Hawk Watch: Seahawks suffer another early playoff exit with ugly wild-card loss to Rams

Just like that, the Seahawks’ season is over.

A roller-coaster ride filled with so many ups and downs and dramatic twists and turns came to a crashing end as Seattle faceplanted into another early playoff exit.

In one of the ugliest and most disappointing postseason losses of the Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks suffered a 30-20 season-ending defeat to the Rams in a wild-card playoff rubber match between NFC West rivals Saturday afternoon at Lumen Field.

Just 13 days earlier, Seattle had clinched the NFC West title on the same field with a 20-9 victory over Los Angeles. But the Rams got the better of their division rival this time, returning the favor with a suffocating defensive performance of their own.

The Seahawks’ offensive struggles over the second half of the season continued Saturday against Los Angeles’ elite defense, which frustrated Russell Wilson & Co. all afternoon. The Rams also took advantage of two costly Seattle turnovers, including a pick-six on an attempted wide-receiver screen pass that put the Seahawks in a hole they never recovered from.

It marked yet another playoff disappointment for Seattle, which had aspirations of a deep postseason run after winning 12 games and earning the franchise’s first division title in four years. Since reaching back-to-back Super Bowls, the Seahawks have gone six consecutive seasons without advancing past the divisional round of the playoffs. And in three of the last four seasons, Seattle hasn’t even advanced past the wild-card round.

This was arguably the Seahawks’ most talented team of the past few years. And yet, the end result was painfully similar.

After Saturday’s debacle and another postseason failure, the questions regarding the direction of this franchise will undoubtedly linger for months. But before delving into the offseason and what’s next for the Seahawks, here’s a look back at some of the key storylines from their season-ending loss:

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE AGAINST RAMS’ SUFFOCATING DEFENSE

The steep decline from Russell Wilson and Seattle’s offense over the second half of the season continued with an abysmal performance Saturday.

The Seahawks finished with a season-low 278 total yards, which is bad enough in itself. Yet that doesn’t even fully reflect how poorly Seattle’s offense played, given that the final stats were inflated by an essentially meaningless touchdown drive in the closing minutes after the outcome was all but decided.

Here’s just how bad things were through the first 55 minutes, prior to the garbage-time touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter:

  • Seattle mustered just 213 total yards on its first 12 possessions, with 51 of those yards coming on Wilson’s second-quarter touchdown pass to DK Metcalf.
  • Factoring in Wilson’s pick-six, Seattle’s offense accounted for a net total of just six points on its first 12 possessions.
  • Seattle earned just eight first downs on its first 12 possessions.
  • Just five of Seattle’s first 12 drives spanned longer than 10 yards. Only one of those drives was longer than 27 yards.
  • Over Seattle’s first 12 possessions, Wilson completed just 8 of 20 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and a pick-six.

The Rams deserve a lot of credit for what happened Saturday. After all, they have arguably the best defense in the NFL.

The Rams finished the regular season ranked fourth in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA ratings. They allowed the fewest points per game and fewest yards per pass attempt in the league. And with Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd spearheading a fearsome pass rush, Los Angeles totaled the second-most sacks.

But even considering the quality of opponent, this was a truly horrific showing from the Seahawks’ offense.

The most glaring issue was Seattle’s pass protection. Donald, Floyd and the Rams’ defensive front completely manhandled the Seahawks’ offensive line and wreaked havoc on the game. Los Angeles sacked Wilson five times and generated quarterback pressures on an astounding 20 of 36 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF’s pass-block grading tells a particularly damning tale. Four of Seattle’s five offensive line positions received pass-block grades below 60, which signifies those linemen played below the level of an NFL backup. Right guard Damien Lewis (38.8) and center Ethan Pocic (33.3) had especially awful grades, as did Jordan Simmons (47.4) and Mike Iupati (14.3) while splitting time at left guard.

The Rams’ pass rush severely muddled things up for Wilson, leaving him little time or space to operate in the pocket. It hurried Wilson on a number of plays, including a deep third-quarter incompletion to Metcalf that might’ve been a touchdown if Wilson didn’t have to rush an off-balanced throw to avoid a sack. And the pass protection struggles resulted in several costly sacks and holding penalties that put Seattle’s offense behind schedule and into long-yardage situations.

Furthermore, the Rams did most of their damage using just a four-man rush. That allowed them to drop seven defenders into coverage, which left the Seahawks’ receivers severely outnumbered. Los Angeles already has the luxury of two top-tier cornerbacks in Jalen Ramsey and Darious Williams. So when a defense can pair two cornerbacks of that caliber with a significant numerical advantage in the secondary, it becomes awfully difficult for receivers to find openings.

Another major factor in Seattle’s struggles was the continued inability of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to adequately adjust to the way opposing defenses have been playing.

During their high-scoring barrage over the first half of the season, Wilson and the Seahawks feasted on single-high safety looks and excelled in the deep-passing game. Over the first eight games, Wilson was 18 of 39 for 700 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions on passes that were targeted 20-plus yards downfield, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Seattle averaged a league-high 34.3 points per game over that stretch.

But over the second half of the season, opponents such as the Rams and Giants took away the deep ball by playing the Seahawks with two high safeties for a significant portion of snaps. And after defenses began making that adjustment, Schottenheimer and his offense struggled to counter with adjustments of their own. Over the final eight games of the regular season, Wilson was just 8 of 28 for 248 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on passes that were targeted 20-plus yards downfield. Seattle averaged just 23.1 points per game over that stretch.

That dynamic was again on display Saturday. The Rams limited the Seahawks’ deep-passing game with a heavy amount of two-high safety looks, and Seattle simply didn’t have an answer.

Wilson didn’t play particularly well, either. Though the pick-six didn’t appear to be his fault, he threw a pair of passes in the third quarter that could’ve been intercepted as well. He finished with a 40.7 completion percentage, which is tied for the second-worst of his career. He missed several open reads and was indecisive for much of the afternoon, which caused him to hold onto the ball for too long on at least several occasions.

However, Wilson was far from the biggest problem Saturday. In fact, his 77.1 PFF offensive grade was the highest among any Seattle player on that side of the ball. Without his spectacular long touchdown pass to Metcalf, the final outcome would’ve been even worse. And as bad as his stat line was, the reality is that many of his struggles Saturday were directly related to poor pass protection and the lack of open targets.

Wilson’s uncharacteristic struggles over the second half of the season were an enormous part of the Seahawks’ offensive demise. But on Saturday, the blame lay primarily with the pass protection and play-calling. And the Rams deserve a heap of credit, too.

TURNOVERS, BOTCHED FOURTH DOWN DOOM SEATTLE

Even with their offensive ineptitude, the Seahawks might still have found a way to win if not for several costly miscues. 

The most damaging, of course, was the pick-six by Los Angeles cornerback Darious Williams on an attempted wide-receiver screen pass to DK Metcalf in the second quarter.

Williams began creeping toward the line of scrimmage prior to the snap, after Metcalf had motioned over to the left side of the field. And then, almost immediately after the ball was snapped, Williams recognized it was a wide-receiver screen. The standout cornerback quickly broke toward Metcalf, jumped the route, intercepted the pass and sprinted untouched down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown.

It’s hard to find a Seattle player to blame for the play. The chances of a wide-receiver screen getting intercepted are almost zero, so it’s difficult to fault Wilson. His job was simply to catch the snap and get the ball to Metcalf as quickly as possible. And though it was receiver Freddie Swain’s responsibility to block Williams, it’s hard to fault him either. Williams broke so early and quickly that Swain simply didn’t have time to get in front of him. Perhaps Metcalf could’ve stepped toward the ball and broken up the pass, but it would’ve been difficult considering where he was in relation to Williams and how quickly it all happened.

One could argue it was a poor play call, given that Metcalf had been visibly upset on the sideline earlier in the second quarter. Maybe the Rams were expecting Seattle to try to force-feed the ball to Metcalf, and perhaps the pre-snap motion gave it away.

But more than anything, it was simply a spectacular play by Williams. And ultimately, it was the play that put the Rams in control of the game. The pick-six gave Los Angeles a 13-3 lead, and the Seahawks found themselves playing catchup the rest of the way.

