. And the crazy part is they still almost got it done.

It’s early enough that the loss means very little in the grand scheme of the season and in fact is the very best time for a loss like this. However that doesn’t change the fact that Pete Carroll, Darrell Bevell and the offense need to get on the same page when they go on the road that they are on when they play at home.

You may be saying to yourself “the defense was the one who couldn’t get off the field and the defense was the one struggling.” You’re right, but the Hawks ‘O’ generally uses that run game and their physical play to keep the other team’s offense off of the field, which in turn gives their defense a break.

When Denver comes into Century Link next week, the offense has to grind Denver down. If you think Peyton Manning won’t find exactly what San Diego did and exploit it just because he did nothing in last year’s Super Bowl, you’re kidding yourself. If Seattle’s going to go to 2-1, the offense has to do exactly what the Chargers did to their defense this week.