Seahawks are very different teams from quarter to quarter
The Seahawks have been notorious for their slow starts. After four games, it’s the perfect time to compare their performance quarter by quarter.
Four first quarters in four games makes comparisons pretty straightforward. The Hawks are 2 – 2 (and hopefully 3 -2 after today), but I thought it would be interesting to break down their performance by quarters. What would the Seahawks record be if all the first quarters were combined into the first game, all the second quarters into game two? Let’s dive in.
First quarter not the Seahawks best, but they’re winners
Through the first four games of 2017, the Seahawks have scored just nine points in the first quarter. I’d say that qualifies them as slow starters, wouldn’t you? Now you might be wondering, who’s the main culprit in this crime of an offensive showing? Look no further than the leader of the offense, Russell Carrington Wilson. Come on, you know when you’re in trouble, you always hear your full name. Sure, it’s a bit much to say Wilson is in trouble, and I am in no way really calling him out. That being said, he’s been less than good in the first quarter so far.
How much less than good? So far, Wilson is 17 of 39 for 154 yards, zero touchdowns, and a passer rating of 70.7. This would put him behind Mike Glennon, who just lost his starting job in Chicago. The good news is, he’d still be ahead of Brian Hoyer. Could be part of the blame lies on the fact Wilson has been sacked five times in first quarters so far. Put that into the context of a full game. You’re not going to win many games when your quarterback throws no touchdowns and is sacked five times. Stats like that create an offense that only manages to put nine points on the board. Luckily for Seattle, the defense was more than up to the occasion in the first quarter. The Legion of Boom and their playmates up front have yielded zero points.
Final result: Seattle 9, Opponents 2
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Seahawks got the second quarter blues
In the combined second quarters, the Seahawks offense picked up a bit. Wilson is 20 -33 for 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His completion percentage isn’t much better, but the average yards gain jumps from 5.1 to 8.0. As a result, his passer rating improves to 83.4. That’s still marginal, but not atrocious. The offense still only managed to score 10 points. With the Seattle defense, you can still win some games.
Unfortunately that defense took the second quarters off, as they gave up 28 points. The unusual aspect here is that as the second quarter “game” wore on, the Seattle defense got worse. The gave up nothing to the Packers, then a pair of field goals to the 49ers. At the half of the second quarter game, the Seahawks are down 6 – 3.
Then the wheels started to come off against the Titans. Tennessee made three field goals, as Seattle managed a Wilson to Baldwin connection for their first touchdown of the second quarter. The following week against the Colts, the defense had mixed results. Justin Coleman scored a pick six, but Seattle then allowed one long drive for a matching touchdown by the Colts. Indianapolis scored again following a Russell Wilson interception. While the defense did put seven points on the board, that in no way makes up for allowing 28.
Final result: Opponents 28, Seattle17