Humans love risk. We gather in large crowds to watch daredevils attempts life-threatening stunts. We pay money to see if an escape artist can wriggle out of an elaborate and seemingly impossible trap. We hold our collective breaths as extreme athletes leap from cliffs with only nylon wings to control their fall. The Seahawks attempted such a risky proposition on Saturday. They were outmatched at almost every position against an arch rival that was at peak health and performance while barely making the playoffs themselves and being far from peak health. It was as if they were balancing a glass of acid on their heads while walking a tightrope tied between two tall Douglas fir trees in a wind storm with hungry cougars gathered below. We watched in amazement as they made it halfway across with nary a drop spilled. Then, the wind shifted suddenly, a drop of acid hit their head, they lost their balance, and it was over.
The Seahawks were down by one score with roughly 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and appeared to be facing a 3rd and 2 at the 49ers 7-yard line. A flag flew for ineligible man downfield. Instead of 3rd and 2, it was 2nd and 14. After an incomplete pass, Geno Smith fumbled and the rout was on.
Seahawks players and coaches and many fans are upset about that call. It is understandable. It easily could not have been called. At the same time, Damien Lewis clearly was moving downfield and it was at least borderline. It is hard for me to be up in arms about a borderline call. I thought the non-call on pass interference later in the game on a D.K. Metcalf go route was much more egregious.
In any event, it was a series that was symbolic of just how much of a mismatch this game was. Seattle went a whole half without a single penalty or turnover. They played nearly perfectly in many regards, and they were fortunate to be leading by a single point.
The degree of difficulty in playing a perfect game against a vastly superior opponent in the first playoff game for most of your team while on the road is about as high as it gets in football.
While many will see this game as the Seahawks getting crushed, as expected, I walk away with a much different point of view.
Seattle found themselves down 10-0 quickly in this game. The offense took the ball 78 yard for a touchdown on their next possession, and then took the lead with a 71-yard touchdown drive on a gorgeous 50-yard bomb to Metcalf. They were punched by a heavyweight. They punched right back, and had them in the corner.
I have already seen plenty of criticism of Geno Smith for having two turnovers. What I saw was a guy who played a sparkling first half and had the team once again in position to score a go-ahead touchdown before things unraveled. His interception was after the game was out of hand and he was taking more chances.
He faced this big moment and answered the call. There were a number of sizzling throws, third down conversions, and gutsy runs. He is a leader and a man I can cheer for and that I believe teammates will follow.
Yes, he absolutely needs to work on ball security. Guess what? He knows and acknowledged as much in his postgame comments. I believe he has earned the benefit of the doubt that he will see his flaws and work to improve them this offseason.
He was not alone in stepping up. The offensive line had been a train wreck for most of the second half of the season, and had been dominated by this Niners line twice. They played a mostly above average game in both pass protection and run blocking.
Kenneth Walker III was regularly getting positive yardage on his runs. Twelve of his fifteen carries went for 2 yards or more. Nine of those twelve went for 4 yards or more. The run game was pretty darn effective against the best run defense in football. In fact, they were only the second team to break 100 yards rushing against San Francisco in the last 11 games. Had the game remained within reach, that total almost certainly would have climbed higher.
Metcalf was terrific in this one. He made tough catches, and played with physicality without crossing the line and costing his team. His juggling catch on 3rd and 12 was arguably more impressive than the 50-yard touchdown. He has now come up big in multiple playoff performances, which bodes well for when this group actually has a chance to compete.
What you will not see is encouraging signs from players on the other side of the ball. The defense was pretty awful from the start. Rookies Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant were abused in this one. Woolen gave up a bunch of big plays on crossing routes. Bryant missed a bunch of tackles after having not missed a single tackle in nine games. The silver lining is you hope they learned a lot and can take that bitter taste into the offseason to work and improve.
Cody Barton, on the other hand, was once again terrible and needs to not be in this lineup ever again. A key success measure of this offseason is whether Barton is penciled in as a starter heading into camp. If he is, the improvement of this defense will be suspect.
