The Seattle Seahawks fell to 5-10 with an ugly loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 16. The grades from Seattle’s latest loss are obviously not good.
Before the grades, though, here is a list of “firsts” for Seattle that aren’t good either. One, Seattle will finish last in its division for the first time since 1996. Two, Seattle will have its first losing season since Russell Wilson became the quarterback (and after Sunday’s loss, Seattle is just 4-8 so far when Wilson starts games this season). Three, this is the first double-digit loss season in the Pete Carroll era.
Will 2022 be better? It won’t be unless Seattle makes a bunch of changes. But the Seahawks have two games left this season before those changes can be made.
Here are the grades from Week 16’s loss to the Chicago Bears.
Seattle Seahawks grades: Another report card you don’t want to show your parents
Quarterback
Russell Wilson simply isn’t himself this season. His issues started before his thumb injury. Wilson’s raw numbers were really good before the Week 5 injury but he was missing throws even before and the offense was really inconsistent.
He can’t use the thumb as an excuse anymore for two reasons. One, he said his thumb is 100 percent so too late to use that reason. Secondly, Wilson was much better in weeks 13 and 14 before being not-good again in weeks 15 and 16.
Wilson took a terrible sack (not new for him; he’s done it his whole career) which pushed a field goal attempt back by 11 yards. Jason Myers then missed a 40-yarder in windy conditions. Possibly worse, Wilson missed a wide-open DK Metcalf on a short third down attempt early in the third quarter in Bears territory that would have extended a drive that could have resulted in points. Wilson is taking points off the board at this point sometimes.
Grade: D
Rest of the offense with one part that was really good
Running backs
Rashaad Penny, why did you have to do this to us? After years of barely playing you suddenly show up at the end of your final contract year (since the Seahawks rightfully didn’t pick up your fifth-year option) and play like one of the best backs in the league!
Penny finished with 135 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. For those scoring at home, that is 7.9 yards a carry. Penny is now second on the team for the season in rushing yards (389) and averages 5.5 yards a rush. He might need to be a must-re-sign as Seattle has no clear number one back for 2022.
Grade: A
Receivers/tight ends
For whatever reason, Russell Wilson did not target DK Metcalf at the 11:09 mark of the third quarter. This is atrocious and there is no clear reason for it. Tyler Lockett had only 3 catches for 30 yards. At least Gerald Everett was solid with 4 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Everett is a free agent after this season, though, and if I were him I wouldn’t come back to the mess that is Seattle’s offense. No other receiver did anything of note and that’s a problem.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
The final empty drive was indicative of the offensive line overall this year. With a bit over 50 seconds left and two timeouts, the Seahawks got the ball and needed only a field goal to win. But Damien Lewis and Ethan Pocic each had a holding penalty and basically killed the drive. The offensive line needs an overhaul. Again.
Grade: D-
Defense and special teams
Defensive line
Carlos Dunlap is doing the same thing Rashaad Penny is doing late in the season. After doing absolutely nothing for most of the year, Dunlap has become a beast again. He has 5 sacks in the last two games combined, including 2 against the Bears. Rasheem Green also had 2 sacks. Green and Dunlap combined for 7 quarterback hits. But Darrell Taylor had a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Bears final drive which added 15 yards to an already big play. Basically, that play alone was a 45-yard gain and helped the Bears win the game.
Grade: B-
Linebackers
The linebackers simply aren’t coached well as it relates to coverage. Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks are great run-stoppers and Brooks is getting a bit better in coverage. But overall, this linebacker group is one-sided: Great against the run and not-good against the pass. Third-string quarterback Nick Foles was 24 for 35 and 250 yards and a touchdown. The linebackers should take a lot of the blame for that.
Grade: C-
Secondary
To be fair, a secondary playing without D.J. Reed, Tre Brown and Jamal Adams is a lot to ask for, especially not having Reed. But see above for Nick Foles’ numbers. John Reid is not close to being an NFL starter and the Bears had no fear throwing his way. He was overmatched by Jimmy Graham on the Bears final touchdown. Ugo Amadi had a bad penalty and missed a tackle on Cole Kmet that allowed a huge gain. Seattle missed far too many tackles overall on Sunday.
Grade: D
Special teams
Jason Myers isn’t a bad kicker but he is having a bad season. He is now 13 of 19 for the year. That percentage equates to 68.4 percent and this is 32nd in the NFL. Russell Wilson did take a bad sack to make Myers field goal attempt in the second half a more difficult 40-yarder but Myers still needs to make those kicks and Myers is just 2 for 4 of kicks from 40-49 yards in 2021. Michael Dickson had likely his worst game of the year and averaged just 37 yards a punt on 4 kicks and only one was downed inside the Bears 20.
Grade: F