SEATTLE — Now that the euphoria has calmed, and now that the focus on Sunday's triumph has shifted to this Sunday's test — Seahawks fans have to face reality.
Yes, Geno Smith dazzled in that 27-23 victory over the Rams — as did receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett — but the problems of the previous few weeks persisted.
Even against a depleted Los Angeles team that was missing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp and all-century defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Seattle needed a last-minute touchdown drive to squeak by. And though that might be excusable in isolation — this is the "Any Given Sunday" NFL, after all — the truth is the Seahawks haven't looked good in a month.
That isn't hyperbole. The last time a 12 could walk away from a game thinking their squad resembled a dominant football team was on the road vs. the Cardinals on Nov. 6, when Seattle (7-5) won 31-21. That punctuated the four-game winning streak that thrust the Seahawks to the top of the NFC West, and a surprising (shocking?) playoff berth seemed likely.
Then came a loss to the Buccaneers in Munich, where Tampa Bay (then 4-5) — the worst running team in the NFL this season and one of the worst ever — racked up 161 yards on the ground in a five-point win. Two weeks later, the Raiders (then 3-7) posted 283 rushing yards in a 40-34 victory at Lumen Field. And then came the Rams — now 3-9 — who managed 171 rushing yards on 33 carries before their defense surrendered a touchdown in the final minute.
So no, there hasn't been an impressive showing in quite some time. And perhaps that's fine with a good chunk of fans who expected nothing out of this season's Seahawks and don't see losses as bummers so much as they see wins as bonuses. But I imagine most 12s have been lured in emotionally by their team's early success and are desperately hoping they can squeeze into the playoffs, where the Seahawks would hold the seventh and final spot in the NFC if the season ended today.
Should they be optimistic? Well, they do have the fortune of a relatively favorable schedule for the rest of the season. Key word being "relatively."
Four of Seattle's next five games are at home, but their opponents have a combined record of 31-29 — including the 9-3 Chiefs, 8-4, 49ers and 7-5 Jets. That said, San Francisco just lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for at least the regular season due to a foot injury, and while he's no All-Pro it does change the dynamics of that matchup and the divisional race at large.
Also, we don't know how healthy the Seahawks running backs are — and these are running backs on a team averaging fewer than 65 rushing yards over their past three games.
Rookie Kenneth Walker III, whose shine has waned over the past month — has an ankle strain. No. 2 running back DeeJay Dallas has an ankle injury as well. Doesn't mean they'll be out Sunday vs. the Panthers, but it will probably put even more pressure on Smith and his receiving corps to produce.
More significantly, though, there doesn't seem to be an imminent solution to their run-defense woes. Safety Quandre Diggs, perhaps the most candid of the Seahawks, somberly said "I thought we fixed it" when asked about the defensive struggles after the Raiders loss two Sundays ago. They hadn't. And they still haven't. Smith's heroics Sunday distracted from that reality, but it hasn't altered it.
Speaking of Geno, he was convincing Sunday in saying that individual achievements mean nothing to him and that team success is everything. His mindset is focused solely on getting to the playoffs. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was asked about that prospect Monday.
"We have a shot at it. We have some of the elements that you need that we are fortunate to have — leadership, we've got quarterback play, we've got a style about us, we've got a kicking game," Carroll said. "We've got a lot of things that are really positive about this team, but it doesn't matter. It's a bunch of gibberish unless we win some games."
You'd think the 4-8 Panthers team that just released Baker Mayfield coming to Seattle on Sunday would be a welcome sight. Perhaps it is. But you'd have thought the same about the 3-7 Raiders two weeks ago, and we all know what happened then.
The Seahawks have been one of the NFL's premier feel-good stories because they've put together a season few expected. This past month, though? They've played exactly how most expected they would.
