Klint Kubiak had the Seattle Seahawks' offense humming for the first half of the NFL season. Sam Darnold was playing lights out, giving everyone confidence that he could do what he did last for the Minnesota Vikings all over again.
It wasn't just Darnold that was playing so well, but Seattle's offensive explosiveness had turned third-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba into an elite wideout, even positioning him on pace to break Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving record. The Seahawks' offense was torching defenses until it started to look much different when the NFL crossed over into the second half.
It's now been a handful of games where Seattle's offense has looked anything but their first half of the season selves, and that has and should draw some serious concerns as the postseason continues to approach, and positioning is still up in the air.
Seahawks' offense struggles again in first half against Colts, continuing a recent concerning trend
Jason Myers has come up incredibly clutch for the Seahawks this season, but he's especially come up clutch over the course of the last three weeks. Myers went six-for-six against the Indianapolis Colts and was the Seahawks' only source of points, which would eventually lead to an 18-16 win.
Myers has been so good this year, but the field goal kicker shouldn't be the sole reason for keeping teams in games, and in the second half of this season, Meyer's has done just that. In Week 13 against the Vikings, Myers was four-for-four, but two of those field goals came in the first half, and they were Seattle's only points in that half before eventually winning the game, 26-0.
The following week, Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Seahawks' offense struggled again in the first half, but Myers came through with two first-half field goals, their only points in that half, before they won 37-9. He went three-for-three in that win.
Against the Colts, it was Myers' first-half show again, kicking another two field goals in the first half, their only points before he would kick four more in the second half, to win the game. It is becoming more evident that the Seahawks are having problems starting games off the right way, and their offense is sputtering because of it.
Finishing drives have become all too common for Kubiak's offense of late, which begs the question: What is so different now compared to the first half of the season? This is not a good sign as the season draws to a close, and having these offensive issues now, especially if they continue on this trend, could prove to derail Seattle's Super Bowl aspirations.
They cannot afford to rely on Myers when they welcome the Los Angeles Rams to town in four days for Thursday Night Football. The Rams offense is a juggernaut, and Kubiak will have to ensure Darnold and the offense can match shot-for-shot with Matthew Stafford and LA's offense. Otherwise, Seattle’s hopes this season could take a significant hit; they may not come back from it.