The Seattle Seahawks unfortunately won’t be playing for the NFC West division title against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18. Seattle was officially eliminated from postseason contention following the Washington Commanders’ overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. Unfortunately, failing to make the postseason opens the Seahawks up to a period of reflection.
The 9-7 Seahawks could conclude the campaign tied with the division-winning Rams in the win column with a victory on Sunday. Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, that captures how painfully close Mike Macdonald was to achieving his goals in his debut campaign. With that in mind, we’ve identified three defeats that especially hindered the Seahawks throughout 2024.
Week 9: 26-20, Rams
It goes without saying that Seattle’s 26-20 defeat to the Rams in Week 9 ended up proving costly. Had Macdonald’s club defeated Sean McVay in their first meeting, they’d be playing for the division title on Sunday. The Rams took a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter through a Geno Smith pick-six.
Smith recovered to locate Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a game-tying score. The Seahawks won the ensuing coin toss, but the drive stalled at LA’s 16-yard line. Instead of attempting a game-leading FG, Macdonald went for the jugular and Kenneth Walker III was stuffed on 4th-and-1. The Rams took over possession and quickly scored a touchdown via a 39-yard pass to DeMarcus Robinson.
Week 6: 36-24, 49ers
The Seahawks were dominated by the San Francisco 49ers in primetime, losing their sixth consecutive contest to their NFC West divisional foe at the time, 36-24. The Seahawks were outclassed by the 49ers in every department. Luckily, Smith and the offense recovered a few weeks later, putting their struggles behind them by beating their foe 20-17. Still, sweeping the series would have gone a long way.
Week 5: 29-20, Giants
Losing to the lowly New York Giants 29-20 in Week 5 was simply inexcusable. This represented the roughest patch of Seattle’s 2024 campaign, their second straight defeat in what’d prove to be a three-game losing streak and five defeats in six outings. The Giants dropped 10 consecutive contests following this victory, failing to taste triumph again until facing the Indianapolis Colts this past weekend.
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