Seahawks-Bucs endgame
What happened in Seahawks-Bucs?
The second half of Seahawks-Bucs felt like a playoff game and maybe that’s a rematch we will see in the future. Seattle learned a lot of important lessons on Sunday and sometimes truth hurts.
The Seahawks lost 38-35, falling to 3-2 on the season and 2-2 in the NFC. As I wrote on Saturday, this game has potentially huge implications for Seattle’s playoff hopes and unfortunately they are at an early disadvantage. Just as it felt like the Seahawks would survive a litany of injuries to their secondary with a win over Tampa Bay, one “bad bounce” was all it took for Seattle to lose a game in which they continuously shot themselves in the foot.
That is a theme of the Seahawks season that could be their downfall if Mike Macdonald can’t find a way for the team to player cleaner football for the rest of the way.
There were several incredible performances by Seattle players:
Sam Darnold went 28-of-34 with 341 yards and 4 touchdowns prior to a final throw that bounced off of a player’s helmet and into Lavonte David’s arms for the eventual game-winner
Kenneth Walker had 86 rushing yards and 8.6 yards per carry
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 8 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, setting a Seattle franchise record for most catches and yards through the team’s first 5 games of a season
A.J. Barner caught touchdowns 3 and 4 on the season
Dareke Young caught a 36-yard jumpball to save possession and had a 50-yard kickoff return
As bad as it was for the game to essentially end on a Darnold turnover and maybe the right move was to take the sack (although that could have also ended in a Bucs win), the upgrade at quarterback is undeniable. The Seahawks went 2-15 over the past two years when allowing at least 28 points and they were SO CLOSE to winning this one despite giving up 35.
The offensive line is so much better than it was last year. The offense is as good as any Seattle offense we’ve seen in the past 10 years.
Fans had been worried about the offense, not the defense, so for the Seahawks to play this good (running all over the NFL’s #2 run defense) and nearly win a shootout, that’s very encouraging. Unfortunately, the bad outweighed the good.
The bad…
-Jason Myers missed a pretty short field goal (at home) in a game that the Seahawks lost by a field goal.
-The Seahawks home woes continue.
-A single play by Jalen Milroe, which resulted in a lost fumble, may have cost the Seahawks the win. Just a single play!
-Seattle’s pass rush is nonexistent and if the edge rushers room was replaced overnight, would anyone even notice? Yes, Derick Hall left the game and DeMarcus Lawrence wasn’t active…so what? Did anyone notice those missing players? The Seahawks have a decades-long history of missing on edge rusher acquisitions and it appears that nothing has changed.
BONUS ARTICLE: The Seahawks SHOULD trade for Trey Hendrickson
-Yeah Ty Okada and Nehemiah Pritchett are not starter-level players and injuries really hurt Seattle today. In addition to missing Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen left with a concussion. That’s football and the Seahawks can’t expect to win playoff games if they can’t survive a few injuries.
-I wrote about Seattle’s missed tackles problem and then the broadcast highlighted a moment of Mike Macdonald yelling at defensive players for missing tackles. It’s a legit problem.
-7 penalties for 56 yards. First drive, Seahawks settled for a field goal try (missed) after a holding penalty. Second drive, Seahawks negated a huge gain because of a Jalen Sundell ineligible penalty. Third drive, fumble that directly led to points for the Bucs.
I think the Seahawks look like a team that could win playoff games this year. They’re a top-5 scoring team and the defense isn’t usually as bad as it was this week. Not even close to as bad. I don’t know how they’re going to fix some of their personnel weaknesses necessarily, but last year they traded for Ernest Jones IV.
However, they won’t make it far in the playoffs or even get there if they continue to play like their own worst enemy.
For five games we’ve seen the Seahawks play like the best team on the field five times. But they’re 3-2 because it’s not just how you play, it’s also how you act and how you react. Better decisions and ball security in clutch moments, fewer penalties, improved tackling, and cleaner special teams execution will lead to a great season for the Seattle Seahawks.
Nobody wants to be the “almost” Super Bowl team. What did you see on Sunday?
Seaside Joe 2407
Took my family to the opening day game and couldn't sleep that night afterwards. I'll sleep fine tonight...Darnold kicks ass and bounces don't always go your way, I can live with a helmet pick. Defense is beat up right now and Tampa is that team this year that's gonna get that lucky bounce, it is what it is, but our team is really good and headed in the right direction.
At this point why put the ball in a rookie qb's hands AT ALL when you have an absolute baller at QB. If you need a tush push type play, give it to Barner.
I was heartened by going for it on 4th and 2 at their 20 and scoring the TD late in the game. Didn't seem like we could stop Baker at that point so that was absolutely the right choice. Unfortunately a couple bad bounces for us in an absolutely thrilling game. Just hope they can also beat the Niners in Tampa next week.