4 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks wicked loss to Cowboys in Week 13

Loser No. 1 - Defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt

Just ew. Clint Hurtt is a well-liked defensive coach in the NFL, but we should begin to question whether he was ready to be a defensive coordinator instead of a position coach. He doesn't appear to make drive-by-drive adjustments and his defense was simply helpless against the Cowboys for most of the game. Dallas was 8 for 14 on third down attempts, kept the ball for two-thirds of the game, and had 411 total yards. The Cowboys had eight trips inside Seattle's red zone.

Good coordinators can get their groups to improve from year one to year two, but Seattle is simply no better than they were in 2022. The Seahawks allow almost a point more this year than last even though the team started off playing the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and Cleveland Browns within the first seven games of the year and each of those teams were starting backup quarterbacks.

Six times this year, Seattle has allowed 26 points or more in a game. Compare that to the San Francisco 49ers who have allowed teams to score more than 23 points just once. The 49ers have held opponents to 16 points or fewer seven times. Seattle has done that twice.

And sure, the 49ers have more talent overall than Seattle, but the Seahawks are certainly not devoid of defensive talent. The main difference is scheme and game-planning. The 49ers have that at a high level and the Seahawks do not. In the next two weeks, Seattle faces San Francisco and the Philadelphia Eagles so lots of points will likely be scored on Seattle twice again.