bigrus

Week 10 Results Show How Far the Seattle Seahawks Need to Go to Compete in the NFC West

Harry November 11, 2024

The team suffered its fifth defeat in six games following a 26-20 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday. Seattle Seahawks They found themselves licking their wounds during their bye week, searching for answers to everything that was bothering them during a 4-5 start.

Instead of dwelling on Seattle’s self-inflicted mistakes, including a pair of red-zone interceptions thrown by Geno Smith in the last loss at Lumen Field, coach Mike Macdonald remained optimistic and glass-half-full heading into the bye Monday. It’s a mindset that has the belief that his team can turn things around quickly after a week-long reset.

“We need to clean those things up, but we have an opportunity here this week to fully attack this bye week,” Macdonald said. “Our players have a chance to really recover and take care of their bodies and their coaches, we’ve got some work to do to attack this thing and continue to really adjust what we do, how we coach. We’re trying to come up with a great plan for next week so we can get out there really quickly on Monday.” “We can quickly move towards the second half of the season, which is when we should start producing better results.”

Unfortunately, while time will tell whether Macdonald and his staff find the answers they’re looking for during a much-needed week off to help the Seahawks start coming out of the break, this weekend’s results from the rest of the NFC West did their job. Along with returning to league contention, the play-off hunt also looks even more daunting.

With the Seahawks sitting idle on Sunday, the top-seeded Cardinals stayed hot and looked like a formidable NFC contender at home on Sunday, defeating the hapless Jets with a 31-6 win. Quarterback Kyler Murray played nearly flawless football, completing 22 of 24 pass attempts for 266 yards and one touchdown; The running game contributed 147 yards on the ground, contributing to a balanced all-around offensive effort.

The improved Arizona defense also shut down Aaron Rodgers and company, holding New York to 207 net yards and under four yards per play. The Jets managed to advance into the red zone three times, but only converted those opportunities into a pair of field goals, while the Cardinals scored four field goals on five trips inside the opposing 20-yard line to capture their fourth straight victory and maintain their sole possession. is at the top of the league rankings.

On the other side of the country, although they had to run away with a win, the 49ers found a way to overcome three missed field goals early in the game and jump over .500 with a 23-20 victory over the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Cue the Cardinals and keep up with them. Christian McCaffrey, returning from an Achilles injury, rushed for only 39 yards, but caught six passes for 68 yards to pace the offense and rookie Ricky Pearsall scored his first NFL touchdown in the win.

San Francisco still hasn’t fully broken through either, due in part to a slew of injuries on both sides of the ball, but Brock Purdy and his team continue to find ways to win games. Even though they weren’t as dominant as in previous years, the defense held Baker Mayfield and Tampa Bay to five-third-down conversions on 14 attempts and 215 net yards; This proved to be good enough in a challenging away win. A full game ahead of Seattle.

Comparatively, the Seahawks are the only team in the NFC West that isn’t trending upwards midway through the season. While Macdonald’s squad has floundered since the beginning of October and completely squandered a 3-0 start, the Cardinals have won five of six games, the 49ers have won three of four and the Rams have a chance to extend their hitting streak to the next level. Four games into Monday Night Football when they host the 2-6 Dolphins.

To make matters worse, both teams improved to 3-3 against the rest of the NFC with Arizona and San Francisco beating their conference opponents on Sunday. Los Angeles would improve to 4-4 if it wins at Miami on Monday night, while Seattle has a dismal 1-4 mark against in-conference opponents. If Macdonald’s team can move up the standings in the second half, the tiebreakers are not working in their favor at all right now.

As Macdonald rightly points out, the Seahawks still have a lot of football to play; That includes two games against the league-leading Cardinals and a rematch with the 49ers next month. Winning two or all three of these games would do wonders in improving their standing not only in the league but also against other playoff hopefuls vying for the wild card, and morale within the organization could quickly change.

But at the same time, the next three weeks could completely derail Seattle’s season with at least two losses in that span, dropping them to seven losses on the season with only five games to play on the schedule. With Arizona, Los Angeles and San Francisco surging in the past month, Macdonald’s team’s margin for error has been minimal and if the ship is to be righted, it must surely start with a trip to Santa Clara next weekend and a voyage home. I have a date with Arizona next week.

Judging by how their opponents play this weekend, already tough league matchups will be even tougher for the Seahawks to prevail, and missing those opportunities will unofficially knock them out of playoff consideration before the calendar even turns to December. It’s the reality that Macdonald and his team will have to sell to the players when they return in the hope of bringing their best play in the second half to salvage what was once a promising season.

Rams’ Puka Nacua fined for punching Seahawks’ Tyrel Dodson

Seahawks LB Uchenna Nwosu Eligible to Return After Bye Week

Seahawks Midseason Report Card: How Did Devon Witherspoon and the CBs Perform?

Seahawks Midseason Report Card: How Did Geno Smith Perform?