Studs and duds from the Seattle Seahawks Week 11 loss versus the Rams

The Seattle Seahawks choked their way to a loss versus the Rams for the second time this season. They almost certainly choked their way out of the postseason as well. But hey, at least some 12s got their wish and saw Drew Lock in action.

The Seattle Seahawks lost against the Los Angeles Rams for the second time this season. That alone is sickening. Los Angeles has only two wins against the rest of the league so far. Their first was an overtime win over Indianapolis, the latter an easy win over Arizona. The Rams have been outscored 191-143 in their eight contests against the rest of the NFL. Against the Hawks, they hold a 47-29 advantage. So yeah, it's pretty miserable when your team loses to what in reality is a 2-6 team.

The real issue here is the timing, of course. A loss is never good, but when it comes just before the Seahawks most difficult stretch of the year, it couldn't be worse. The Hawks will face the 49ers, the Cowboys, the Niners again, and close this murderer's row against the Eagles. Judging by what we saw of the duds in this contest, it's hard to see the Hawks getting even one win in that stretch.

The Seattle Seahawks had far too many duds against the Rams

The Seattle defense collapsed in the fourth quarter again. Last week they surrendered over 140 yards and two touchdowns against the Commanders. They nearly matched that collapse versus the Rams as they allowed scoring drives of 68 and 75 yards and 10 points in the fourth quarter. For the first three quarters, the defense was solid, especially in the secondary.

But this time the fourth-quarter collapse cost them dearly. The Seahawks ran out of time and had to settle for a 55-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide. Yes, Jason Myers missed his first kick after 15 straight conversions. For those who would cast Myers as a dud in this game, he'd already made kicks of 52 and 53 yards after starting with a 43-yard field goal. I'm merely pointing out that it wasn't Myers who failed in the fourth quarter.

The NFL's officiating crew didn't exactly have a stud outing either, as John Boyle pointed out in his dissection of the game. Seattle was flagged a ridiculous 12 times for 130 yards. The Rams picked up first downs on five of the Hawks penalties.  That's fully one-fourth of their 20 first downs in the game. Yes, the Seahawks played a sloppy game, but several of those calls were the type that the officials typically let go. They weren't all bad calls, although the pass interference call on Witherspoon in the end zone carries a remarkable stench. Still, this wasn't exactly the referees' shining hour, either. After all, they called nine penalties for 92 yards on the Rams.

The Hawks did have a few studs show up

There was no Geno magic this time, although he certainly got the Hawks in position to win. With 1:31 in the game, Geno Smith moved Seattle to the Los Angeles 27-yard line with seven seconds left. I won't count Smith as a stud, but he certainly didn't cost them the game, either. He was 22-34 for 233 yards and one touchdown. Not stellar numbers, but just as importantly, he only took two sacks and didn't turn the ball over. His QBR for the game was 63.7 while his passer rating was 94.4. Geno Smith did his job.

For those few misguided souls complaining that Jason Myers should have made that kick at the end of the game, well yes, he should have. Yes, he missed his first kick after 15 straight conversions. He's terrible, you're right. Myers had already made kicks of 52 and 53 yards after starting his day with a 43-yard field goal. Oops, my bad. He started his day with another extra-point conversion. Yeah, he hasn't missed one of those since week five of last season. The Rams didn't have a single kickoff return, as Myers forced a touchback on all five of his kicks. For the second week in a row, he accounted for more than half of the Seahawks points. Jason Myers was a heck of a lot closer to a stud in this game than a dud.

At this point of the season, it's no surprise that Devon Witherspoon showed up again among the studs of the Seahawks. The rookie did the usual things we see from rookie cornerbacks, tight? Let's see - he had eight tackles, one of those for a loss. Of course, he did. Broke up a pass. Check there. Oh yeah, I almost forgot - Spoon had one of Seattle's three quarterback hits and their only sack. Yep, it all checks out. For those in the national media, Devon Witherspoon is a phenomenal player. If he was playing in New York, they would never shut up about this guy. Spoon was THE stud for the Seahawks in this contest.

The Seahawks needed a better game from these guys

I'll start with the coaching staff. Against the Commanders, we saw what could only be characterized as curious clock management at the end of the first half. We saw it again against the Rams, but this time, there was no second half to make amends. After Smith hit DK Metcalf to get the ball to the Rams' 39-yard line, the Hawks were ready to snap the ball with 25 seconds on the clock. As Smith said after the game, the comm system went out. As one reporter pointed out in the post-game presser, it seemed curious that his headset only went out on that play, and no other. Maybe Geno should have made a better call. I say the coaching staff should have made it clear before the drive started what to do there.

The coaches also need to take some heat for the play selection when Smith was forced out of the game and Drew Lock came on in relief. No, they didn't have Kenneth Walker III, as he was on the sidelines after an oblique injury in the first quarter. But Zach Charbonnet was still picking up some tough yards. He finished the game with 47 yards on 15 carries. So of course, with backup quarterback Lock in the game, Seattle called six passes on their next eight plays. That seems to be a curious time to air it out. On Lock's first play, the Hawks ran on second and 10, and Charbonnet only got a yard. On third and nine, they threw the ball. I get that. But one more run after that? This was not the best coaching job ever, as Brock Huard pointed out.

Time for the real dud of the game. Just before the Commanders game, I pointed out that while Geno Smith wasn't having a good year, there was no reason to assume that Drew Lock would be any better. Despite Smith's excellent performance against Washington, the Geno haters were still clamoring for Lock to take over. "All he needs is a chance", they bellowed. Before the loss to Los Angeles, our own Lee Vowell clearly showed there was no evidence that Lock would be better than Smith. As we both pointed out, Lock's 63 yards passing to that point was almost entirely due to Noah Fant's great run after the catch. Just 11 of his 63 yards were in the air.

Well geniuses, all your dreams came true. Lock got his chance again. This time he wasn't just bad; he was abysmal. He seems to have found the road map with the keys to the Seahawks offense, alright. The problem is, he's a terrible driver. Once again, Lock connected on just two of six passes. Once again, he missed open receivers. Oh, my bad, he actually connected on three passes. Unfortunately, the last was with Rams defensive back Derion Kendrick, who nabbed a badly underthrown pass intended for Tyler Lockett.

Yes, I was happy that the Hawks signed Lock as their backup at the start of the season. That may have been a bit delusional on my part. Mea culpa. But at least I didn't cite eyesight and brains as evidence that Lock was better. I didn't say that all Drew Lock needed was a chance to prove he could win. Well, he had two drives of his own and did nothing with them.

And there are still people saying Lock should start in place of Smith. For you, Geno Smith 63.7 QBR, 94.4 passer rating. Drew Lock 1.5 QBR, 2.8 passer rating. Lock was so bad that Smith came back into the game despite his elbow injury. Drew Lock was an absolute dud in this game. If Geno ever has to come out again, they better put in Brett Rypien. Or put Dee Eskridge in, or bring Jake Curhan back and have him play under center. You got your wish, guys. Hope you enjoyed it.

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