3 takeaways from Seattle Seahawks worrisome Week 12 loss

The Seattle Seahawks are not who we thought they were. That has become abundantly clear as they have now lost three straight games, all in similar fashion. As the offensive struggles continue, so does the frustration. It mounts larger and larger each game as this offense has just simply failed to execute.

With D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Gerald Everett at their disposal, there is no excuse for why this team cannot score at an effective rate. Over the last three weeks, they have tallied 28 total points. That equates to the same amount of points they scored in Week 1. The potential is not being lived up to and there is plenty of blame to go around.

In spite of the poor performance in Week 12, the Seattle Seahawks still had a chance to force overtime. Some late magic by Russell Wilson sparked some hope, but they weren’t able to convert on the two-point conversion and fell just short. The difference in this game was the long scoring drives put together by Washington. By establishing the run, they were able to tire out the Seattle defense and untimely, stick a fork in their playoff aspirations.

Here are three takeaways from the Seattle Seahawks worrisome Week 12 defeat.

3 takeaways from Seattle Seahawks Week 12 loss versus Washington

In a storm

In his postgame presser, Russell Wilson echoed what Jamal Adams has been saying for several weeks now: we are in a storm. Right now, the Seattle Seahawks are in the midst of a storm that has caused blinding fog. They cannot see ahead right now and quite frankly, I don’t know if they would want to. The one thing we do know though is that Pete Carroll will continually get his players to believe.

Frustration has been the theme of the season. Whether it be injuries or unfortunate penalties — as we saw numerous times last night — many players have echoed their frustrations, and rightfully so. Really, it all stems from third down. Over this three-game losing skid, the Seahawks are 13-37 (35%) on 3rd down and have been doubled in time of possession.

With a quarterback like Russell Wilson, it is really surprising to see the Seahawks rank 32rd in time of possession and third down efficiency. The lack of the rushing attack has really hurt this offense. In Week 12, Alex Collins had 7 carries for 14 yards. One could argue that Seattle got away from running the ball, but it was primarily because of the penetration from Washington’s front 4. Nearly every time Collins touched it, he had nowhere to go.

One of my suggestions last week was for Russell Wilson to get more involved in running the ball. In Week 12, the Seahawks dialed up a QB draw and it allowed them to move the chains for the first time in the second half. I believe they should build off of that and increase the amount of read-option plays. With his dynamic playmaking ability, Wilson will force the defense to remain honest in the option plays. This allows one less linebacker to go charging after Collins in the run game.

The question that remains is, over the last 6 games of the season, will be the storm get worse or will they be able to navigate through it?