Another costly mistake was Seattle’s fourth-down fiasco in the fourth quarter. After running back Chris Carson was stopped for no gain on the previous play, the Seahawks were faced with a fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line. Trailing 23-13 with 9:32 remaining, Seattle decided to go for it.

An injury stoppage on the previous play gave the Seahawks more than two minutes in real time to figure out a play call. And yet, even with so much time, Seattle didn’t break the huddle until about five seconds were left on the play clock. That forced the Seahawks to rush to the line, which led to a false start by guard Jordan Simmons. With the penalty backing Seattle into a fourth-and-6, Pete Carroll decided to punt.

In his postgame press conference, Carroll seemed to suggest that a play-calling disagreement between him and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was the reason why the offense was so late in breaking the huddle. And in hindsight, with the Seahawks announcing Tuesday that they had parted ways with Schottenheimer over “philosophical differences,” that apparent fourth-down play-calling disagreement seems to be an example of the differing opinions between Carroll and his now-former offensive coordinator.

It was inexcusable for Seattle to not get off a play in that fourth-and-short situation. And to make matters worse, that gaffe was compounded by another costly mistake just a few plays later.

After the ensuing punt, the Seahawks’ defense forced a three-and-out that would’ve given the ball back to Wilson and the offense with about seven minutes to play. However, disaster struck on the ensuing punt return, as D.J. Reed fumbled and the Rams recovered the loose ball at the Seattle 36-yard line.

Reed had a massive special-teams play earlier in the game, when he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 58 yards to set up a field goal. But his fourth-quarter fumble ultimately proved to be the nail in the coffin for any hopes of a Seahawks comeback.

The Rams capitalized on the extra possession by scoring a touchdown just four plays later, which gave them a 17-point lead with less than five minutes to play. By the time Wilson and the offense finally got the ball back following the fourth-down blunder and fumbled punt return, the game was essentially over.

DEFENSE GIVES UP TWO BIG PLAYS, BUT WAS FAR FROM THE PROBLEM

The final score was severely misleading in terms of how Seattle’s defense performed. One of the Rams’ touchdowns came on an interception return. Another came after D.J. Reed’s punt-return fumble, which gave the Rams a short field and a second chance after the Seahawks’ defense had just forced a three-and-out.

Consequently, one could argue Seattle’s defense was really only responsible for giving up 16 points. It wasn’t the type of shutdown performance the Seahawks compiled two weeks prior, when they held the Rams to no touchdowns and just nine points. But the defense was certainly far from the problem for Seattle on Saturday.

That being said, the Seahawks gave up a pair of big completions on back-to-back Los Angeles scoring drives in the second quarter that resulted in a total of 10 points. Both plays came against star safety Jamal Adams, who was playing through injuries to both shoulders and two broken fingers.

The first long completion was a deep 44-yard pass to standout wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The ball was underthrown by Jared Goff, but Kupp adjusted and made a tough catch. Adams seemed to have a chance to break up the pass, but was unable to. It’s unclear whether his injuries played a role in that. The big gain led to a field goal that gave the Rams a 6-3 lead.

On the Rams’ next possession, Goff eluded pressure on a third-and-9 play and dumped off a short pass to running back Cam Akers in the right flat. Akers made Adams miss and then sprinted down the right sideline for another 44-yard gain. Akers then followed with a 20-yard run and a 5-yard touchdown run to extend the Rams’ lead to 20-10.

Aside from those two big completions, the Rams managed just 81 yards passing from their quarterback tandem of Goff and John Wolford. But in a game that was low-scoring most of the way, those two long gains were enough to make a significant impact.

The Rams’ offense did much of its work on the ground. Their running backs combined for 161 yards rushing on 37 carries, including 131 yards on 28 carries from Akers. It was one of the highest rushing totals the Seahawks allowed all season, but that was largely because of the high volume of attempts. Los Angeles running backs averaged 4.4 yards per carry, which is relatively average. It wasn’t an exceptional day for Seattle’s usually stingy run defense, but it was far from a bad one either.

The Seahawks’ defense could’ve played better. But overall, the unit played well enough for Seattle to win.

An abysmal offensive performance and several costly mistakes are why the Seahawks lost — and why they’re now looking at another long offseason of questions over how to break through this wall of early playoff exits and make their way back to the Super Bowl.

Hawk Watch: Seahawks rally past 49ers, turn attention to wild-card rematch vs. Rams

The Seahawks entered the final weekend of the regular season with an outside shot at the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye.

Seattle ended up taking care of its business, rallying for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 10-point deficit and earn a 26-23 comeback win over the 49ers on Sunday afternoon in Glendale, Arizona.

But the Seahawks didn’t get the help they needed from other teams. Green Bay and New Orleans both won their regular-season finales, meaning that the top three seeds in the NFC remained unchanged from the beginning of the day. Consequently, that rendered Seattle’s result Sunday meaningless in terms of playoff seeding.

It was a largely uninspiring way for the Seahawks to wrap up the regular season. Seattle struggled offensively for most of the afternoon and trailed 16-6 early in the fourth quarter to a 6-9 San Francisco team that was playing with numerous backups, including quarterback C.J. Beathard.

But the Seahawks’ offense came to life in the fourth quarter with back-to-back long touchdown drives, and Benson Mayowa followed with a strip-sack fumble that led to another late touchdown that ultimately sealed the game. The victory gave Seattle its first 12-win season since 2014 and its fifth season in franchise history with at least 12 wins.

The Seahawks enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed and will host a rematch against the No. 6 seed Rams in the wild-card round Saturday afternoon. It will be the third meeting this season between the NFC West rivals. Seattle lost the first matchup 23-16 on the road in Week 10, but returned the favor with a 20-9 home victory over the Rams two weeks ago to clinch the division title.

Here are some storylines and takeaways from the Seahawks’ regular-season finale, as they turn their attention to the postseason and embark on another attempt at a Super Bowl run:

ANOTHER SLOW START FOR THE OFFENSE

Seattle’s offense continued a concerning late-season trend and sleepwalked through a significant portion of Sunday’s game, managing just six points and no touchdowns through the first three quarters.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Seahawks had mustered just 109 total yards and an abysmal 2.9 yards per play. Five of Seattle’s first seven non-kneeldown drives spanned less than 10 yards, including four possessions that were three-and-outs. The passing game had been mostly ineffective, with Russell Wilson completing just 11 of 23 passes over the first three quarters for a pedestrian 101 yards and 4.4 yards per attempt. And the ground game was faring no better, with Seattle’s running backs totaling just 27 yards on 11 carries over that span.

Wilson and the offense deserve credit for roaring to life and finding their groove during the fourth-quarter comeback, when they mounted back-to-back touchdown drives of 75 and 85 yards to take the lead. But after so many strong starts earlier this season, the Seahawks have now sputtered their way through bad offensive first halves in three of their last five games.

Seattle’s offense scored just three points through the first three quarters against the Giants in Week 13. The Seahawks managed just six points in the first half against the Rams two weeks ago. And they mustered just six points through the first three quarters against the 49ers on Sunday. In those three games combined, Seattle scored only one touchdown outside of the fourth quarter.

Slow starts on offense have been a troubling trend throughout the Wilson and Pete Carroll era, especially in the postseason. Since the 2012 season, the Seahawks have averaged just 8.1 first-half points and totaled just 11 first-half touchdowns in postseason games over that span. They were held to three first-half points or less in six of those 15 postseason games, including four scoreless first halves.

The margin for error is slim in the postseason against elite competition, so Seattle can ill-afford to be stagnant on offense for long stretches. As great as Wilson has been at leading late-game comebacks over his career, that’s not a sustainable formula for reaching the Super Bowl, especially in this loaded NFC playoff field. 

LOCKETT’S REEMERGENCE WAS AN ENCOURAGING SIGN

One positive development for the Seahawks’ offense on Sunday was a strong performance by Tyler Lockett.

Lockett had been relatively quiet ever since exploding for a career night with 15 catches, 200 yards and three touchdowns in the Week 7 overtime loss to Arizona. Entering Sunday, he’d gone nine consecutive games without reaching 70 receiving yards. Over that stretch, he averaged just 46.9 receiving yards per game and had only one touchdown catch.

