Advertisement

Seahawks: 3 duds and 1 stud from 13-10 loss to Saints

For a third consecutive week, the Seattle Seahawks dropped another frustratingly winnable game in prime time. On Monday night, the Seahawks fell 13-10 to the visiting New Orleans Saints, culminating their second straight loss by exactly three points.

Seattle is now 2-5 on the year and firmly ensconced in the basement of the NFC West with the similarly 2-5 San Francisco 49ers. The gap between Seattle and the top two teams in the division – the 7-0 Cardinals and 6-1 Rams – is growing every week. At this point any reasonable hopes of catching either team have flown the coop.

The Seahawks find themselves in a position they have not been since 2011, the second year of the Pete Carroll regime. Only this time there are no promising young rookies developing, or starting a new era. This team feels as rudderless as it has been in quite some time.

No. 1 Dud - Geno Smith

When Geno Smith came in relief of Russell Wilson against the Rams, he provided a much-needed spark to the offense – just enough to give the 12th Man hope the Seahawks might be able to weather the loss of Wilson for a few weeks.

Despite me putting him as a Dud last week, it was due mostly to his game-losing fumble in overtime. Turnover aside, he actually played mostly well against the Steelers.

Monday night was when Smith turned back into a pumpkin and reminded everyone why his career with the Jets fizzled out. Smith completed 12-of-22 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown. Of the 167 yards, 84 came from one pass to DK Metcalf.

Smith’s true sins of the evening were the five sacks he took. Specifically back to back sacks on second and third down when the Seahawks had a chance to drive for a game-tying field goal.

He also took another brutal sack on third down which was followed by Jason Myers’ second missed field goal of the night.

No. 1 Studs - DK Metcalf

The lone bright spot for the Seahawks on Monday night was DK Metcalf’s aforementioned explosive 84-yard touchdown reception.

This came on the second play of the game’s second series, giving the Seahawks an early 7-0 lead. Metcalf completely bullied Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore on his way to paydirt.

Metcalf gave the Seahawks their only true spark of the night. Unfortunately, the only negative thing about it was it gave the 12th Man a false sense of hope Seattle might be able to build off such a momentum defining play. Of course, that isn’t Metcalf’s fault.

No. 2 Dud - Jason Myers

When kicker Jason Myers was in the midst of his franchise record-setting 37-straight successful field goal attempts, it always felt a little like a house of cards. Sure, he was making his field goals, but he was also missing more than a few extra points.

So far in 2021 said house of cards has officially collapsed. Myers is now 6-of-10 on the year for field goals, with two more coming against the Saints.

In a game decided by three points, it is inexcusable Myers helped leave six points on the field.

I understand the weather was difficult. I understand his second miss was mostly the result of Geno Smith taking a sack. I am certainly not saying it’s easy to make a 53-yard field goal in these conditions. But this problem Myers has is not in a one-game vacuum. The fingerprints of his missed kicks can be found in Seattle’s losses to Tennessee, Minnesota, Los Angeles and now New Orleans.

No. 3 Dud - Coaching

For a loss this miserable the entire coaching staff deserves a spot on this list, but for now we will focus on three individuals.

Much has been written about defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and with good reason. The Seahawks may have held the Saints to 13 points, but they were completely lost when it came to defending their best player – running back Alvin Kamara, who enjoyed 179 total yards of offense.

Speaking of offense, Shane Waldron might be as inept on the offensive side of the ball as Ken Norton Jr. is with defense. Waldron was brought in from the Rams to give the Seahawks a Sean McVay-esque flair but instead they look as uncreative as ever. Only this time with more screen passes resulting in instant loss of yardage.

Both Norton and Waldron’s units have looked almost entirely the same in every contest this year, and the responsibility for this falls squarely on the shoulders of head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks are losing every game practically the same way each time, and Carroll’s seemingly active refusal to make any significant adjustments is alarming to say the least.

For years there has been a vocal segment of the fanbase online that has been highly critical of Pete Carroll. So far in 2021, it’s hard to argue they don’t have more than a leg to stand on.

[listicle id=77287]

1

1