A bad loss under Mike Macdonald was going to happen at some point; it happens to every coach and every team. That it happened against a New York Giants team missing its star rookie receiver and top running back is concerning. There’s no way to polish the turd that was the Seattle Seahawks’ 29-20 home loss, their first under Macdonald.
There are no winners for this week’s Winners and Losers because the performance did not merit winners. Instead, I will shoutout Jerome Baker for the forced fumble that made Rayshawn Jenkins’ touchdown possible, congratulate Jaxon Smith-Njigba for his first touchdown of the season, raise a glass to Tyler Lockett for 4 catches and 75 yards, and note that Derick Hall has five sacks on the season after Daniel Jones’ self-fumble was considered a Hall sack.
Losers
Mike Macdonald’s defense
Many of you took issue with me saying the Seahawks defense was “thoroughly humiliated” against the Detroit Lions because of the players missing. Well, many of them came back. How would you describe Sunday’s performance? A disemboweling? How about 420 yards of total offense (including 175 on the ground), 7/16 on 3rd down, and zero tackles for loss outside of the sacks?
23 offensive points allowed is kind to the defense. The pass rush was disappointing, the blitzing was ineffective, the secondary was torn apart and only had one pass defensed, the tackling was substandard, and the run defense woes continue. Some of the “stops” they got were the result of dropped Daniel Jones passes. And this is the worst offense they’ll likely play from now until the end of the season.
Almost nothing worked. It was a total shambles.
Ryan Grubb
Seven. Just seven carries combined for Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. If he doesn’t trust Seattle’s run blocking then that’s a big problem, but you can’t abandon the run at kickoff. At least against the Detroit Lions you could justify the process because they were trailing and the passing offense was effective, but this was not the same situation.
This is the first serious demerit for Seattle’s offensive coordinator. You can’t be instantly discouraged by a couple of negative run plays.
Jay Harbaugh
For reasons already stated. I guess the Seahawks covered kicks and punts better today but this special teams unit is just a mess, and the buck stops with him.
Offensive Line
Whoo boy. Some of those sacks were on Geno Smith/superior coverage downfield, but Smith took a beating. No one can hold their head up high after that terrible performance. Everyone had a hand in the bad blocking and pressures allowed, even Charles Cross.
Dealing with Messrs Burns, Thibodeaux, and Lawrence was never going to be easy, but when Laken Tomlinson is getting driven back by DJ Davidson? This is not sustainable. The Seahawks have the cheapest line in the NFL and it shows in the results. I could copy-and-paste that previous sentence from many other seasons.
That OL effort was as bad as most of the Tom Cable era.
Tre Brown
You can’t have All-Pros everywhere, so I won’t pretend Tre Brown has to be at that level when the Seahawks have two superior corners on the roster. That was easily one of the worst performances from a Seahawks corner this side of the Tre Flowers “era.” The fact that Brown shares the same first name is purely coincidental. Brown committed multiple holds and was beaten deep twice by Darius Slayton, including for a touchdown. He also was picked on when the Giants went to their slant plays.
It’s possible that the Seahawks corners have been “hidden” by the pass rush and are only now getting punished in coverage by better quarterbacks. Brown was the worst defensive player by a mile and that’s bad news for him in a contract year.
DK Metcalf
Two weeks in a row with a lost fumble in enemy territory. He’s effectively caused 10-14 point swings in back-to-back games. Metcalf is off to one of the best statistical starts to his career and simultaneously continues to have terrible issues with ball security and committing penalties. At least he avoided a penalty today, but the point remains that Metcalf cannot keep being a grab bag of outcomes ranging from hero to hindrance on a per-snap basis.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Can’t drop that 3rd down pass. Just can’t do it. It’s a little bit out in front of him but it almost has to be to avoid a potential interception. For someone lauded for his terrific hands in college he’s had some ugly drops in the pros, and this one was a killer.
Final Notes
- Definitely not one of Geno Smith’s better games, even though the statline looks nice (281 yards passing, 72 yards rushing). He was off on a couple of passes and a little indecisive on some of the sacks he took. Sliding short of the first down early in the fourth quarter was maddening and maybe his worst play of the night, but how many ruinous moments did he actually have? I am worried about the hits that are piling up, because unlike Russell Wilson, he doesn’t have a reputation for outrageous durability. If only there was something the Seahawks could do to alleviate the pressure on Geno… maybe, mix in some non-passing plays…
- Rayshawn Jenkins had that touchdown but also at least three missed tackles. This was my worry when he signed in free agency, and he was at the forefront of the sloppy tackling efforts.
- The injuries to Riq Woolen, Derick Hall, and Uchenna Nwosu mean that the depth will be tested some more. Not sure Nehemiah Pritchett is ready for serious snaps and I’d rather promote Artie Burns if need be. Hopefully Boye Mafe is ready to return and likewise Byron Murphy II. Ultimately, it seems like the Seahawks’ biggest roster flaw on defense is that they’re undersized.
- The touches we did see from Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet were primarily in the passing game, with Walker catching 7 passes for 57 yards and Charbonnet getting 3 catches for 19 yards.
- It’s clear that the Seahawks defense from Weeks 1-3 is the same false dawn we’ve seen from the past couple of seasons, in which Seattle beat up on poor opposition and then got wrecked in virtually every other game. You can talk up “new scheme, new roles” all you want, but you lose the line of scrimmage? You probably lose the game. Can’t maintain eye discipline on very basic play-action? You’re going to give up explosive passing plays. Can’t cover guys 1-on-1 on slants? You’re giving up easy first downs. That means the onus is on the offense to carry the Seahawks the rest of the way. Unfortunately, that doesn’t fill me with great confidence with the start of this offensive line. No sweat, because next up on the docket? The San Francisco 49ers. On a short week. I’m bracing for impact. This is the first real test for Mike Macdonald after having life on easy street over the first three weeks. They drastically underperformed expectations today, now let’s see if they can overperform against a superior team (their 2-3 record be damned).