But on Sunday, Lockett was the focal point of Seattle’s passing attack. The shifty sixth-year receiver caught 12 passes on 14 targets for 90 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, with most of his work coming on a bevy of short throws and crossing routes. He finished with a season-high 47 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Reference.

Both of his touchdown receptions came in pivotal situations. The first occurred on a third-and-goal scramble drill, with Lockett finding open space in the end zone and hauling in a diving touchdown catch. And on the ensuing drive, with Seattle facing fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Lockett sprinted across the field on a shallow crossing route and caught the go-ahead touchdown just inside the left boundary of the end zone.

The lack of big performances from Lockett over the latter half of the season was a crucial missing aspect from the Seahawks’ passing game, especially given the lack of consistent production outside of their top two receivers. Aside from DK Metcalf and Lockett, Seattle’s other wide receivers have averaged just 16.1 yards per game over the last seven weeks.

If the Seahawks are to make a Super Bowl run, they likely will need big contributions from both Metcalf and Lockett. Lockett’s reemergence Sunday was an encouraging sign that he can rise to the occasion and be a factor in the playoffs.  

MIXED RESULTS FOR THE DEFENSE

It was an up-and-down showing from Seattle’s defense in the regular-season finale.

The Seahawks stymied San Francisco for most of the first half, holding the 49ers to just 24 yards combined on their first four possessions. During that stretch, San Francisco managed only one first down. It looked like Seattle’s much-improved defense was on its way to another shutdown performance.

But then, the 49ers’ offense suddenly sprung to life. San Francisco mounted scoring drives on each of its next four possessions, totaling 16 points and 221 yards over that stretch. Much of the damage came on the types of big plays the Seahawks had limited in recent weeks, after being gashed for so many long completions earlier this season.

The biggest play came on a third-and-long deep ball to wide receiver Richie James, who sped past cornerback Shaquill Griffin on a vertical route to haul in a 45-yard completion. It was part of a rough day for Griffin, whose 45.3 Pro Football Focus defensive grade was his second-worst of the season. After allowing just 45 receiving yards combined in the first four games following his Week 12 return from injury, Griffin has given up 54 yards and 64 yards over the last two games.

There also were several chunk-yardage completions from the 49ers that appeared to stem from blown assignments or miscommunication in Seattle’s secondary. The Seahawks had a lot of missed assignments and communication problems earlier this season, but had mostly cleaned up those issues over the last six weeks or so. It remains to be seen if the reemergence of those issues Sunday was a one-time blip, or a sign of things to come in the playoffs.

After the stretch of four consecutive San Francisco scoring drives, Seattle’s defense clamped down to force a punt and a turnover on the 49ers’ next two possessions. The Seahawks did surrender a last-minute touchdown, but that came as they were playing prevent defense while nursing a late 10-point lead.

It was another strong day for Seattle’s pass rush, which posted at least three sacks for the ninth time in the last 10 games. Defensive end Benson Mayowa led the way with two sacks, including a key strip-sack fumble in the fourth quarter that set up the Seahawks’ game-sealing touchdown. Defensive end Rasheem Green also had a key sack on third-and-goal in the third quarter that forced the 49ers to settle for a field goal.

Seattle totaled 37 sacks over its last 10 games, which is more than any other team in the NFL over that stretch. The Seahawks finished with the seventh-most sacks in the league at 46 — a remarkable feat considering the state of this once-lifeless pass rush earlier this season. Seattle will need its pass rush to continue to be a strong point in the postseason, especially in an NFC playoff field that features four other offenses ranked in the top 10 of Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA ratings.

INJURY QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME

Some of the biggest storylines heading into Saturday’s wild-card playoff matchup between the Seahawks and Rams involve injury situations. Here are updates on a few of the most notable ones:

  • The biggest question mark is the status of Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff, who the Rams listed as questionable on Thursday. Goff is coming off surgery after suffering a broken thumb on his throwing hand in the teams’ Week 16 clash in Seattle. If Goff can’t play, backup John Wolford is next in line. Wolford made his first career start Sunday in the Rams’ 18-7 win over Arizona. The 25-year-old former Wake Forest quarterback completed 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also showed some athleticism while running for a team-high 56 yards on six carries. The uncertainty over Goff’s status has forced Seattle to prepare for two quarterbacks with significantly different degrees of mobility.
  • Another question earlier in the week was the status of Seahawks star safety Jamal Adams, who injured his left shoulder in the fourth quarter Sunday against the 49ers. But on Wednesday, Adams told the media that he plans to play Saturday in his first career playoff game.
  • Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin (hamstring) and defensive tackle Jarran Reed (strained oblique) were both listed as questionable on Thursday, but head coach Pete Carroll reportedly said after Thursday’s practice that he expects both of them to play.
  • Right tackle Brandon Shell and left guard Mike Iupati are both expected to return for Saturday’s game. Shell missed five of the last six games because of an ankle injury and being designated as a close contact through the COVID-19 protocols. Iupati missed the last two games because of a stinger. With both Shell and Iupati on track to return, Saturday would mark just the sixth time this season and the second time since Week 4 that the Seahawks will have all five of their starting offensive linemen on the field together. That could be especially important against all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald and a dangerous Rams pass rush that finished the regular season with 53 sacks, the second-most in the NFL.

Hawk Watch: Defense proves it’s for real in NFC West-clinching win over Rams

Sunday’s pivotal NFC West showdown against the Rams was a measuring-stick game for the Seahawks’ surging defense.

Seattle had turned a corner defensively over the last five weeks or so, but that improvement had mostly coincided with a stretch of bad opposing offenses.

So even as the Seahawks rattled off a string of strong defensive performances, it was unclear just how much they had actually improved. Was it truly a dramatic midseason turnaround for this once-beleaguered unit, or was it mostly just a mirage?

Seattle answered that question in emphatic fashion Sunday.

The Seahawks shut down the Rams and kept one of the league’s better offenses out of the end zone during a 20-9 statement victory at Lumen Field that clinched the franchise’s first NFC West title since 2016.

The Rams entered the week ranked No. 7 in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA ratings. But in Sunday’s matchup, Seattle held one of the league’s best offenses well below its season average in several key statistics:

  • The Rams entered the day averaging 24.6 points per game and had scored at least 16 points in every contest. Seattle limited them to a season-low nine points.
  • The Rams entered the day averaging 5.7 yards per play. Seattle held them to just 4.5 yards per play, which was Los Angeles’ second-lowest mark of the season.
  • Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff entered the day averaging 7.3 yards per pass attempt. Seattle limited Goff to just 5.4 yards per attempt, which was his second-lowest mark of the season.

The Seahawks’ defensive performance was also particularly notable given the offensive success head coach Sean McVay and the Rams have had against them in recent years. The Rams had won five of the previous six meetings between the division rivals, while averaging 31.8 points per game and 6.5 yards per play over those six matchups.

This time, it was Pete Carroll’s defense that owned the day.

The Rams drove inside the Seattle 25-yard line just twice all afternoon. And both times, the Seahawks made key stops to keep Los Angeles out of the end zone.

The game’s biggest sequence occurred in the third quarter, when Seattle came up with a remarkable goal-line stand to preserve a 13-6 lead. Star safety Jamal Adams made the stand possible by saving a touchdown with a spectacular chasedown and diving tackle at the 2-yard line. The Seahawks then stuffed the league’s top-ranked DVOA rushing offense on four consecutive run plays, including a dramatic fourth-and-goal stop at the 1-yard line.

Los Angeles threatened again on its next possession with another drive into the red zone. But once again, Seattle’s defense held strong. Rookie defensive end Alton Robinson sacked Goff for a 7-yard loss to help stall the drive, and the Rams were forced to settle for a field goal. Los Angeles never crossed midfield again.

Sunday’s defensive showing would’ve seemed implausible earlier this season, when the Seahawks were regularly giving up 30-plus points and threatening to break NFL records for futility.

Through its first nine games, Seattle had allowed the fifth-most points per game (29.6) in the league and the fourth-most yards per play (6.13). The Seahawks were dead-last in both yards allowed per game (448.3) and passing yards allowed per game (353.3), both of which would’ve been NFL records over the entirety of a season.  

