The Seahawks have a whole lot of work to do if they’re going to beat a team as good as the Lions are on Sunday. Yesterday Seattle was upset at home by the Rams in a bad way. Meanwhile, Detroit managed to upset the reigning champion Chiefs on Thursday – giving them an extra three days of rest to go with homefield advantage. It’s no wonder that the Lions have opened as 5.5 point favorites for that Week 2 matchup.
We’ll have some actual all-22 analysis content coming later this week, but for now let’s see if we can piece together how Sunday’s collapse happened using only the game clips we could find on social media.
Buy Seahawks TicketsHere are eight distinct moments that helped win the day for LA.
1
Tyler Lockett mauled in the end zone, no flag
This play from the first quarter was the first big missed opportunity for the Seahawks yesterday, although we disagree with the idea that this was an end zone drop by Tyler Lockett.
Geno Smith finds Tyler Lockett on the scramble in the end zone but bounces off Lockett’s hands pic.twitter.com/kSG0UwAfso
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 11, 2023
Upon closer inspection, it’s obvious that Lockett is grabbed and mauled by the Rams DB well before the ball arrives. No flag was thrown, even though a far less egregious pass interference penalty was called with Lockett involved earlier in the drive.
Lockett finished the game with just two catches for 10 yards, an extremely rare off-game for No. 16. He also had to be evaluated for a concussion at one point. Fortunately, In his radio appearance on KJR earlier today, head coach Pete Carroll said Lockett has cleared the protocol.
2
Aaron Donald literally puts the Fear of God into Geno Smith
Offensively there was a whole lot going wrong, from Shane Waldron’s uninspired playcalling to the ordinary chaos that Aaron Donald brings to the trenches every time he faces this team.
In this viral clip Geno Smith literally shouts “OH MY GOD” as Donald is bearing down on him.
Geno Smith yelling "OH MY GOD" as Aaron Donald sprints at him (r @Brook_Weber) pic.twitter.com/Azk1XN9FTn
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 10, 2023
Smith was only sacked twice but the Rams got to him for seven QB hits and he was under consistent pressure in the entire second half.
3
More Aaron Donald destruction
You can bet the Seahawks and their fans will be overjoyed when Aaron Donald finally decides to retire. Here’s some more clips of Donald doing his Undertaker thing against Seattle this week.
Some of Donald being Donald from Week 1 pic.twitter.com/xa2SZwiY0S
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 11, 2023
Donald managed half a sack, bringing his career total to 103.5.
4
Matt Stafford over the middle, over and over again
The Pro Football Focus grades for Seattle’s secondary for this game are pretty brutal. While none of them balled out, you can’t put much blame on them when they weren’t put in position to succeed by the coaching staff.
In this clip, you’ll see Matt Stafford complete passes on crossing routes to the middle of the field over and over and over again, with no adjustments from defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt.
stafford was feeling it in the second half yesterday.
and just in general, the rams clearly thought throwing to the middle of the field was going to be fruitful for them because they ran digs the entire damn game. pic.twitter.com/RuQ4TRRqwC
— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) September 11, 2023
Then again, for those counting at home, this is now the sixth consecutive season that the Seahawks defense has gotten off to a slow start.
Defensive coordinators have come and gone, but the common denominator has been the presence of their boss. While the defense usually gets into shape in time to make a postseason run, At some point Carroll has to catch flak for these slow defensive starts every year.
5
LA pass protection blanks Seattle pass rush
One big reason why Stafford was able to post such a strong game was his pass protection holding up. In particular, making his rookie debut left guard Steve Avila did fine work keeping Stafford clean.
More often than not, the Rams offensive line as a whole gave Stafford all the room and the time in the world that he needed to operate.
Rookie LG Steve Avila (OG1) was a legit difference-maker in Week 1 with his ability to anchor, set a firm pocket, recover and generate movement in the run game. Really nice debut. pic.twitter.com/WMrjnoTnEM
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 11, 2023
While they got some pressures here and there, the Seahawks couldn’t close the deal and finished the game with zero sacks and just two quarterback hits.
6
The Matt Stafford is officially back throw
If the pass rush had occasionally actually gotten home to Stafford things might have been different. However, as we learned the hard way during the Russell Wilson years, sacks are largely a quarterback stat – and Stafford did an exceptional job of getting the ball out quickly and accurately.
Sometimes there’s just not much a defense can do when a QB on Stafford’s level can make throws on third and long like this one.
Stafford with a beautiful throw on 3rd & 8 pic.twitter.com/5WdUmOAAn6
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 11, 2023
All you can do there is tip your hat and accept that Stafford is still very dangerous when he’s healthy.
7
Charles Cross carted off with Abe Lucas already sidelined
There’s never a good time to lose both of your starting offensive tackles to injury – especially not in the middle of the third quarter of a home game against a division rival. That’s just what happened to the Seahawks, though.
Here’s left tackle Charles Cross getting carted off the field just one series after right tackle Abe Lucas was sidelined by knee soreness that was bothering him off and on during training camp.
#Seahawks starting LT Charles Cross leaves field on the back of a cart with an injury, apparently to his right foot.
RT Abe Lucas already out that last drive with a knee injury @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/ADhVKQXIc1
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 10, 2023
With these two out of the game, the last line of defense was gone and the Rams D went to town on the Seahawks backfield, cutting right through Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan like butter. Seattle scored no points in the entire second half and finished with a total of 12 yards after the break.
In his radio hit, Carroll said the team “has some work to do” to get both Cross and Lucas back in time to play Detroit.
8
When DK Metcalf lost his temper
It’s never fun to see your favorite pro athlete act like a jackass on national TV, but it happens from time to time – especially for Seahawks fans.
This clip from the fourth quarter is when we knew the Seahawks were officially broken mentally. Here’s DK Metcalf going full bully mode on Ahkello Witherspoon, formerly a teammate of his.
What do you think DK Metcalf’s punishment should be for this?pic.twitter.com/rNhhOtFw8k
— Dylan Powell (@PowellAnalytics) September 11, 2023
Metcalf claims to have had his reasons, but we all know this is unacceptable – especially now that he’s in his fifth year in the NFL. At this point the penalty problems are just an unfortunate fact of Metcalf’s game that fans have to take along with all the good he does.
9
More Seahawks Wire stories
Power Rankings going into Week 2
Fans vent after 2nd-half collapse
