4 Seahawks to blame for inexcusable Week 5 meltdown versus Giants

Let's be real. Far too many Seattle Seahawks fans are saying head coach Mike Macdonald was a bad hire. He's five games into his career, and while he definitely has lots of stuff to work on, it's unfair to judge him off five games. Plus, Seattle is still 3-2 to begin the 2024 season.

There needs to be immediate fixes to Seattle's issues, though, because the team plays again on Thursday when they take on the San Francisco 49ers. Should Seattle lose, and the Arizona Cardinals win in Week 6, Seattle will fall to third in the NFC West. The team led the NFC West by two games just two games ago.

One Seahawk that is not on the list below is DK Metcalf. He could have been on it, though. For the second straight week, he had a costly fumble. He cannot do that anymore this year.

Four Seattle Seahawks to blame for Week 5 loss to the New York Giants

No. 1 - Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald

Ill-prepared and out-schemed. Those are terms that should never be used in description of a coaching staff after a game. There is little doubt, though, that for the second straight week. Mike Macdonald was out-performed by his offensive counterpart on the opposing team. Against the Detroit Lions, Macdonald had an excuse for so many players being injured. There are no excuses for Week 5.

A Giants team without star wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary seemed better than they had been this season against a Seahawks defense that is supposed to be good. Seattle allowed New York to dominate time of possession and gain over 400 total yards. The run defense was gashed. That's a player proble, sure, but Seattle's scheme was atrocious and in-game adjustments were nil.

No. 2 - Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown

Poor Tre Brown. Not only did he get completely exposed by the Giants, he then took to social media and partly blamed the fans for his performance in saying people had been waiting four years for him to have a bad game. That seems like a stretch and unfair to 12s. Few, if any, have been hoping for Brown to have a bad game.

Still, he did have a horrible game against New York. He was targeted six times and gave up five receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. Only eight of those yards were after the catch because he was so thoroughly beat on most of his coverages. He needs to be better in the future, though rookie Nehemiah Pritchett could steal his job sooner rather than later.

No. 3 - Seahawks right tackle Stone Forsythe

No to be too harsh on Forsythe because he is a third-string player forced into long-term starting duty. He wasn't bad earlier in the season, though in the last two games he has been bad. He gave up 12 pressures in Week 4 to the Lions, and he allowed a team-high five against the Giants. As bad as the offensive line was versus New York, Forsythe was the worst part of it.

He also had two penalties and was terrible at blocking against the run. The bad part is that Seattle is stuck with Forsythe for now. Abraham Lucas and George Fant do not seem close to returning from injuries.

No. 4 - Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins

Hankins was forced to play 41 snaps in part because rookie Byron Murphy II is out with an injury. Hankins offered almost nothing in his snaps, however. He made one tackle and whiffed on another. The fact that he only missed one and made one means he was nowhere close to a Giants runner on run plays, and New York ran for 175 yards. He was moved off the ball and allowed huge holes to be opened.

Hankins also had zero quarterback pressures. He is more of a rotational player who needs to get around 20 snaps a game. He proved to be a waste at 41.

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