But since then, Seattle has undergone a massive defensive turnaround, beginning with its Week 11 rematch against Arizona. Over the last six weeks, the Seahawks have allowed the fewest points per game (13.7) in the league, the second-fewest yards per play (4.43), the third-fewest yards per game (287) and the third-fewest passing yards per game (189.7).

Yes, those stats were surely aided by the fact that four of Seattle’s last six opponents were the Eagles, Giants, Jets and Washington — each of whom are among the league’s bottom seven teams in offensive DVOA. But the Seahawks held all four of those teams below their season scoring average, which suggests Seattle was playing above-average defense over that stretch.

Furthermore, the recent rematches against the Cardinals and Rams provide a clear look at how the Seahawks’ defense has progressed. In both of those rematches, Seattle’s defense showed significant improvement from how it fared in the earlier matchups against those teams.

In the Week 11 rematch against Arizona, the Seahawks allowed 13 fewer points in regulation and 1.4 fewer yards per play than in the teams’ Week 7 overtime clash. And in Sunday’s shutdown performance against the Rams, the Seahawks allowed 14 fewer points and 1.1 fewer yards per play than in the teams’ Week 10 meeting. Those two examples are a pretty clear indication that Seattle’s defensive turnaround goes far beyond just an easier stretch of competition.

Rather, the defensive surge has stemmed from a confluence of several key factors. The acquisition of Pro Bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap helped ignite a once-lifeless pass rush that has exploded for 34 sacks over its last nine games, which is the most in the league over that stretch. D.J. Reed, who made his Seattle debut in Week 8 after being waived by San Francisco with an injury designation this offseason, has been a revelation at cornerback. Key players such as star safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Shaquill Griffin have returned from injury to bolster the secondary. And after frequent miscommunications and blown coverages earlier in the season, the defense appears to have cleaned up many of those mistakes.  

Of course, the degree of difficulty will ramp up considerably in the postseason. Over this recent six-game stretch, Kyler Murray was the only above-average quarterback Seattle faced. (As good as the Rams are offensively, Goff doesn’t fall into that above-average category.) For the Seahawks to make a Super Bowl run, they will have to navigate a loaded NFC playoff field that includes quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady.

But after all the struggles earlier this season, Seattle’s defense has shown that it’s no longer a liability. And if Sunday’s performance is any indication, this defense might even be something the Seahawks can lean on come January.

NUMEROUS PLAYERS SHINE ON DEFENSE

Seattle’s defensive success Sunday was a true all-around effort.

The pass rush continued its tear with three sacks — all in the fourth quarter — and 32 quarterback pressures from 12 different players, according to Pro Football Focus. It was part of a stellar afternoon up front for the Seahawks, who had five defensive linemen post Pro Football Focus defensive grades above 75.

K.J. Wright and rookie first-round pick Jordyn Brooks led the way at linebacker, with both playing integral roles in the third-quarter goal-line stand.

And the secondary was highlighted by star safety Jamal Adams, who made a pair of spectacular touchdown-saving tackles on the goal-line stand. Seattle limited the Rams to just three completions of 15-plus yards and none longer than 26 yards.

Seven different Seahawks received PFF defensive grades above 70. And 12 of the 17 players who logged defensive snaps for Seattle received a defensive grade above 60, including eight different starters.

Here’s a player-by-player look at the Seahawks’ biggest defensive standouts on Sunday:

  • Jarran Reed: The fifth-year defensive tackle had two fourth-quarter sacks and finished with one quarterback hit and three hurries. One of his biggest plays came early in the fourth quarter, when he provided the initial pressure that forced Jared Goff up in the pocket and led to a 7-yard sack from Alton Robinson that helped limit the Rams to a field goal. Reed posted a 75.9 PFF defensive grade and now has 6.5 sacks this season, the second-most on the team.
  • Poona Ford: The third-year undrafted defensive tackle continued his standout season by posting a PFF defensive grade of 79.3, his sixth grade above 75 this year. He made his presence felt by hitting Goff just as he was releasing the ball to force an incompletion in the first quarter. Ford’s 79.3 defensive grade this season ranks No. 9 among all defensive tackles who have played at least 400 snaps.
  • Benson Mayowa: Mayowa had six quarterback pressures on just 27 pass rushes, according to PFF. He also had a diving tackle for loss in the first quarter and earned an 81.5 defensive grade.
  • Alton Robinson: The rookie defensive end came up with his second big fourth-quarter sack in as many games, bringing down Goff for a 7-yard loss that stalled a drive and helped force the Rams to settle for a field goal. Robinson posted a 76.8 defensive grade and now has 4.0 sacks this season, despite limited snaps.
  • Jamal Adams: The superstar safety made a pair of spectacular touchdown-saving tackles during the third-quarter goal-line stand, showing again why the Seahawks gave up so much to acquire him this past offseason. The first came on a remarkable play where he blitzed off one edge, sped across to the other side of the field and chased down running back Darrell Henderson from behind for a shoestring tackle at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Adams then made another diving tackle at the 1-yard line to prevent a touchdown. He also had a pass breakup earlier in the game that he might have intercepted, if not for the multiple broken fingers he was playing with.
  • Jordyn Brooks: The rookie first-round pick had an impressive day, totaling eight tackles on just 28 snaps at linebacker. He played a major role in the goal-line stand, coming up with either a tackle or an assisted tackle on three of the four plays.
  • Bryan Mone: The second-year undrafted defensive tackle returned from injury and posted a team-high 82.1 defensive grade in 26 snaps. 
  • K.J. Wright: The veteran linebacker was another player who was instrumental in the goal-line stand. He helped stuff Goff on the third-and-goal quarterback sneak, and then helped clog up the lane on the ensuing fourth-and-goal stop at the 1-yard line. Wright also had two pass breakups.
  • Quandre Diggs: Less than a week after being named to his first Pro Bowl, the sixth-year safety came up with a diving interception on an inexplicably bad throw by Goff in the second quarter. Diggs now has five interceptions this season, which is the fourth-most in the NFL. He posted a 72.6 defensive grade Sunday.

WILSON, OFFENSE COME THROUGH IN SECOND HALF

After going scoreless for nearly the entire second half last week against Washington, the Seahawks’ offense continued to sputter through most of Sunday’s first half against the Rams.

Seattle managed just a pair of field goals on its six first-half possessions and entered halftime with a mere 116 total yards and just 3.5 yards per play. Russell Wilson had a pedestrian stat line at the break, having completed 10 of 19 passes for just 84 yards and 4.4 yards per attempt. He threw a pass early on that should’ve been intercepted, and he later missed a wide-open Jacob Hollister down the sideline for a potential touchdown.

But the Seahawks’ offense came to life after halftime, mounting a pair of touchdown drives against an elite Rams defense to pull away for the victory.

At the center of it all was Wilson and his playmaking ability.

On the opening possession of the third quarter, Wilson and David Moore sparked Seattle’s offense with a massive completion. Wilson rolled out on the third-and-8 play and appeared to have enough space to scramble for a first down, but instead chose to launch a running pass downfield toward the fourth-year receiver. The gamble paid off, as Moore came down with a leaping 45-yard catch near the sideline.

Two plays later, Wilson used a clever bit of improvisation to convert another third down. Wilson rolled right and put linebacker Troy Reeder in a tough position, forcing the defender to decide between covering him or running back Carlos Hyde. As soon as Reeder left Hyde to pursue Wilson, Seattle’s star quarterback coolly flipped a short pass to Hyde, who rumbled for an 18-yard gain. Wilson then used his dual-threat ability again on the next play, rolling left and scrambling inside the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown run that capped the 70-yard drive and gave the Seahawks a 13-6 lead.

Later on, with Seattle clinging to a 13-9 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Wilson keyed a game-sealing 80-yard touchdown drive. Wilson completed all five passes on the drive for 59 yards, including a 24-yard running pass to Tyler Lockett that put the Seahawks in field-goal range. But they didn’t just settle for three points. Later in the drive, Hollister got open on a third-down wheel route and Wilson floated a perfect 13-yard touchdown pass to the tight end for a division-clinching score. 

