Seattle Seahawks: 5 takeaways from loss versus Bills

Seahawks continue to struggle on third down

Prior to their Week 9 matchup, the Seahawks ranked as the number 1 scoring offense in the NFL. But, oddly enough, the Seahawks have the 3rd worst third-down conversion rate in the NFL, converting only 37.2% of the time. In their matchup against the Bills, the Seahawks went 3/12 (25%) on third downs.

This has been a problem all year and quite frankly, one that needs to be fixed. Contrary to belief, just because the Seahawks have the number 1 scoring offense, doesn’t mean that this offense doesn’t have any holes. 3rd down is going to be a crucial down come playoff time. We have seen in the past and heck, even in the Bills game, secondaries will do their best to stay prepared for the play-action game.

The Seahawks are very effective at hitting the big play as they are able to build off their run game. With the offense being more pass-heavy this season, it has made it harder on the defense as they now need to choose what they want to commit to: run or pass?

https://twitter.com/PFF_Fantasy/status/1325302538711805952?s=20

I know Carson and Hyde have been hurt in recent weeks as well as the fact that Penny is still recovering from his ACL injury last year. But, this team needs to find a way to become more efficient on third down. Whether Wilson needs to take off with his legs or get the tight ends more involved. Something needs to be done because, in the playoffs, the Seahawks are going to need to revert to their “4-minute offense”, that they were so effective at last year.

I will say this though, with these current issues, it would be nice if Josh Gordon or Philip Dorsett were on the field. David Moore has been having a solid year, but adding Gordon or Dorsett is another solidified threat the defense needs to be cautious about.