For Pete’s sake: These Seahawks had cold feet in Week 16

The Seahawks got a cold reception from the Chiefs. Seattle lost their third straight game Saturday. Several of Seattle’s best could have done better.

The Seahawks continued their long, slow spiral out of the playoff picture with a 24-10 loss to the Chiefs on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t much of a Christmas present, that’s for sure. It isn’t much of a surprise that our guys lost – although a few of us at 12thManRising did predict the Hawks would get the upset. It’s been a crazy year, right? I mean, the Texans finally won their second game, so anything could happen. But it was not to be.

However, I doubt anyone expected the game to play out the way it did. The Hawks’ defense finally showed up, holding the Chiefs to just 287 yards. The run defense was stout, too, as they only allowed 77 yards on 22 carries.

But for the second week in a row, Seattle’s offense couldn’t get on track until the game was out of reach. Losing Tyler Lockett will do that to an offense, for sure. But so will converting only two of fourteen third-down opportunities. With Lockett in for almost the entire game against the Niners, Seattle only converted four of thirteen on third down, so it was hardly all due to the loss of Lockett. No, the problems went deeper than that.

Seahawks offensive line came through – well, half of it

It may seem odd to call out the offensive line in this one. After all, Seattle outgained Kansas City by nearly 40 yards and had the ball for ten minutes longer. Sadly, those stats mean nothing when the team only puts 10 points on the board. It’s even worse when you consider that the Hawks’ sole touchdown came with just over two minutes left in the game. As Lee Vowell wrote, the game wasn’t nearly as close as the score would lead you to believe.

The right side of the offensive line bears much of the responsibility for that. Tackle Charles Cross and guard Damien Lewis held up on the left side of Austin Blythe. To the right of center, the picture was pretty bleak. Tackle Abe Lucas had arguably his worst game of the season. When he was injured in the third quarter, Stone Forsythe stepped in. In this game at least, he showed why he’s the backup. Gabe Jackson and Phil Haynes rotated at guard, and neither lived up to their past performances. Their PFF grades, as reported by USA Today’s Seahawks Wire,  reflect that.