Wilson finished 10 of 13 for 141 yards in the second half and accounted for both touchdowns. He completed all eight pass attempts on the two second-half touchdown drives, including four critical third-down conversions.

To make a Super Bowl run, Seattle needs Wilson to perform at an elite level. For the better part of the last two months, he simply hasn’t done so. But what he did in the second half Sunday against a top-tier defense provides some encouragement that perhaps Wilson can regain his superstar form just in time for the postseason.

THE BATTLE FOR PLAYOFF POSITIONING

After clinching the NFC West title Sunday, the Seahawks are assured of no worse than the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff field. They still have an outside shot at the conference’s No. 1 seed and lone first-round bye, but would need some help in Week 17.

Green Bay (12-3) enters the final weekend of the regular season with the NFC’s best record, sitting one game ahead of both New Orleans (11-4) and Seattle (11-4). New Orleans holds the tiebreaker over Seattle based on a better win percentage in conference games.

The Seahawks face the 49ers (6-9) on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. The Packers face the Bears (8-7) on the road, and the Saints face the Panthers (5-10) on the road.

Here are the various playoff seeding scenarios for Seattle, depending on how the Week 17 results shake out:

  • If Seattle wins and both Green Bay and New Orleans lose, the Seahawks would earn the No. 1 seed and the NFC’s lone first-round bye.
  • If Seattle wins and either Green Bay or New Orleans loses, the Seahawks would be the No. 2 seed.
  • If Seattle, Green Bay and New Orleans each win, the Seahawks would be the No. 3 seed.
  • If the Seahawks lose, they would be the No. 3 seed no matter what.

According to Football Outsiders, the Seahawks have a 6.9% chance of claiming the No. 1 seed, a 27.9% chance at the No. 2 seed and a 65.2% chance of being the No. 3 seed.

Hawk Watch: Storylines and takeaways as Seahawks hold on to beat Washington

In typical Seahawks fashion, they sure didn’t make things easy on themselves.

But once again, Seattle came up with a last-minute defensive stand to escape with a nailbiting victory.

The Seahawks built a 17-point lead and then fended off a fourth-quarter comeback by the Washington Football Team, using back-to-back sacks in the closing moments to hold on for a 20-15 road win Sunday at FedEx Field.

Seattle seemed well on its way to a comfortable victory after running back Carlos Hyde broke a 50-yard touchdown run early in the second half to extend the Seahawks’ lead to 20-3. That felt like an insurmountable margin, given the struggles of Washington’s anemic offense and how Seattle’s defense was playing.

But just when the game appeared out of reach, the Seahawks’ offense went cold and Washington’s offense suddenly heated up. Backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins led Washington on back-to-back touchdown drives, cutting the deficit to 20-15 midway through the fourth quarter. And then after another three-and-out from the Seahawks, Washington got the ball back with a chance at a game-winning touchdown.

Haskins led Washington all the way to the Seattle 23-yard line, but L.J. Collier and Carlos Dunlap came up with back-to-back sacks to stall the drive and help the Seahawks survive yet another white-knuckle finish. It was the fourth time this season that Seattle won a game with a defensive stop in the final minute.

The victory clinched the Seahawks’ eighth playoff berth in the last nine seasons. And with the Rams’ stunning loss to the Jets later in the day, Seattle regained sole possession of first place atop the NFC West. The Seahawks can clinch the NFC West title for the first time since 2016 with a victory over the Rams in their showdown this coming Sunday in Seattle.

Here are some key storylines and takeaways following the Seahawks’ latest dramatic win:

PASS RUSH COMES THROUGH TO SAVE THE DAY

After holding Washington to just three points through the first three quarters, the Seahawks suddenly were struggling to stop backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins and the Washington offense.

Haskins & Co. had sprung to life, marching downfield for back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdowns. And in the closing minutes, Washington got the ball back with a shot at a go-ahead touchdown drive.

Prior to that final Washington possession, the Seahawks’ pass rush had been relatively quiet. Seattle had struggled to generate pressure on Haskins, managing only one sack in the game’s first 56 minutes.

But when the Seahawks needed it most, their pass rush rose to the occasion and helped save the day. Seattle came up with three sacks on Washington’s final drive, including back-to-back takedowns from L.J. Collier and Carlos Dunlap that helped seal the victory.

The first of those three late-game sacks came from rookie Alton Robinson, who burst off the edge to force a strip-sack fumble that resulted in an 11-yard loss. However, Washington ultimately recovered from the ensuing long-yardage situation, with help from a controversial unnecessary roughness penalty on Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright.

But the next two sacks proved too much for Washington to overcome.

After Washington drove to the Seattle 23-yard line with less than 1:30 remaining, Collier came off the edge on second-and-10 and shoved Haskins to the ground for a 5-yard loss. And on the next play, Dunlap bullrushed right tackle Morgan Moses to the ground before soaring through the air to take down Haskins for a spectacular 9-yard sack. The back-to-back sacks forced an ensuing fourth-and-24 desperation heave from Haskins, which the Seahawks knocked down to escape with the win.

Dunlap’s third-down sack marked the second time this season that he’s had what essentially amounted to a game-sealing sack. The other instance came in Seattle’s Week 11 win over Arizona, when Dunlap brought down Kyler Murray on a fourth-down sack in the final minute.

Since being acquired from Cincinnati in a midseason trade, Dunlap has five sacks in six games with the Seahawks. The Pro Bowl edge rusher was held out of last week’s game against the Jets because of a sprained foot he suffered in Week 12 against Philadelphia. He played just 26 snaps in his return to action Sunday, but came up with one of the game’s biggest plays.

Seattle finished the game with four sacks, continuing a dramatic turnaround for its once-lifeless pass rush. After totaling just nine sacks in their first six games, the Seahawks have 31 sacks over their last eight games. Their 31 sacks since Week 8 are five more than any other team in the league over that span. For the season, Seattle is now tied for sixth in the league with 40 sacks.

REED HAS BEEN A REVELATION IN THE SECONDARY

The Seahawks’ acquisition of cornerback D.J. Reed in August went largely under the radar, especially compared to their more splashy offseason additions of safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Quinton Dunbar.

Reed, who suffered a torn pectoral earlier in the summer, still had months of recovery ahead when he was waived by the 49ers with an injury designation and then subsequently claimed by Seattle. Given his injury situation, the diminutive third-year cornerback out of Kansas State didn’t figure to be a major part of the Seahawks’ secondary this season.

But since coming off the non-football injury list in Week 8, Reed has been a godsend for a Seattle defensive backfield that’s dealt with a slew of injuries.

Reed filled in for an injured Ugo Amadi at nickelback in his first two games and intercepted San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in his Seahawks debut. Reed then moved to outside cornerback, where he has started four of the last five games because of injuries to Shaquill Griffin, Quinton Dunbar and Tre Flowers.

Reed had an exceptional performance Sunday against Washington, highlighted by a third-quarter interception where he broke from his zone coverage area and jumped in front of receiver Cam Sims for the takeaway. The 5-foot-9 Reed also had three pass breakups, including a spectacular diving deflection on a sideline route in the first quarter.

On plays in which he was the primary defender in coverage, Reed gave up just four catches on 10 targets for 15 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. He did a particularly good job against Terry McLaurin, limiting the standout Washington receiver to just two catches on five targets for seven yards.

Reed posted a superb PFF defensive grade of 90.5 on Sunday. He has a 72.8 defensive grade since debuting for Seattle in Week 8, which ranks 11th among all cornerbacks in the league with at least 275 snaps over that span.

Going forward, Reed’s impact became even more important with this week’s news that Dunbar will need season-ending surgery. But even if Dunbar had returned at some point later this season, there was no guarantee he would’ve reclaimed his starting job, given how well Reed has been playing.

And as Reed has been a revelation at right cornerback in recent weeks, Griffin has returned from injury and anchored the left cornerback spot.

Since returning in Week 12, Griffin has allowed just nine catches on 18 targets for 45 yards. He has a 78.1 PFF defensive grade over the last four weeks, which is tied with Reed for sixth-best among all cornerbacks with at least 150 snaps over that span.

