Seahawks offensive and defensive grades from week 9 defeat

The Seattle Seahawks played poorly on the road in Buffalo, losing to the Bills, 44-34.

The Seattle Seahawks were arguably coming off of their best game of the season in their Week 8 victory over the Niners. They were heading into Buffalo, where not only were they playing on the east coast, but they were also facing a struggling Bills offense. There were many enticing features to this matchup. The most important one being many Seattle fans thought the Buffalo defense would struggle in slowing down Russell Wilson.

Well, we were all wrong as the Seahawks got manhandled in Buffalo. Right from the get-go, the Bills enforced their will on both sides of the ball. The Seahawks tried to wiggle their way back into the game but had too many turnovers in yesterday’s loss. The Bills deserve lots of credit for developing a game plan that seemed to have shocked the Seahawks as they looked confused all game long.

With that said, it is time for the weekly grade report.

Offense

Seahawks QB, Russell Wilson, had his first bad game in years. 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles and a couple of missed throws early on in the third quarter. The Seahawks and Russ are typically well equipped to go out and play on the east coast. But, yesterday, no one showed up. He finished with throwing for 390 yards, his third highest in his career. I know the offensive line didn’t give much help, so maybe it was a result of the pressure that got to him.

If Wilson were to win, he would have become the most winningest quarterback through the first 9 years. But, that will have to wait for another time. Overall, just a poor performance that was kick-started with some unforced errors. They got down too big and Wilson couldn’t save them.

It appeared that the Seahawks abandoned the run too much in the defeat to Buffalo. I know they were down early, but they finished the game with just 17 touches. I know they were already slim at the position with no Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde, but last week, Dallas showed some promise. He finished the game with 7 carries for 31 yards and 1 touchdown.

I just felt the running backs could have had more of an impact in this game if the play calling were a little better. The Bills defense began sniffing out the run plays and stuffing them in the backfield. I know our backfield is dealing with multiple injures, but they get a C+ for the poor performance yesterday.

This position group was one of the best in this game. The tight ends were heavily involved as the Bills did their best to take away D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. But, they weren’t all too successful as D.K. Metcalf finished the game with 7 catches for 108 yards and 1 touchdown. Lockett had another quiet game, but again, the Bills put a lot of attention on him.

Jacob Hollister was the second leading receiver with 5 catches for 60 yards. The one thing Wilson did a good job of, was taking advantage of their defensive scheme and feeding the tight ends. David Moore had another nice performance and is starting to prove his worth to this team.

You may think I am being tough, but, Russell Wilson got beat up yesterday. I have been pleased with the performance of this offensive line this whole year up until yesterday. They have had some poor games, but have managed ways to bounce back in those same games and pick up the tempo. Yesterday, they just got manhandled for four quarters. LT Duane Brown is one of the top graded tackles in this game. Yesterday, he was frustrated with the lack of physicality they played with upfront.

Russell Wilson was sacked 5 times (2 of them resulted in fumbles), was hit 11 times and was knocked down 16 times. That 16-time knockdown rate was the most this season. All game long, the Bills defense brought the pressure and kept Wilson from escaping the pocket. Brutal game up front for Seattle.

Carlos Dunlap was impressive in the defeat yesterday. He showed why the Seahawks brought him there. His impact was felt immediately. He finished the game with 1 sack and 2 quarterback hits, but he was applying pressure all game long. I thought the defensive line played solid yesterday. They were successful in getting to Allen as they racked up 7 sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

But, plenty of times they blitzed and paid the price as the secondary got shredded yesterday. Overall, I look at this game and think about the future of this season. I see this game as another building block for this defensive front. They have struggled all year long on applying pressure and they may be turning the corner at the right time.

The Bills barely ran the ball yesterday. In their first couple opening drives, they marched down the field, picking apart the Seahawks defense. Last week, it was Bobby Wagner who was delivering the crushing blows to San Francisco. This week, KJ Wright struggled along with Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner. They struggled in coverage and just seemed confused as the Bills consistently moved the ball up and down the field.

I think they were expecting Buffalo to run the ball more and so, they were caught off guard in the first two or three sequences. Wagner was successful once again in applying pressure, but this team really struggled in coverage yesterday. Can’t put too much blame on the linebackers though. I just think the Bills did a good job of drawing up a scheme to attack this defense.

Worse game I’ve seen all year from this group. The Bills first four possessions went touchdown, touchdown, field goal, touchdown. They attacked this secondary in the first half and pretty much did it with ease. Quinton Dunbar played his worse game of the season. To me, it seemed like he was playing with 0 effort. Barely going for tackles, getting beat in coverage on big down and distances. The Bills didn’t punt until the third quarter.

On the bright side, Jamal Adams returned and played solid. He was rusty in the beginning but picked up the play in the second half. He finished the game with 1.5 sacks and 3 quarterback hits. My favorite play was when he bulldozed Dawson Knox and brought down Josh Allen. I know this defense is dealing with some injuries in the secondary, but they must clean up this play.

All stats and scores provided by NFL Gameday.