Jimmy Garoppolo threw a ball in the dirt. The final game of the Seahawks 2024 season ended. Mike Macdonald’s club won 10 games, a record for a first year Seattle coach. The went 7-1 on the road. They tied for the division lead. They went 4-2 in the division. Geno Smith set multiple franchise records for passing and finished tied for the most touchdown passes in the NFC West. It took a fifth tiebreaker to keep the Seahawks from a division title and the playoffs. These are all factual statements. The ability of John Schneider and Macdonald to separate truth from fact will be the key to whether Seattle is once again self-soothing with empty achievements next season or taking another step forward.
It was fitting that this season ended with the Seahawks winning a mostly meaningless game. It makes for perfect practice in separating narrative from truth. Many will look at it and say Seattle barely beat the Rams backups. Some will celebrate a 10th win or winning one more than Pete Carroll a year ago. The truth is these types of games are very hard to play and are largely pointless to analyze.
Fans will talk about playing the Rams “B” team as proof the Seahawks were far worse than Los Angeles. The reality is that the Rams backups were far more excited to play this game than the Seahawks starters. That tends to show up the most on defense, where veterans are being asked to sacrifice their bodies in a game that does not matter. Ask Quandre Diggs about how brutal that experience can be, especially for a pending free agent. Nobody wants to spend the offseason rehabbing an injury. They want time on a beach, time with their families, time working on their craft.
Julian Love spoke about the challenge coaches had of keeping the energy level high this week when everyone knew the game did not matter. This is a sport predicated on emotion fusing with preparation and violence. It is pointless to try and argue this case with most fans or media members. The truth is it would not have said much more about this team if they had won by 20 like the Cardinals did against the 49ers.
This game told us nothing.
We had already learned the truth about this Seahawks squad before kickoff. They are immature offensively, both in scheme and in execution. Their offensive line is young and improving, but not nearly good enough. The quarterback is talented and is probably their best option the next 1-2 years, but needs to hurt his team less often. The defense is young, talented, and has potential to be among the elite. They are also lacking a consistent pass rush off the edge, do not create enough quick pressure or change the game with takeaways. Their offensive coordinator has a penchant for explosive plays and creativity, but struggles to marry the run with the pass, and has significant red zone limitations.
The head coach is a difference maker on defense. He can maximize player strengths, identify weak spots that must be addressed through personnel changes or ones that can be mitigated through scheme changes. He is a 3rd down savant. He also has not completely grown into the role of head coach from a leadership or motivation management perspective. He has not proven he has a clear offensive philosophy that he can entrust to another coach on his staff.
The general manager has taken a huge step forward in his approach to the draft by ceasing his tendency to reach for need in early rounds and made a key hire as head coach. He is respected and trusted across the league. He also has failed to finish building the most important part of the roster, offensive line and quarterback. There is a vision forming here that I will write more about soon, but this roster feels roughly 2 years away from opening their window, which is about the time they would need a young quarterback to take over. This young line could be quite good by then. Leaving it simply to projection and growth would be a major mistake, and one the general manager has shown he may make. Adding a high quality veteran guard via free agency or trade is a crucial next step. It is also a step Schneider has yet to take.
Cardinals fans will be telling themselves they blew out the Rams and the 49ers, that they have young talent and took a big leap by doubling their win total from a season prior. The truth is that they will never be a great team with Kyler Murray as their quarterback and leader. Many would say that about Smith, but Smith is someone who rises when the game is on the line. Murray shrinks, and he’s already small to begin with.
The 49ers will tell themselves they had a freaky injury season and are poised to return to greatness. The truth is they experienced injuries because they are aging, and Trent Williams will never be Trent Williams again. Christian McCaffrey may never be Christian McCaffrey again. Brock Purdy finally looked like the exposed player so many pundits claimed he would become.
Los Angeles is young and talented, but deeply flawed. They have drafted extremely well, and that is why they won this division. Matthew Stafford is also two years older than Smith and looks done. Their offense is not explosive. They need a younger QB, and they need that QB to be as good as Stafford to make it all work. Those types of players are hard to come by.
This division is wide open. Any of the teams can tell themselves a tale about how they will be the ones to step forward next year. Seattle was a mediocre team this year. They did not beat a good team all season. Yet, they also produced a top ten defense while facing the second-toughest schedule of offenses. For the first time in years, there are legitimate reasons to be optimistic about the future of this team. The path to contending is not straight or even clear, but they did take steps up the winding path this season. Schneider and Macdonald need to stare the truth in the face. Winning this offseason matters far more than anything that happened in this final game,
