Seahawks report card: Defense struggles in Week 10 loss

The Seahawks lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10 21-16. Seattle is now 6-4 and, at least temporarily, still atop the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers, who defeated Seattle in Week 2, could technically take the lead in the division with a victory in Week 11.

Seattle has a bye week this week, of course. The Seahawks aren’t really a beaten-up team or anything; they’ve stayed relatively healthy this year. But the rookie class that is playing so well right now might simply need a break to get re-energized.

But one thing was sure in Week 10 in Germany and that is Seattle looked like a tired group. Or they just came out flat. Either way, they looked worse than they have in about two months.

How did the Seahawks grade in Week 10?

Quarterback

Geno Smith wasn’t nearly as effective as he had been through most of the season for most of the game on Sunday. He also lost a fumble deep in Buccaneers territory when Seattle was trying to catch up. But Geno still deserves props for trying to lead a valiant comeback. The comeback might have fully worked as well if not for more terrible defense late in the game. Smith still finished 23 for 33 for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 115.1. Smith also, sadly, led Seattle in rushing with 22 yards.

Grade: B-

Running backs

There is very little to say here as the Seahawks did nearly zero running the ball. However, Ken Walker did finish with 6 catches for 55 yards. Otherwise, Seattle ran the ball 14 times for 39 yards. A lot of the blame for the failed rushing attack goes on the offensive line, though.

Grade: C

Wide receivers/tight ends

This was a weird game for the tight ends. They were nearly invisible in the first half (one catch total) and then to start the second half the tight ends were the focal part of the first scoring drive. The receivers were just OK except for two things. One, DK Metcalf had another unsportsmanlike penalty called on him – the fifth of that kind of penalty called against him in his career – and this caused Jason Myers to have to make a 55-yard field goal which he did. Two, Marquise Goodwin made an incredible catch in the end zone for Seattle’s last touchdown. Goodwin has been much better over most of the last few games and that is good to see.

Grade: C+

Offensive line

The line had probably its second-worst game of the year. Geno Smith was sacked three times and Ken Walker, the only running back to have any carries, rushed for an average of 1.7 yards per carry. That’s not winnable football.

Grade: D

Defensive line

The interior of the Seahawks’ defensive line was better over the last several games leading up to Week 10 and then everything fell apart. Shelby Harris actually might have been OK and that was it. Seattle had one quarterback hit against the Bucs and it was Harris. But Tampa Bay came into the game averaging 60 yards a game rushing. They finished with 144 yards in Week 10 and punched Seattle in the mouth, metaphorically, and Seattle had zero answers.

Grade: F

Edge rushers/linebackers

There was a great moment when Cody Barton jumped high for an interception of Tom Brady and then a bunch of bad moments. No sacks by this group, just one tackle for loss, Tampa Bay had the ball for 36:55 of the game and converted 10 of 15 third down attempts. Much of the blame goes toward the linebackers.

Grade: F

Cornerbacks/safeties

Tom Brady threw the ball 29 times and yet Seattle was only given credit for 2 passes defended by the secondary. One of those was an interception by Tariq Woolen (his fifth of the season) which came on a pass to Tom Brady from a running back. The Seahawks also seemed to have numerous communication breakdowns, especially on Julio Jones’ 31-yard touchdown reception which started on a crossing pattern, and also in the deep middle.

Grade: D

Special teams

Not much else you could ask from this group. Jason Myers made a 55-yard field goal with ease. Michael Dickson was just crushing punts all day. He had a long of 68 yards with another over 60 as well. He finished with 5 punts with a net average of 50.6 per.

Grade: A