Seattle Seahawks: 5 takeaways from loss versus Rams week 10

The offensive line continues to struggle

Prior to the Buffalo Bills game, I think most Seahawk fans would agree that this offensive line is one of the better ones Wilson has had in his career. Unfortunately, Wilson is known for his great playmaking ability due to poor pass protection. But, a large reason as to why Russ has been cooking is due to the good play of the pass protection. In the last two weeks alone, Wilson has been sacked 11 times.

On top of that, the offensive line has been dealing with some injuries. First, it was G Mike Iupati that missed a handful of games due to a back injury. Yesterday, C Ethan Pocic missed his first start of the season.

Rookie C Kyle Fuller made his debut. In the third quarter while the Seahawks were mounting a drive together, on 3rd down, Fuller snapped the ball low, Wilson dropped it and the Rams recovered it. The little things like that need to be cleaned up. This offensive line has received a lot of credit on the year and deservedly so as they have been playing well. In fact, a couple of weeks ago LT Duane Brown was one of the best graded offensive linemen in the NFL.

That has all changed now as in the last two games, Wilson has hit the ground too often. In the past, when teams typically try and guard Wilson, they try and prevent him from escaping the pocket. In the last couple of weeks, teams have been able to just burst right up the middle of the pocket.

Obviously, no offensive line is perfect and they will have their fair share of bad plays as every position group does. But, the problems start to begin when they consistently get beat off the edge or do not contain their man.

When a team is able to consistently hit the quarterback, it knocks off their rhythm and flow. This has been prevalent in the last two weeks as Wilson is trying to do too much with the football. One reason is that they are dealing with injuries in the backfield. But, another key reason as to why his turnovers have increased is because he feels the pressure coming and he either can’t escape or he forces a poor throw. Wilson is not a turnover machine. He has clearly displayed that in his career.

Our next opponent is the Arizona Cardinals. The last time we saw that team, they dialed up the blitz in overtime, which resulted in an interception. Both Wilson and this offensive line need to clean it up moving forward.