Seahawks report card: Iffy grades for week 7 loss to Saints

The Seahawks lost to the Saints in week 7 13-10. Seattle is now 2-5 and has to defeat the one-win Jaguars in week 8 to have any chance of making the playoffs this year. The most frustrating thing about Seattle playing without Russell Wilson in the last two weeks? They have lost two games by a total of 6 points.

Here are the grades from week 7.

Quarterback

Geno Smith wasn’t awful. The odd thing is that he came in against a good Rams defense in the fourth quarter in week 5 after Russell Wilson was injured and Smith led Seattle to 10 points. He was playing free and checking down and throwing to running backs and tight ends. He also got the ball snapped quickly. But since then it’s like the Seattle coaching staff has reigned him in and it hasn’t worked. Smith isn’t great but he is paid to be a backup so don’t expect him to be Russell Wilson. Did he take some bad sacks? Yes. But his QBR was 94.3 and that was better than Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

Seahawks grades from week 7 loss to Saints

Grade: C-

Running backs

Seattle tried to force the run far too much in this game. While running the ball worked really well in the second half against the Steelers in week 6, the Seahawks knew going into week 7 that the Saints had a better run defense than Pittsburgh. Simply put, the yards that the Seattle backs got was because they mostly got them on their own as their blocking stunk.

Grade: C

Receivers/tight ends

Will Dissly is still good, Shane Waldron! Use him! Dissly had no targets in week 7. In week 5, Smith hit him twice in the fourth quarter and he was very productive. DK Metcalf had an 84-yard catch and run on Seattle’s fifth play but had one catch after that and seemed more focused on talking smack with Saints corner Marshon Lattimore. Tyler Lockett had 12 yards on 3 targets.

Grade: C

Offensive line

Take away the 84-yard pass to Metcalf, the Seahawks had 135 total yards for an average of 2.5 yards a play. 135 total yards. 2.4 yards per play. Geno Smith got hit 8 times and sacked 5 times. Seattle averaged 2.5 yards a carry from its running backs.

Grade: F

Defensive line

Alvin Kamara got 51 yards rushing on 20 carries. However, take away the one run for 12 yards when he ran out wide for 12 yards and Kamara averaged 2.1 yards a carry. Seattle got 4 quarterback hits and all from the defensive linemen. This is a rarity in 2021. The line wasn’t perfect but it was good enough to win.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Jordyn Brooks had a great deflection of a pass in the end zone that might have resulted in a Saints touchdown in the second quarter. He also covered Kamara on a route late in the game and covered him so well that Winston didn’t even look Kamara’s way. But Kamara still had 128 yards on 10 catches. While a lot of this is due to scheme, Seattle’s linebackers needed to be better.

Grade: C

Secondary

Was the issue in week 7 the Seahawks corners? No. The Saints scored 13 points and most of the time Seattle should win if a team scores 13 points against them. Heck, Jamal Adams even played the deep passes well. The issue defending the pass for Seattle was Kamara, not the wideouts.

Grade: B

Special teams

The final was 13-10. Jason Myers missed two field goals, one from 44 and one from 53. Those aren’t gimmes. But Brian Johnson of the Saints, who had never kicked in a real NFL game before, made both his field goals and that was the difference in the game when it comes to points. Myers is now 6 of 10 on the season in field goal attempts after making all his field goals last year.

Grade: D