The Seattle Seahawks were not themselves in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Some general NFL fans might have seen that the Bucs defeated Seattle 38-35 and thought, "Baker Mayfield is so great." In Week 5, he was, but there was a catch.
Not to take anything away from Mayfield because he likely would have still put up solid numbers against whoever was playing for Seattle, but he probably wouldn't have gone 29 of 33 passing had the Seahawks not been missing Pro Bowlers Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love, as well as Riq Woolen in the second half.
The issue is that in Week 6 against an improved Jacksonville Jaguars team, Seattle is going to have a lot of the same problems it had against Tampa Bay. The Seahawks are getting veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence back from a quadricep injury, but won't have Derick Hall (oblique).
Seattle Seahawks will be missing several key players in Week 6 matchup versus Jacksonville Jaguars
The secondary likely won't have Witherspoon, Love, or Woolen, as all are listed as doubtful, which means that Nehemiah Pritchett might be forced to get a lot of reps, and he is atrocious. Not only does Pritchett not need to play, but he doesn't even need to be on the roster. The second-year pro has never proven he can be an NFL-caliber cornerback.
After a solid couple of games to start 2025, Derion Kendrick was not good in Week 5. He will also likely see a lot of reps, however. Against the Buccaneers. Kendrick allowed completions on all three of his targets and whiffed on one of his three tackle attempts. He'll need to be better in Week 6.
Of course, to help the Seahawks' weakened secondary, the pass rush has to be better against Jacksonville. Lawrence has had a great career, but he isn't capable of the kind of pass rush that Hall is currently. Seattle will need to replace Hall's production somewhere other than Lawrence.
The Jaguars will be missing a key part of their passing attack, though. Tight end Brenton Strange has a hip injury and has been placed on injured reserve. He will miss at least the next four games.
Jacksonville will probably be playing with as much confidence as they have in years, however. The Jaguars are off back-to-back victories against the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. There is no doubt they believe they can defeat a banged-up Seattle Seahawks squad.