The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10 23-16, spreading doubt within the Seahawks’ fanbase. This marked the third loss in the last four games, two of which were to divisional rivals. After leading the NFC West division all year, three teams are now tied atop the standings at 7-3. Both the Rams and Arizona Cardinals have beaten the Seahawks already, so tiebreakers bump Seattle down to third place.
As we’ve seen countless times, the Seahawks pass defense is horrid. Ranking last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, Seattle gave up 302 more to Jared Goff and the Rams. Josh Reynolds was the main beneficiary, hauling in eight catches for 94 yards. However, Goff finished with zero touchdowns on the day. All three scores came on the ground, two from Malcolm Brown and the third from Darrell Henderson Jr. This was still somehow one of the best performances the Seahawks had put up defensively against Sean McVay’s Rams since 2017. Safety Jamal Adams managed two sacks in the game and Poona Ford had a third. The pass rush has improved substantially with the inclusion of Carlos Dunlap from the Bengals, but that doesn’t necessarily improve the terrible Seattle secondary.
This time, however, the offense didn’t even look good. Russell Wilson had his worst passing game of the year, going for 248 yards and two interceptions. In the second game without running backs Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde, Wilson led the rushing effort. He went eight rushes for 60 yards, despite fumbling the ball for a third turnover. Also notable was that Seattle moved away from DeeJay Dallas’ performance last week in favor of Alex Collins, who carried 11 times for 43 yards and the lone Seattle touchdown. The ball was actually spread out well, with Wilson hitting 10 different players with receptions. Tyler Lockett was the main target, receiving five for 66 yards. As The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar put it best, “Seattle doesn’t have any answers for McVay’s defense, either.”
Of course, it would be a disservice not to mention the special teams. Kicker Jason Myers drilled three field goals, from 37 and 39 yards, with the third from a whopping 61 yards. Punter Michael Dickson reminded everyone he’s still here by punting for an average of 50 yards per attempt, with no touchbacks and two being downed within the 20-yard line.
There’s nothing prophetic to hear from the players. They have to be better. They know it. This was an unacceptable performance that only continues to worsen fan projections of the team. With the surprising amount of winning teams in the NFL, Seattle’s 7-3 record is still not worthy of being ranked in the top 10 by some critics. This week, they host a rematch against the Arizona Cardinals after the Cardinals ruined Seattle’s undefeated streak just four weeks ago. A divisional sweep would be devastating, so there’s only hope that Seattle can bounce back with a win.
