How critical is a Seahawks win over the Cowboys? Like ICU critical
The Seahawks are in a must-win situation, not a good place to be in week three. But is it really that critical a win? Why yes, yes it is.
The Seahawks are in danger of getting off to their It’s simply common sense that a 1-2 record is better than a 0-3 start. Seattle hasn’t gotten off to that bad a start since 2002. They finished that season at 7-9, not exactly terrible. It also won’t usually put you in the playoffs. But it’s more than common sense. It’s mathy.
Since 1980, just 10 teams have made the playoffs after an 0-2 start. That’s pretty awful, as it’s just under 11 percent of all the teams with that record. Those clearly aren’t good odds. So if Seattle wins today, they still have a huge climb to get back into the hunt.
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Compared to an 0-3 start though, the Seahawks should be practically giddy if they win their home opener. Less than three percent of 0-3 teams managed the playoffs since 1980. The last slow starter to pull this off was the 1998 Buffalo Bills. So the Seahawks would have to buck a twenty year trend to hit paydirt if they lose today.
Other than the playoffs, there’s more at stake. The Seahawks are 0-2 in large part due to the inexplicable decision to become one of the league’s most pass-happy teams. They’ve run the ball just 38 times in two games. This is despite Pete Carroll loudly proclaiming his team needed to get back to the run game.
More than playoffs are at stake for Seahawks
Let’s say the Seahawks lose today. Painful, I know, but it’s only for illustrative purposes. If they spend an entire quarter “taking shots to see what’s there” again, I may just throw up. Everyone knows they need to run the ball. Even Brian Schottenheimer knows it.
So if they ask Russell Wilson to throw the ball 40 times again (okay, try to throw), I’ll have to question the sanity of the Seattle coaching staff. You know the definition: doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.
If you’re going to lose, at least be yourself. Be the Seahawks circa 2014, not the Saints of that year. New Orleans was fun to watch, but they called almost 700 pass plays. And they went 7-9. Seattle called just under 500 passing plays and went to the Super Bowl for the second straight year.
Right now, Seattle is on track to call twice as many pass plays as runs. 81 pass plays over two games equates to 648 for the year. Does anyone think that’s an intelligent strategy for a team that’s allowed 12 sacks in two games? If Carroll stays on this path, he’ll deserve the 0-3 start.
What he won’t deserve is to keep his job. I’m a big fan of Carroll. I didn’t buy in to the criticism from former players. I think he’s much more than a rah rah guy. But if he can’t keep track of the run game, can’t stick to his own strategy, how is he even a coach? There’s more than playoffs at stake today. It’s the future of the coaching staff.