The Seahawks versus Falcons Week 3 match was pegged to be the number 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft bowl, and judging by how Seattle played, they clearly won this one by a mile.
Call this game the battle for the #1 overall pick or the battle of the journeyman quarterbacks, whatever we called this game, the Seattle Seahawks appeared to be no threat to anyone. Although not everything about this game was bad, the Seahawks however showed that the team is nowhere close to being able to competitively challenge any team this year.
There is no other way to sugarcoat this lowly defeat by the Seahawks against the Falcons at home. This is to no one’s surprise on how poorly this team has been, even with their Week 1 victory over their ex-quarterback Russell Wilson.
However, it is how poorly and lethargic the team had been playing that’s giving everyone the 12 migraines.
3 thoughts on the Seahawks losing to the Falcons in Week 3
If this was any other game against a division rival or a perennial playoff-contending team, then we might be able to give the Seahawks a pass, but against the Falcons? Don’t get me wrong on this one, I am not saying the Falcons are a horrible team, but they are not a world-beater, not by a long shot.
All I am saying is if this was a battle between two teams that were projected to be at the bottom of league standings, where do the Seahawks go after this defeat?
We were not anticipating the Seahawks to be good this season but if this game is any indication of what is to come, Seattle will be in for a long grinding season. Let’s just hope, that better things are on the horizon for this team. With that, here are the 3 takeaways from this game.
Seahawks offense looked better for a half anyway
Leading up to this game, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks coaching staff were pumping up that they have to open things up and get their stud wide receiver DK Metcalf more involved. Uncle Pete was not lying on this one, as DK was able to haul down his first receiving touchdown of the season. It is still a paltry 64 receiving yards on 5 targets, but we will take this one as a win.
Geno ‘The Game Manager’ Smith was able to also show that he could throw for more than 200 yards in one game. Geno was able to finish the game with a stat line of 325 passing yards with 2 passing touchdowns and only 1 interception.
This team might bore us during this season from time to time with low-scoring games, but in this game, the Seahawks were able to show that they can manage to put up more on the scoreboard.
The Seahawks must always find a way to keep drives going as they will always find themselves trailing for most of their games. This team has great playmakers around them with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, they just need to get them more opportunities to do something with the football.
Except the Seahawks run game bogged down
A lot of hype was circulating around Seattle when the team drafted rookie runningback Ken Walker in the second round of this year’s draft. That hype came to a halt when Walker had to undergo a hernia surgery during the preseason, prompting him to miss the first game of the season. With his return to the line-up, the perception was the Seahawks will have a committee back that will be the focal point of the offense.
Much to the dismay of everyone, the supposedly strong aspect of the Seahawks game, the running game, has not been there. This anemic running game was on display vs the Falcons.
By no means the Falcons are a good run defense but the Seahawks only managed to put 112 total yards on the ground, with the bulk of them coming from Penny’s 66 yards.
Pete Carroll keeps preaching about establishing the run, but so far, they haven’t been able to do that. The ability to open things up in the passing game will rely on how effective this run scheme game of the Seahawks is. This team will figure it out so long as Penny and Walker are healthy, but they must solve this issue right away before the season really slips away from them.
Seahawks can’t stop the run
The contrast between the running game of the Seahawks and the Falcons was front and center in this game. Atlanta was able to shred this Seattle defense into pieces to the tune of 179 total rush yards, with the majority of heavy lifting caused by the Falcons’ runningback, Cordarrelle Patterson.
Time and again, Patterson kept getting big chunks of yardage, as he finished the game with 8.3 yards-per-carry. Not only did the Seahawks not able to stop Patterson from hitting pay dirt, but Seattle also allowed, the opposing quarterback Marcus Mariota to sneak one in himself in the endzone.
The Seahawks’ inability to stop a 31-year-old running back/ wide receiver was so embarrassing, especially when playing at home. The Falcons did not do anything special in this game, the Seahawks defense was simply outmatched.
We know that the defense is banged up with the departure of safety Jamal Adams due to a quad injury and Quandre Diggs that was not 100%, but other players must step up. The Seahawks cannot afford to let other teams gash them on the ground just like the Falcons did in this game or they will be in big trouble if they already are not.