4 Seattle Seahawks on the hot seat entering Week 15 versus the Eagles
- There is a coaching problem
- The backend of the defense is an issue
- QB1 needs to be QB1
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks desperately need a victory. The team could still make the postseason but with every passing game over the last month, playoff hopes have diminished. Seattle is on a four-game slide with no end in sight.
It's easy forget, though, that Seattle also was 7-8 late in 2022 before making the playoffs. As most of the league appears mediocre, the Seahawks could sneak into the postseason again. Currently, the NFC playoff picture has four teams that are 9-4 or better, but seven teams sitting 7-6 or 6-7 (seven teams total make the NFC playoffs).
But for Seattle to improve this year, several players need to be better. The coaching also needs to be better. Here are four Seahawks who should be on the hot seat entering Week 15 versus the Philadelphia Eagles.
Geno Smith - Seattle Seahawks QB
Whether Geno Smith plays or not in Week 15, he is on the hot seat. I say this not to be obvious but to point out that Smith might unfairly be compared to Russell Wilson in terms of playing every game. Smith did not play in Week 14 because Pete Carroll was afraid Smith might do more harm to himself as Smith would not be able to move around as well with an injured groin.
Smith was seen on the field before the game doing warmups and he seemed to be moving around fairly well, but of course going through drills and facing one of the NFL's better defensive lines are two different things. Smith would have to move more quickly and unpredictably going up against a pass rush. The issue is that Wilson never took a game off for almost a full decade until he literally could not straighten a finger on his throwing hand so he couldn't pass the ball.
The other problem for Smith is that his replacement, Drew Lock, basically played as well as Smith might have. The issue with the Seahawks was not the quarterback, but a terrible defense. Smith's cap hit goes up to $31 million in 2024 so he needs to play in Week 15 and play well, or has to hope Lock doesn't play as well as he did in Week 14.