All losers (except for one winner) from Seahawks' Week 8 loss to the Bills

It was simply too difficult to narrow this Seahawks loss to the actual number of losers in this game. Perhaps I could have led with a passel of losers, or a hoard, or maybe a mob. Yeah, that fits because that's how the Hawks played. Like a completely undisciplined mob.

Undisciplined is the not-so-secret word of the day. The Seahawks played their worst game of 2024 so far. God help the 12s if they play another this poorly. Virtually every player had a hand in this ridiculous loss. It's one thing to be beaten by a better team. It's entirely another to defeat yourself at every turn.

I'm not saying the Bills weren't the better team coming into the game. They were, and they made that abundantly clear from the start. Geno Smith had two of his first three passes batted down. We all should have known then it was a sign of things to come. Overall, Smith wound up with a decent game, unlike many of his teammates. But even he wasn't immune from the Loser virus that ran through the Seahawks.

The Seattle Seahawks might as well have had "Losers" on their jerseys

It's just one game, yes. And I'm not calling the team losers because I think they'll bounce back from this in Week 9 versus the Rams. Okay, I hope they will because there's no evidence to support that desperate hope. There certainly wasn't in this game. Considering Los Angeles is coming off a 10-point win over Minnesota, I may simply be whistling past the graveyard. Okay, on to the parade of losers.

Loser: Geno Smith

As I wrote above, Smith had a much better game overall than almost anyone else on the team. He completed 21 of 29 passes despite being under serious pressure throughout the game. Gee, where have we heard that before, right? Smith had so many passes tipped, he must have felt like he was playing against the French Olympic volleyball team. The gold medal winners, ya know?

And even Smith, normally the one player who keeps his cool and settles his teammates down, lost it at one point. He was flagged for taunting in the second half for soft-tossing the ball at a Bills defender after being run out of bounds. It turned a 10-yard gain and third-and-10 into third-and-20. The Hawks had to punt one play later. It's worth noting Smith may have been a bit frustrated as his offensive line had committed penalties on the two previous plays. Instead of first and 10 at his own 39, Smith faced second and 20 from his own 10. Yeah, I'd be frustrated, too.

Loser: Connor Williams

I have to hand it to him, at least Williams is self-aware. He's right, there's no excuse for sailing the ball a full yard above a leaping Geno Smith's hands. Nor is there any excuse for getting pushed back so far on the snap that you trip your quarterback. Both plays destroyed the Seahawk's drives, turning 14 points into 3.

Loser: Ernest Jones IV

Jones came to the Seahawks to some serious acclaim. As Corbin Smith wrote for Sports Illustrated, Jones was indeed a game-changer. Unfortunately, he changed the game in favor of the Bills too often. Smith noted that the Hawks' new linebacker has been a stud against the run but not so great in coverage. "This year, he has allowed 151 yards on 12 receptions for nearly 13 yards a catch, but still hasn't yielded a touchdown in coverage."

Jones led the Hawks in tackles, doubling every other player with 15 combined. However, he was burned in coverage several times and was a key factor in allowing 164 rushing yards by the Bills. Losing his hat on that final score by James Cook summed up the game perfectly. He had all of three days of practice, so I'm sure we'll see a huge leap in his performance next week. But in this game, he was not good.

Loser: Derick Hall

Hall had a terrific game last week against the Falcons. As good as he was in that game, he was awful in this contest. It isn't so much that he didn't show up in the stat sheet as much. A game with three solo tackles, no assists, no quarterback hits, and no sacks isn't going to light up social media. Jarran Reed's coaching up of the second-year player certainly did.

Turning a Bills fourth down and a field goal try into a first down did get the 12s talking. On third and seven with 38 seconds left in the first half, the Seahawks forced Josh Allen to throw an incompletion. Buffalo would have to settle for a field goal try from the Seattle 24-yard line. Except that Hall streaked in and dropped Allen after the ball was away and hit him high, helmet to helmet. That gave the Bills first down at the Hawks 12. Two plays later, it was 14-3, Buffalo. That cannot happen. Sadly, it was just one of several Seattle miscues.

Loser: Mike Macdonald

Macdonald, like his center Williams, is cognizant of what's happening on the field. I'll give him that. He takes responsibility for every loss, as he should. And as you can see, he's aware that he's been saying this too often. Far too often.

The Seahawks completely lost their composure in this game. Yes, there were some bad plays, like the two awful miscues by Williams or the times no one was in coverage in the middle of the field. Far worse were the boneheaded mistakes. Take the penalty by Hall or the ridiculous tripping penalty by Jerrick Reed in punt coverage in the fourth quarter. That's a good way to snap your tibia, dude. Those were just one of the 11 penalties Seattle committed. For once, they were all legitimate calls, too.

Winner: Michael Dickson

I hate to end on a sour note, so here's the one member of the organization that came out looking good in Week 8. The sad thing is, he plays the one position that you'd be happy to see never get into the game at all. At least when Dickson comes in, you can feel pretty safe that good things will happen.

He held up his end of the bargain, at least. Dickson punted four times for an outstanding average of 61.3 yards. His longest punt covered 68 yards, and he dropped two inside the 20-yard line. He dropped one at the Buffalo eight, the other at the 12-yard line. His shortest punt was 57 yards with no return, Now, if only everyone else would start pulling their weight...

I'm sure some 12s would include cornerback Josh Jobe in the "winners" group. He did pick off Allen, after all. That was the first interception by the Bills QB in 301 attempts. I can see the reasoning there, but the fact he was burned on a couple of deep balls and was flagged twice (one declined) knocked him out for me.

It's impossible to tell at this point what we're going to get from the Seahawks. As great as they played in Week 7, they played just as poorly in Week 8. The areas they needed to address coming into this game - run defense and the offensive line - took major steps back. Worst of all was the discipline of the team. Maybe Jarran Reed needs to grab some more people and shake them up.

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