Tanner Muse outplayed Barton. I would not get overly excited about Muse. This team needs to invest in young, athletic, playmaking linebackers. They need attackers, not defenders there.
The defensive line remains job number one. That group is old, bad, and weak. You could have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and not go anywhere with that defensive line. Seattle needs to not only prioritize that part of their team, but make multiple moves and have those moves work.
There are plenty of interesting edge defenders in this draft, but there are always fewer interesting interior linemen. There are a few free agents, but paying top dollar there will be tough and questionable.
Increasingly, I am looking for the Seahawks to trade back from both of their first round picks to add a first round pick next year from a team like Atlanta or Carolina that could be near the top of the draft next year, and add more 2nd or 3rd round picks this year. I am not convinced there is a big difference in the quality of players from 5 to 12 in this draft, and I’m even less convinced there is a difference between 20 and 30.
Seattle has the 5th and 20th pick as it stands, and could rise to the 19th if Tampa Bay wins their game. They also have the 37th and 52nd picks in the second round, and the 83rd pick in the 3rd round. I think it would be wise to try and get two more in the top 100 to have a total of seven in the first three rounds. The ammo to do that would come from trading back from that second first round pick, and possibly that first second rounder.
Ideally, we are talking about 2 of those picks going to DT, 1 to Edge, 1 to guard, 1 to center, 1 to WR, and 1 to safety or linebacker. There are only so many rookies you can add to your roster, but I see what appears to be a really strong crop of talent between 20 and 100 in this draft at these positions of real need for the Seahawks. Getting as many chances to hit in that portion of the draft is key.
As you can see, I would much rather talk about the draft than this defense. I will be happy to never see this defense again. For folks who throw their hands up and say we have been seeing this for years, I get it, and I will offer this consolation: I do believe this is Pete Carroll’s last chance to address this defense. If this team once again has a defense near the bottom of the NFL next season, the coach needs to be fired. No more chances.
This group reminds me so much of the 2009 Seahawks defense. It was littered with some guys past their prime like Lofa Tatupu and Marcus Trufant, and had almost no young talent. Some of the better young talent was pretty middling like David Hawthorne at middle linebacker and Darryl Tapp at defensive end. The only guy that became part of the great Seahawks defenses to come was Brandon Mebane.
This group has Woolen and Uchenna Nwosu as players you know you want to keep around. Bryant had flashes of promise and I’d bet on him. Tre Brown has real upside with an offseason to train and be at full health. Darrell Taylor started to show his potential, but I do wonder if he becomes the Darryl Tapp of this group that Schneider could trade for a big return.
As much as I love seeing Taylor develop as a pass rusher, he is a pretty big disaster against the run, which limits his value in this defense. It was Tapp who was traded for the unknown Chris Clemons and a 4th round pick. You might be able to get a second round pick for Taylor this year.
Seattle has to take big swings this offseason and turn over the roster significantly. The 49ers are going to be a monster for years to come now that they have a promising rookie quarterback making under $1M for the next four years and their core secured for much of that time.
The Seahawks could barely compete with them this year. They may be even tougher next year. Realistically, it might be two years before Seattle has the maturity and firepower to go toe-to-toe with them, and that is if the Seahawks nail their offseason additions over that time.
Despite the final score, this was a positive step for the development of that future Seahawks team. I am bullish on what we saw from Abe Lucas and Charles Cross and Kenneth Walker and D.K. Metcalf and Geno Smith. I see a terrific opportunity to close the gap this offseason with a great draft and wise free agent additions.
It was a wildly unexpected and vacillating season. Most of what came out of it was wonderfully positive. The lows were nauseating. Put a defense on the field that is not embarrassing and shameful, and we can start to aim higher than one half of good playoff football. For now, there may not have been a more fitting way to end this season.
Separately, as I wrap up my 16th season of covering the Seahawks through this blog and the podcast, I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for reading, listening, tweeting, and watching over the years. I started this blog as a way to find community to talk about my favorite team, and it has grown into so much more. We have seen different coaches, players, owners, beat writers, bloggers, and so much more over that time, but this community has been a constant. I am grateful for your support and hope you all have a terrific new year.