Laviska Shenault's viral moment epitomizes the current Seahawks defense

Laviska Shenault, Jr. had a game much like the rest of the Seattle Seahawks defense on Thursday versus the San Francisco 49ers. He had a moment of brilliance and more moments of awfulness. He fumbled a kickoff and made a couple of bad decisions to even return the ball, and he also scored on a 97-yard kickoff return. He also had another time he would probably like to forget.

Later in the third quarter after he had scored his touchdown, Shenault was seen vomiting on the sidelines. It was an odd shot for TV because, normally, broadcasts do not show a player getting sick. Even announcer Al Michaels seemed confused for a second that the broadcast had a view of Shenault. Michaels handled it in stride, though, but that is more than one can say about the Seahawks' defense currently.

The team was without rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, but that is no excuse for the way the Seahawks defense has performed over the last three games. The picture of Shenault throwing up typified the way many Seahawks fans likely feel about Seattle's defense currently. In other words, it's sickening.

Laviska Shenault accidentally expresses how many 12s feel about the Seahawks defense (again)

What makes matters worse is that 12s can no longer blame Pete Carroll for the defensive woes because this offseason, the team hired Mike Macdonald to replace Carroll, and Macdonald was supposed to fix most things. He hasn't. At least, certainly not against good teams (and the New York Giants).

On Thursday versus the 49ers, Seattle allowed 483 total yards, including 228 rushing yards. San Francisco averaged 6.9 yards a rush. Two plays went for 76 yards. San Francisco averaged a ridiculous 7.9 yards per play.

In the last three weeks, Seattle has given up an average of 473 total yards per game and nearly seven yards per play. That isn't just bad for a Macdonald defense; that is terrible for any defense. Seattle cannot stop the run, doesn't tackle very well, and allows too many easy completions. Sound familiar? Those are the same complaints 12s had about Carroll's defense.

The question is whether Mike Macdonald knows how to fix things before the season really goes awry. Seattle next faces an Atlanta Falcons offense that is versatile and well-run, and then Seattle plays Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Seattle could be looking at 3-5 and last place in the NFC West. And to think the team began 3-0 and led the division by two games.