Misery Loves Company: Week 1 edition

The Seahawks played poorly on Sunday, but they weren't alone: Seaside Joe 1654

Monday morning perspective…

It was easy to forget about anything else that happened on Sunday after the Seahawks took such a disappointing L at home, but Seattle wasn’t even the best team to get their butts kicked in Week 1.

There isn’t much positive to say about the Seahawks first game (Dave Wyman’s only “winner” was Jordyn Brooks) so instead let me us this opportunity to add perspective to the loss: At least Seattle’s not alone…

Don’t miss it: 7 reasons to be patient with the Seahawks after Week 1 loss, but also 8 reasons it’s okay to be impatient

Think about a moment in your past when a friend of yours was going through a difficult time and you had to talk reason into him or her to try and get them back to reality. On the advice-givers side, there’s always a sense of, “Buddy, you are overreacting.” But we can’t see that when we’re the ones going through a difficult time.

As a Seahawks fan, you might believe that losing 30-13 is indicative of how every game is going to go this season. Would you say the same to a Bengals fan? Or would you try to reason with them and say that it’s only one game?

I know, some teams that had bad days will have bad seasons. If you feel like the Seattle Seahawks will have a bad season, that’s perfectly within your rights. I would still advise taking stock in how bad Week 1 was for some of these other teams.

Browns 24, Bengals 3

Like Seahawks: “Good team” embarrassed by division foe

The Bengals had six first downs and it got so bad that Joe Burrow, the highest-paid player in the NFL, finished the game on the bench because Cincinnati had nothing to play for in the fourth quarter. Most of us expected the Browns to be a playoff contender and not as bad as their history would suggest, but they were so much better than the Bengals that the game wasn’t even interesting and both teams had to play in the same weather.

Repeat: Six first downs. Tee Higgins caught 0-of-8 targets.

Interesting set of home games on deck for the Bengals: Week 2 vs the Baltimore Ravens and Week 3 against the Rams on Monday night. As reasonable as you can be about the Bengals probably bouncing back from this loss, what would you think if they lost to L.A.?

Bucs 20, Vikings 17

Like Seahawks: 2022 NFC playoff team loses at home to expected terrible team

The Vikings knocked 15 people out of our survivor pool.

It’s not so much that people are surprised that Minnesota lost, more so that Baker Mayfield won. Former Seahawks coach Dave Canales is 1-0 as an offensive coordinator now and the Vikings have a lot of questions to answer as to why they’d lost at home to a team many were projecting with a top-five pick next year. Is the answer as simple as benching a quarterback who went 33-of-44 for 344 yards?

Maybe the Vikings didn’t play as poorly as the Seahawks, Bengals, and Giants did. But I would be just as disappointed by losing to the Bucs as I would be losing to the Rams.

49ers 30, Steelers 7

Like Seahawks: You got your asses kicked

The Steelers went -5 yards, 5 yards (INT), -3 yards, -10 yards, 4 yards on their first five drives of the game. Who could have guessed that a quarterback who threw seven touchdowns in 13 games last season might not be good? Personally, I would rather have Geno Smith than Kenny Pickett because even if Pickett is younger and cheaper, those are useless attributes if you shouldn’t be starting. And at least Seattle didn’t use a first round pick on Geno; if he pumpkinizes, the team just moves on next year and tries someone different.

It could be that Pickett is much better when not facing the 49ers, but there actually isn’t much to love about his track record because he still hasn’t had a great game in his career yet and you may recall he was kind of this throwaway pick by former GM Kevin Colbert. The narrative of the Pickett pick was that the retiring Colbert wanted to go out with a bang and select a local quarterback for Pittsburgh… Well, what a waste! There were some other good players left on the board!

If I was a Steelers fan, I’d be pretty upset about that pick on top of the offense looking terrible on Sunday. And the Seahawks could have actually picked Pickett—they selected Charles Cross ahead of him—so I’m grateful that they didn’t do that.

Pickett’s next game is against the Browns, the defense that just held Burrow to six first downs. How excited would you be, as a Seahawks fan, if you knew that at any moment the team could be turning to Mitchell Trubisky? Again!

Dolphins 36, Chargers 34

Like Seahawks: That’s what you call defense?

The Chargers gave up 536 yards and nine plays of 22+ yards. We know that the Dolphins have an impressive offense and one of the top-five playcallers in the NFL with Mike McDaniel, but that’s what L.A. head coach Brandon Staley was supposed to be on the defensive side of the ball. Staley was gifted one of the most talented defenses in the NFL in 2021 and he’s done NOTHING GOOD with it so far.

So the Chargers may have scored 34 points and had a chance to win—better than what the Seahawks can say—but their issues on the defensive side of the ball (like overpriced free agent cornerback J.C. Jackson) could keep them out of the playoffs and/or lead to a coach firing if there isn’t immediate improvement.

No, they’re not going to face the Dolphins every week. But it’s not like games like this or 2-4 starts or falling short of expectations is anything new to the L.A. Chargers. The only thing new to the L.A. Chargers is L.A..

Cowboys 40, Giants 0

Like Seahawks: No, even the Seahawks were a lot better than the Giants

Some have called this the worst performance by a team ever. I doubt that, but they aren’t in great company.

The Giants were in the playoffs last year and they won a playoff game. The Seahawks lost by 17 points to a team most of us have expected to be a really bad team—and in this case, the Cowboys aren’t a bad team—but at least we know that Seattle has really exciting players who we’re excited to see next week and for the rest of the season. Is there anything to be excited about if you’re a Giants fan?

No team has done a worse job in the recent past of scouting and adding receivers than the New York Giants have done. Their first round pick in 2021 was Kadarius Toney (traded), their second round pick in 2022 was Wan’Dale Robinson (injured), and their third round pick this year was Jalin Hyatt (no catches). Of all the teams that are freaking out and I wouldn’t call it “overreacting”, Giants fans aren’t overreacting.

This team looks that bad.

Don’t miss it: 7 reasons to be patient with the Seahawks after Week 1 loss, but also 8 reasons it’s okay to be impatient

Other notable losses

It’s fair to add that the Bears don’t look to be improved from a 3-14 season, losing to the Packers 38-20. The Broncos lost at home to the Raiders. Ryan Tannehill threw three interceptions as the Titans lost 16-15 to the Saints. The Panthers weren’t as inspiring as fans hoped, losing 24-10 to the Falcons. And even the Chiefs are 0-1, with doubts about Travis Kelce’s knee and Chris Jones’s nee-d for a new contract.

So is the Seahawks situation ideal? No. But can I deal?

We have to.

What were your takeaways from Week 1?

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