For Pete's Sake: 5 critical observations from the Seattle Seahawks Week 11 loss

After having the opportunity to celebrate an exciting win over the Commanders last week, the Seahawks were brought back down to reality with a heartbreaking, last-second loss to a longtime rival, officially meaning the Rams swept Seattle in the 2023 season.

It was a game that had a lot of good, like Tyler Lockett breaking a new record and D.K. Metcalf coming in clutch when the offense needed him most, and a lot of bad, like a ridiculous amount of penalties and the absence of a pass rush, making the rest of the season a bit foggier, which isn't exactly the feeling you want at the end of Week 11.

It's a similar feeling after the loss to the Bengals earlier this season, a humbling that brought all the team's inefficiencies to light in a needed yet wished-to-be-ignored sort of way. That's unfortunately where the Seahawks find themselves now as they prepare for a challenging four-game stretch against the 49ers, Cowboys, and Eagles.

It would be best to believe the more optimistic route of how they can go about handling this latest loss since they are more than halfway through the season and know exactly what they need to be better at for next week. But the same issues continue to haunt them every week, making it seem less likely that the rightful improvements will be made to stand a real chance against some of the top teams in the league.

Kenneth Walker's game-ending injury significantly impacted the offense

It's never a great start to a game when one of your team's top-performing players on offense goes down with an injury on the first drive.

Unfortunately, that happened to the Seahawks on Sunday when Kenneth Walker III left the game with an oblique injury and never returned. He recorded just four carries for 18 yards before being ruled out, a significant hit to the offense's productivity in a tough divisional matchup.

Walker's absence put the entirety of the run game on the shoulders of rookie running back Zach Charonnet, which inevitably asked a lot of him to do on his own. He was able to contribute when called upon, totaling 15 carries for 47 yards plus six receptions for 22 yards, but it was clear early on that Walker's absence would make the chance to win a bit more complicated.

The running back has become a fixture within Geno Smith's offense since he was drafted last year. He rose to stardom with an impressive rookie season, racking up over 1,000 rushing yards and getting involved in the passing game as well. In a game that the Seahawks needed to win to increase their playoff chances and not be swept by the Rams, the void of Walker's production was felt for the entirety of the game.

After the game, Pete Carroll referred to his injury as "legit," which is a heartbreaking turn for the running back and the offense. Hopefully, it won't be too serious, and we will see Walker return to the field with teammates sooner rather than later.