THE BAD
First-half offense: After 30 minutes of football, the Seahawks’ offensive leaders stood as follows:
- Russell Wilson (84 passing yards)
- Chris Carson (39 rushing yards)
- D.K. Metcalf (40 receiving yards)
Sunday’s outing was unusual for this season in that the Seahawks generally struggles down the stretch, rather than distancing themselves late in the game as they did against the Rams. From an immediate near-interception from Russell Wilson to the offensive line allowing three first-half sacks, the production that Seahawks fans are used to just wasn’t there against the Rams’ imposing defensive front.
THE UGLY
Two missed fumble recoveries: Seattle had two chances on two subsequent drives to add to its turnover margin and put the game further out of reach in the third quarter. A tremendous goal-line stand by the Seahawks defense on third down caused Jared Goff to fumble straight into the pile of players, but Goff was able to recover despite multiple people screaming that the ball was out. The next sequence, which followed a failed Pete Carroll challenge, perfectly exemplified the contest (the Rams turned the ball over on downs at the 1-yard line, Seattle posted a quick three-and-out that was only exacerbated by a Linden Stephens false start and had to punt), but opportunity struck once again when Cody Barton caused a fumble on the return by Los Angeles’ Nsimba Webster. Video replay showed several Seahawks surrounding the loose football – some even getting a hand on it – yet somehow, the Rams recovered once again, putting them at midfield with only a seven-point deficit. The latter of the fumbles was by far the uglier of the two, undoubtedly stinging more due to the lost challenge just a few plays earlier. The Seahawks will need to figure out what went wrong – and how they can hone the needed skills to fix the issue – before the playoffs begin in just two weeks.
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