Griffin had two pass breakups Sunday and a diving interception in the red zone off a deflection from safety Quandre Diggs. He posted an 85.5 PFF defensive grade and allowed just two catches on four targets for 10 yards.

For much of the season, the Seahawks’ secondary was plagued by injuries, subpar play and communication issues. But with Reed emerging as a playmaker and Griffin starting to resemble last year’s Pro Bowl form, the cornerback duo has helped provide some stability to Seattle’s defensive backfield.

MIXED RESULTS FOR THE OFFENSE

It’s difficult to evaluate how the Seahawks’ offense performed overall on Sunday, as there was such a sharp contrast between the first 32 minutes and the final 28 minutes.

Seattle scored 20 points on its first five possessions, capped by Carlos Hyde’s 50-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the second half. It was quite a feat to reach the 20-point mark with nearly an entire half still left to play, given that Washington was allowing just 21.2 points per game and had surrendered more than 20 points just twice in its last eight contests. At that point, the Seahawks had amassed 253 total yards, at a clip of 7.2 yards per play.

But after Hyde’s touchdown, Seattle did almost nothing offensively for the rest of the game. The Seahawks were held scoreless on their final four non-kneeldown possessions, which consisted of an interception and three three-and-outs. Seattle totaled just 49 yards on those four possessions, while averaging just 3.5 yards per play.

One difference was that Washington’s stout run defense did a much better job after the Hyde touchdown run. Prior to Hyde’s long touchdown, the Seahawks’ running backs had combined for 69 yards on 13 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. But after Hyde’s touchdown, Seattle running backs totaled just five yards on five carries.

Miscues were another factor in the Seahawks’ second-half offensive struggles. Seattle drove inside the Washington 40-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but the drive ended when Russell Wilson was intercepted on a pass that standout defensive end Montez Sweat deflected into the air. And on the Seahawks’ following possession, Hyde dropped a third-down pass that would’ve moved the chains.

But even with Seattle’s offense going quiet for most of the second half, it wasn’t a bad offensive performance overall, considering the quality of opponent.

Led by a dominant pass rush, Washington entered the week ranked fourth in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA ratings and hadn’t given up more than 17 points in each of its last four games. The Seahawks managed to score 20 points, which is only slightly below Washington’s season average for points allowed. And Seattle averaged 5.7 yards per play, which is higher than Washington’s season average of 5.0 yards allowed per play.

In an attempt to neutralize Washington’s pass rush, the Seahawks employed a quick-passing attack that focused on underneath routes and allowed Wilson to get the ball out before pressure arrived. Wilson averaged just 5.1 intended air yards per pass attempt, which was his lowest mark since Pro Football Reference began tracking the stat at the beginning of the 2018 season.

The upside of the quick-passing approach was that it helped keep Wilson clean. Despite Seattle playing without starting right tackle Brandon Shell, Washington didn’t record a single sack and managed just three quarterback hits. It was just the second time all season that Washington and its quartet of first-round pass rushers finished a game without a sack. That was certainly an accomplishment against such a fearsome defensive front, which entered the game ranked fourth in the NFL with 3.1 sacks per game.

However, the downside of the quick-passing approach was the lack of explosive plays in the passing game. Wilson had just three completions of 10-plus yards, and no completions longer than 15 yards. He averaged just 4.48 yards per pass attempt, which was the fourth-lowest mark of his career.

It was an encouraging sign that the Seahawks adjusted to their opponent and opted to use a quick-passing attack Sunday, as opposed to two weeks ago when Seattle stubbornly kept trying to take deep shots against a Giants defense that was clearly tailoring its approach to taking away those types of plays. But at the same time, one could argue the Seahawks leaned too far the other way this time, with an ultra-conservative passing approach that featured almost no shots downfield against Washington.

With another dominant pass rush looming in next week’s showdown against the Rams, it will be interesting to see how Seattle attacks the defense.

It would certainly make sense to go with the quick-passing approach again. But can offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer also find ways to mix in an occasional downfield pass, without putting Wilson in too much harm’s way from all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald & Co.? Yardage could be at a premium against such an elite defense, so a few explosive passing plays could go a long way toward helping the Seahawks earn a division-clinching victory.

Hawk Watch: 5 key questions for the Seahawks as they enter the final stretch

In recent years, the Seahawks have had a bad habit of playing down to inferior opponents.

It happened just last week, when Seattle suffered a humiliating home loss to journeyman backup quarterback Colt McCoy and the Giants.

The Seahawks made sure it didn’t happen again Sunday.

Seattle took care of business and stomped the winless Jets, cruising past the league’s worst team in a 40-3 rout.

It was a rare blowout victory for the Seahawks, who have had 17 wins by single digits over the past two seasons. It was their largest margin of victory in eight years, dating back to a 58-0 shellacking of Arizona in 2012. 

Seattle dominated the woeful Jets on both sides of the ball, rolling to a 37-3 lead before pulling Russell Wilson and many other starters late in the third quarter. The Seahawks scored touchdowns on five of their first eight possessions, excluding an end-of-half kneeldown. And they held the Jets to a season-low 185 total yards, including just 20 yards in the second half.

The caveat, of course, is that the Jets are horrifically bad. They are just three losses away from becoming the third 0-16 team in NFL history. Even though Sunday’s 37-point margin marked the Jets’ worst loss of the season, this was a case of Seattle simply doing what was expected, rather than making some sort of grand statement. It’d be unwise to glean too much from pummeling one of the worst NFL teams in recent memory.

So instead of focusing on this game, here are five key questions for the Seahawks as they head into the final stretch of the regular season:

JUST HOW MUCH HAS THE DEFENSE IMPROVED?

After an abysmal first half of the season, the Seahawks’ much-maligned defense has performed considerably better over the last month or so. Here are a few stats that illustrate the improvement:

  • Over their first eight games, the Seahawks allowed 30.4 points per game and at least 23 points in every contest. Over their last five games, they allowed 16.2 points per game and 23 points or less in every contest.
  • Over their first eight games, the Seahawks allowed 455.8 yards per game and 6.2 yards per play. Over their last five games, they allowed 285.6 yards per game and 4.7 yards per play.
  • Over their first eight games, the Seahawks allowed 362.1 passing yards per game and 8.1 yards per pass attempt. Over their last five games, the Seahawks allowed 187.2 passing yards per game and 5.9 yards per pass attempt.

Of course, the caveat is that Seattle’s last three games were against the Eagles, Giants and Jets. Those are three of the six worst offenses in the league, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings. Facing quarterbacks Carson Wentz, Colt McCoy and Sam Darnold in consecutive weeks is one of the least intimidating three-game stretches a defense could hope for.

Given the quality of recent opponents, how much has the Seahawks’ defense actually improved? Is it real, or is it simply a mirage?

A look at Seattle’s two games against the Cardinals — who have a slightly above-average offense — suggest the defense has indeed made some real strides.

In their Week 7 matchup against Arizona, the Seahawks surrendered 34 points in regulation and gave up 6.4 yards per play. They allowed 7.5 yards per pass attempt to Kyler Murray and failed to record a single quarterback hit on him. And they gave up 4.8 yards per carry to the Cardinals’ rushing attack.

But Seattle’s defense fared much better in the teams’ Week 11 rematch. In that game, the Seahawks held Arizona to 21 points and 5.0 yards per play. They limited Murray to 6.4 yards per pass attempt and sacked him three times. And they stymied the Cardinals on the ground, holding them to a season-low 57 yards rushing on just 3.2 yards per carry.

Another indicator of the Seahawks’ defensive improvement can be seen from looking at whether they’ve held an opponent above or below that opponent’s season average in a particular stat. That helps show how Seattle’s defense fared against a particular opponent compared to other defenses.

Over their first eight games of the season, the Seahawks held just two opponents below their season scoring average. But since then, Seattle has held each of its last five opponents below their scoring average.

Likewise, the Seahawks held just two of their first eight opponents below their season yards-per-play average. But since then, Seattle has held four of its last five opponents below their yards-per-play average.

Furthermore, the dramatic turnaround of Seattle’s pass rush clearly goes far beyond simply playing an easier stretch of competition.

