Seahawks: Three quick reasons to worry versus Packers

The Seahawks travel to play the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday in the divisional round. Here are three reasons we 12s should worry.

Hello, fellow 12s! We are at the precipice of the offseason. That is if you believe the betting line and most prognosticators as both species think the Packers are going to defeat the Seahawks on Sunday and end Seattle’s season. While they could be wrong (and I hope they are), here are three quick reasons they could be correct.

Packers pressure against Russell Wilson

The Packers have a 33 percent pressure rate led by Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Seattle has struggled at times keeping Russell Wilson from being sacked. But beyond just sacks, Green Bay’s pressure means Wilson will have to get the ball out quicker. Is D.K. Metcalf, having a good couple of weeks, ready to get open early instead of just downfield? Can Tyler Lockett find some wiggle room?

More importantly, can the Seahawks find any running game to keep the pressure off of Wilson? If not, the game won’t be close.

Health

The Seahawks are thread-bare thin at some positions. Offensive line? If Duane Brown plays, great. But how close to 100 percent is he? And if Brown can’t go and George Fant can’t go (he’s questionable with a groin issue), then Seattle will have little protection for Wilson.

But even if those two guys are, Seattle has gotten by with a bit of smoke and mirrors this season and will definitely not have studs like Chris Carson and Will Dissly. This may be the week that being too injured catches up to the Seahawks.

Clock management

I can’t even count all the times this season that Pete Carroll has misused his timeouts or gotten a bad delay of game call (week 17 versus the 49ers, for instance). Carroll is a great coach that gets the most out of his players, but has struggled as much with time management in 2019 as any coach. It is just weird.

This should be a close game that could come down to little mistakes. If the Seahawks are to lose, I would rather those little mistakes happen on the field than from the coaching staff. But I hope Seattle doesn’t lose, of course.