The Seahawks returned from their bye week needing a win to keep pace with the Niners. The Raiders exposed serious issues on the team. And there were a lot more than three players to blame.
This game was expected to be a bit of a breather. Obviously, it was anything but that. Surrendering 576 yards certainly wasn’t in the game plan. Since we’re getting throwback uniforms soon, could we get a throwback defense too? LOB edition only, thanks. The Raiders came into the contest averaging 342 yards per game on offense, allowing 371 yards on defense. Yes, the game went to overtime, but they still rolled up 200 more yards than the Hawks.
As we’ve seen too often this season, the Seahawks biggest issue is the running game. We’ve seen them struggle to establish the run in a few games. Much worse, they seem to be operating turnstiles on defense. In Seattle’s six wins, they’ve averaged 151 yards rushing and allowed 108. In their five losses, the Hawks have managed just 81 yards per game and given up a ridiculous average of 209 yards on the ground. The loss versus Las Vegas featured the worst performances yet at 65 to 283. That is abysmal.
The Seahawks needed better efforts from virtually everyone
Let me start with Geno Smith. He fumbled once and threw an interception in a game where the Hawks needed every point they could muster. Yes, he also threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Take another look, and he completed 73 percent of his passes and wound up with a passer rating of 106.6. That makes up for the mistakes, right? In fact, it does. I’m starting with Geno to say that he is not one of the main architects of the Seahawks loss.
Yes, he threw a very costly interception that the Raiders turned into a touchdown on their very next play to go ahead 20-13. But was it Geno’s fault? Not when Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf somehow collided on their routes. Obviously, someone got it wrong; and it’s hard to say Smith was the one at fault.
In the fourth quarter, Geno fumbled on an exchange with Kenneth Walker III deep in Las Vegas territory. That killed another Seattle drive. While the Raiders didn’t score on their ensuing drive, it’s extremely likely that the Hawks would have gotten at least a Jason Myers field goal out of the drive. And that would have been the winning margin. Again, I’m not about to say that’s all – or even mostly – on Smith’s shoulders.
I love Geno Smith, and what he brings to the Seahawks. That doesn’t mean I’ll ignore costly mistakes. Those were two huge miscues, but he was hardly the only one to blame for them. He did more than enough for Seattle to win this one. I can’t say the same for a few other players.
Seahawks tackle Abe Lucas finally played like a rookie
The Hawks pair of rookie tackles have generally been excellent this season. Sure, there have been a few mistakes here and there, but overall, they’ve been great. Abe Lucas in particular has been recognized time and again for his tremendous blocking. Sadly, that wasn’t the case today. Not even close. Pro Football Focus gave him a preliminary grade (subscription required) of just 31.7 for his pass blocking. His overall grade coming into this game was 68.1, so it’s not like they’ve been dogging him.
Lucas was charged with two of the three sacks Smith took in the game. The Hawks QB was hit on 10 more plays beside the sacks. Factor in that Las Vegas had only sacked the quarterback 13 times in their previous ten games, and it’s absolutely inexcusable. It’s fair to assume that if Smith had faced less pressure – even a little less – he would have played a much cleaner game.
Now let’s talk about the running game. Actually, if you can find any traces of it, please contact me on Twitter, @TheUnrealTodd. Versus Tampa Bay, Seattle managed 39 yards rushing. Against Las Vegas, they scraped their way to 65 yards. No, Abe Lucas is not solely responsible for the recent demise of the Seahawks rushing attack. The entire offensive line is to blame for Seattle’s inconsistency, but Abe Lucas will be the point man for this game. He’s played much better, and he certainly will play better again.
The Seahawks defense was a disaster, and everyone is to blame
Now as a special reward for all the good little 12s that made it to the third page, I have a confession. As I already admitted, I really don’t think that Geno Smith and Abe Lucas were the primary culprits in this loss. The Hawks put 34 points on the board, and that should win almost every game. It certainly should have been enough to beat the Raiders, who came into the game averaging 22.5 points per game and had only topped 30 twice. No, dear 12s, it was obviously the defense that lost this game. And I can’t blame just one player, either.
Let me begin by giving Quandre Diggs credit for picking off Derek Carr not only once, but twice. I think we may have all been lulled into thinking this game was going to be a piece of cake when Diggs picked off Carr on the very first play. Or even worse, maybe the Seahawks defenders thought so, too.
That just about ended the Seahawks defensive efforts for the night. Okay, that isn’t quite true, but it’s close enough. Jordyn Brooks had 16 tackles, and Cody Barton had a dozen, plus tipped another Raiders pass to give Diggs his second INT. Poona Ford recorded the only sack of the day for the Hawks, half of their four QB hits, and one of the measly three tackles for a loss.
But there was virtually no defense against the run. As Matt Calkins wrote in the Seattle Times, “…the “L” Seattle suffered Sunday stemmed primarily from a “D” that was feeble at best and nonexistent at worst.” The Raiders Josh Jacobs is a very good player, yes. He’d already posted four 100-yard performances coming into Sunday’s contest and was averaging 5.1 yards per carry. But he isn’t Marshawn Lynch or Shaun Alexander.
At 6-5, the Seahawks are suddenly one of the teams sitting just outside of the playoff picture. Perhaps I was a bit too optimistic when I wrote how the Hawks had a clear path to the division title. The Raiders were supposed to be one of their easy wins. As we saw, there is no such thing as an easy win for this team. And until the defense gets right, there might not be many more wins, period.