The pass rush was a glaring weakness earlier this season, when the Seahawks managed just nine sacks in their first six games. But with the midseason acquisition of Pro Bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap — combined with the return of key pass rushers Jamal Adams and Benson Mayowa from injury absences — it’s been a complete 180. Seattle has 27 sacks in its last seven games, which is five more sacks than any other team in the league over that span. After posting at least three sacks just once in their first six games, the Seahawks have done so in six of their last seven games. The pass rush is simply much better than it was earlier this season.

Overall, there are some strong indications that Seattle’s defensive improvement is real. But until the Seahawks face an elite offense, the degree to which their defense has improved will remain unclear.

Seattle faces another bottom-tier offense this week in Washington, as well as a below-average San Francisco offense in the regular-season finale. But sandwiched between those two games is the pivotal Week 16 NFC West showdown against the Rams, who are ranked sixth in offensive DVOA. That matchup will provide a chance to truly evaluate how much the Seahawks’ defense has improved and where it stands heading into the postseason.  

CAN WILSON RETURN TO MVP FORM?

For the Seahawks to reach their Super Bowl aspirations, Russell Wilson needs to play at an elite level.

Seattle’s superstar quarterback certainly did so earlier this season, when he carved up opposing defenses during an MVP-caliber tear that put him on pace to break Peyton Manning’s single-season touchdown pass record. Over his first four games, Wilson averaged a whopping 9.4 yards per pass attempt and threw 16 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.

But then came a highly uncharacteristic rash of turnovers. Wilson threw seven interceptions over a four-game stretch from Week 7 through Week 10, which exceeded his total from the entirety of last season. And then, perhaps as an overcompensation to his turnover woes, Wilson played much more tentative and risk-averse than usual in the following three games against the Cardinals, Eagles and Giants. That was especially the case in the loss to the Giants, as Wilson seemed more timid and indecisive than perhaps any other time in his NFL career.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Jets, Wilson had received a Pro Football Focus offensive grade of less than 55 in three of his last five games. Prior to that, he’d gone 29 consecutive games without an offensive grade below that mark. He simply wasn’t playing anywhere near his usual elite level.

Wilson had a nice bounceback performance Sunday, completing 21 of 27 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. His stats would’ve been even more efficient had David Moore not dropped a perfectly thrown 40-yard deep ball in the second quarter. Wilson did throw an interception, but it came on a spectacular play from safety Marcus Maye on the type of 50-50 ball to DK Metcalf that’s probably worth the risk, given Metcalf’s rare combination of size and athleticism. Overall, Wilson looked confident, decisive, sharp and in rhythm.

It obviously will take much more than a strong performance against the Jets to prove that Wilson has put his midseason struggles behind him. But it was a good start.

CAN SEATTLE PROPERLY ADJUST TO OPPOSING DEFENSES?

Another encouraging sign from Sunday was Seattle’s ability to utilize a quick passing game that focused more on underneath routes.

Early in the season, Wilson and the Seahawks torched opponents with the deep ball. But as the season wore on, defenses adjusted and began to prioritize taking away Seattle’s deep passing game. That was especially the case in the losses to the Rams and Giants, who both used frequent two-deep safety looks in an effort to take away the deep shots Wilson excels at.

Prior to Sunday, Wilson and the Seahawks hadn’t done a good job of countering those adjustments. A quick passing game would’ve made a lot of sense against the Giants, but Seattle stubbornly kept trying to attack the deep portions of the field. The lack of open receivers certainly contributed to Wilson’s indecisiveness in that game, which in several instances resulted in him holding onto the ball too long and taking sacks.

On Sunday, however, the Seahawks came out of the gates with a quick passing game and an emphasis on underneath routes. It put receivers in much better positions to get open, which in turn made things easier on Wilson.

In the coming weeks, Seattle needs to stay flexible in its offensive attack. If opposing defenses continue to try to take away the deep passing game, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Wilson must be willing to attack the underneath portion of the field. And if defenses begin adjusting to that, then it should only open up more area downfield for Wilson to burn opposing secondaries with his deep ball.

HOW WILL THE PASS PROTECTION FARE AGAINST WASHINGTON AND L.A.?

Pass protection will be especially critical for the Seahawks over the next two weeks, with Washington and the Rams featuring two of the most fearsome pass rushes in the NFL.

Washington, led by the dynamic duo of rookie No. 2 overall pick Chase Young and Montez Sweat, is tied for fourth in the league with 40 sacks. And the Rams, highlighted by superstar NFL sack leader Aaron Donald, are ranked third with 42 sacks.

One big question mark for Seattle is the availability of starting right tackle Brandon Shell. Shell returned to the starting lineup against the Jets after a two-game injury absence, but exited late in the first half after reinjuring his ankle. Shell reportedly will be a gametime decision this coming Sunday at Washington.

Shell’s injury situation is the latest of several injuries that have kept Seattle’s full starting offensive line from playing together. Left guard Mike Iupati was sidelined for four consecutive games in Weeks 5-9. Center Ethan Pocic missed back-to-back games in Weeks 10-11, which forced the Seahawks to shuffle their line around for both contests. And then Shell was out for Weeks 12-13. Sunday’s game against the Jets marked the first time since Week 4 that all five of Seattle’s starting offensive linemen had been on the field together. But because of Shell getting reinjured, that continuity didn’t even last a half.

The injuries appear to have contributed to a slight decline in the Seahawks’ pass protection over the course of the season.

Seattle posted a Pro Football Focus pass-block grade above 70 in four of its first five games, but hasn’t reached that mark since. And after just one sub-60 grade in their first eight games, the Seahawks had three consecutive sub-60 grades from Week 10 through Week 12.

Shell’s availability will be perhaps the biggest thing to monitor in the moments leading up to kickoff Sunday. Whether Seattle’s offensive line can ward off these elite pass rushes over the next two weeks will likely be a major factor in the outcome of both games.

HOW COSTLY WILL THE GIANTS LOSS END UP BEING?  

The Seahawks’ humiliating home loss to backup quarterback Colt McCoy and the Giants last week is the type of defeat that can come back to haunt contending teams like Seattle.

It remains to be seen how that upset loss ends up impacting the Seahawks’ playoff positioning. But at the moment, it sure looks costly.

If the Seahawks (9-4) hadn’t stumbled against the Giants, they currently would be tied with Green Bay (10-3) and New Orleans (10-3) for the best record in the NFC. Instead, Seattle is now a longshot in the race for the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Seahawks currently have just a 3% chance at the No. 1 seed.

To pull off those long odds, Seattle would need to win each of its remaining three games, and then hope that Green Bay and New Orleans each lose at least one of their two remaining games against NFC opponents.

The Packers’ two remaining NFC opponents are the Panthers (4-9) and Bears (6-7). The Saints’ two remaining NFC opponents are the Vikings (6-7) and Panthers. Green Bay and New Orleans figure to be strong favorites in all four of those games.

The good news for the Seahawks is they are still in control of their NFC West title hopes. Seattle is currently tied with the Rams (9-4) atop the division, but Los Angeles owns the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of its win over the Seahawks in Week 10. The two NFC West rivals meet again Week 16 in Seattle, and there’s a strong chance that game will ultimately determine the division title.

The NFC West is still there for the taking. But because of that loss to the Giants, Seattle’s shot at the No. 1 seed and an easier path to the Super Bowl might’ve slipped away.

Hawk Watch: What happened to the offense? Seahawks left searching for answers after Giant debacle

This four-game stretch against teams with losing records was a golden opportunity for the Seahawks to rack up victories and keep pressure on New Orleans and Green Bay in the race for the NFC’s top seed.

Instead, it produced one of the most humiliating defeats in recent franchise history.

Seattle fell flat on its face Sunday afternoon with an ugly 17-12 loss to the Giants, who pulled one of the biggest upsets of the NFL season.

New York entered with a 4-7 record and as a 10.5-point road underdog. The Giants were starting a journeyman backup quarterback in Colt McCoy, who hadn’t won a game as a starter since 2014. This seemed like a massive mismatch on paper.

But Russell Wilson and the Seahawks fielded one of their worst offensive performances in years, failing to score a touchdown until past the midway point of the fourth quarter. And Seattle’s defense failed to stop the run at key moments, allowing a mostly one-dimensional Giants attack to take the lead for good with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns.

With the stunning loss, the Seahawks threw away any realistic chance at the NFC’s No. 1 seed and lone first-round bye. Their NFC West lead is also gone, with the Rams now in first place by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

But even more concerning than the potential playoff-seeding damage was the abysmal display from this once-powerful offense. Wilson & Co. need to sort out their issues and get back to playing at an elite level for this team to have any legitimate shot at a Super Bowl run.

Here’s a look back at some of the key storylines and takeaways from one of Seattle’s most disappointing losses of the entire Pete Carroll era:

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH WILSON AND THE OFFENSE?

Those high-scoring onslaughts from Russell Wilson and the Seahawks earlier this season sure seem like a long time ago.

Seattle’s offense mustered just 10 points Sunday and didn’t find the end zone until the final seven minutes of the game. After driving downfield for a field goal on their opening possession, the Seahawks didn’t take another snap inside the Giants’ 35-yard line until midway through the fourth quarter. Seattle finished the afternoon with a season-low 4.7 yards per play.

Sunday’s debacle was clearly the low point of the season for the Seahawks’ offense, especially considering how elite the unit was earlier this year. But these struggles were far from an isolated incident. Seattle has been on a considerable offensive decline for quite some time now.

Through their first eight games of the season, the Seahawks averaged a league-high 34.3 points per contest and 6.5 yards per play. They scored 30-plus points in seven of their first eight games. And they averaged at least 6.0 yards per play in six of their first eight games.

But over their last four games, the Seahawks have averaged just 19.8 points per contest and 5.0 yards per play. They haven’t reached 30 points or 6.0 yards per play in any of those four games. In the last two games, they’ve averaged less than 5.0 yards per play.

And some of their offensive struggles go beyond just the last four weeks.

In the Week 5 comeback win over Minnesota, the Seahawks were held scoreless in the first half and benefited greatly in the second half from their defense forcing turnovers that resulted in short fields. In the Week 7 loss to Arizona, the Seahawks followed one of their greatest first halves in franchise history by scoring just seven points combined in the second half and overtime. And in the Week 9 loss to Buffalo, a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns padded the stats and helped mask what was an otherwise underwhelming offensive performance.

There likely are many factors that have contributed to Seattle’s offensive decline. But here’s a closer look at three interrelated causes that have had a major impact:

Russell Wilson’s uncharacteristic slump: After starting the season on an MVP-level tear that had him on pace to break Peyton Manning’s single-season record for touchdown passes, Wilson’s play has declined dramatically.

Over the first four games, Wilson averaged 9.4 yards per pass attempt and totaled 16 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. He had a Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 95.0 during that stretch.

Over the next four games, Wilson averaged 7.9 yards per pass attempt and had 12 touchdown passes, six interceptions and an 81.5 PFF offensive grade.

And over the last four games, Wilson averaged 6.8 yards per pass attempt and had just four touchdown passes, three interceptions and a 66.9 PFF offensive grade.

In fact, Wilson has received a PFF offensive grade of less than 55 in three of his last five games. Prior to that, he’d gone 29 consecutive games without an offensive grade below 55.

The beginning of Wilson’s struggles coincided, more or less, with an uncharacteristic rash of turnovers that included three multi-interception games over a four-game stretch from Week 7 through Week 10. Prior to that, Wilson had gone 39 consecutive games without throwing multiple interceptions in a contest.

Some of those interceptions weren’t his fault, but many of them were — often as a product of poor decision-making, or simply trying to do too much. Whatever the case, that midseason stretch of turnovers seems to have made Wilson much more tentative and risk-averse than usual.

Wilson didn’t throw an interception against Arizona in Week 11 or Philadelphia in Week 12, but seemed noticeably more cautious than normal in both games. That tendency was even more pronounced Sunday against the Giants, as Wilson appeared more timid and indecisive than at perhaps any other time in his NFL career. There were at least several instances where he took sacks after holding on to the ball far too long. In addition, he was off-target on at least a handful of throws — a rarity for one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the game.

Wilson is simply out of sorts right now and not playing anywhere near his usual elite level.

The pass protection’s decline: Wilson’s struggles have coincided with key injuries along the offensive line, which in turn have contributed to decreased effectiveness in pass protection.

Starting center Ethan Pocic was out for both the Week 10 and Week 11 games, which forced the Seahawks to shuffle their offensive line for both contests. Starting right tackle Brandon Shell then missed the last two games, and an injury to his backup resulted in third-stringer Jamarco Jones starting at right tackle Sunday. And when Jones exited with an injury in the fourth quarter, fourth-stringer Chad Wheeler filled in.

Those injuries have had a definite impact on Seattle’s pass protection. The Seahawks received a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade above 70 in four of their first five games, but haven’t reached that mark in any game since. And after receiving a pass-blocking grade below 60 only once in their first eight games, they received a sub-60 grade in three of their last four contests.

The improved pass protection earlier this season was a significant factor in Wilson’s success. In five of the last seven seasons, Seattle ranked 30th or worse in PFF’s pass-block grading. Prior to this season, the Seahawks had never ranked above 18th in that metric during the Wilson era.

But through the first five weeks of this season, Seattle ranked 12th in pass-block grading. After spending years having to evade frequent onslaughts of heavy pressure, Wilson was finally reaping the benefits of above-average pass protection for once in his career. During his early-season tear, he looked more comfortable in the pocket than he ever has.

However, as the pass protection declined over the last month or so, Wilson’s sack rate went up. After being sacked 2.7 times per game over the first seven contests, he’s been sacked 4.2 times per game over the last five contests — including five times by the Giants on Sunday. Not all of those sacks were the offensive line’s fault. But Wilson has been under siege more often lately, and he looks visibly less comfortable in the pocket as a result.

A lack of play-calling adjustments: Earlier this season, Seattle caught opposing defenses off-guard by passing considerably more often on early downs than ever before in the Pete Carroll era. Wilson and the Seahawks also took advantage of frequent man coverage in the secondary, especially when it came against rising superstar receiver DK Metcalf.

The result was massive success in the deep passing game — which also happens to be Wilson’s greatest strength. Over the first four games of the season, Wilson was an astounding 11-of-17 for 430 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions on throws targeted 20-plus yards downfield, according to charting from NFL’s Next Gen Stats. He averaged a whopping 25.3 yards per attempt on such throws during that stretch.

But as the season wore on, defenses adjusted and have prioritized taking away Seattle’s deep passing game. That was the case against the Rams and Giants, who both used frequent two-deep safety looks in an effort to take away the deep shots Wilson excels at. As a result, Wilson’s deep-ball stats have dropped considerably. 

Over the second four-game stretch of Seattle’s season, Wilson was 7-of-22 for 270 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on throws targeted 20-plus yards downfield. He averaged 12.3 yards per attempt on such throws during that stretch — which was nearly half of what he averaged over the first four games.

And over the last four games, Wilson was just 5-of-15 for 160 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on throws targeted 20-plus yards downfield. He averaged 10.7 yards per attempt on such throws during that stretch.

When defenses take away the deep areas of the field, it would make sense for Seattle to switch to more of a quick passing game that focuses on underneath routes. A quick passing game would also be a good way to neutralize a strong pass rush, as it gives the quarterback quicker options to get rid of the ball before pressure arrives. But lately, including on Sunday, the Seahawks have often failed to adapt to the different ways defenses are playing them.

The NFL is a league of making adjustments. When a team has success with something early in the season, opposing teams will do everything they can to find the antidote. And now, those opposing teams have found a blueprint to slow down Seattle’s offense. Defenses have adjusted. It’s now up to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to counter with adjustments of his own to put his players in better positions to succeed.

FOURTH DOWN HAUNTS SEAHAWKS AGAIN

Fourth down has not been kind to the Seahawks over the last two weeks.

Last week against Philadelphia, Seattle had two failed fourth-down attempts in the first quarter. The first was a disastrous fourth-and-goal fly sweep to receiver David Moore at the 2-yard line that got blown up for a 5-yard loss. And just minutes later, Russell Wilson was sacked on a fourth-and-2 from the Philadelphia 37-yard line.

Those fourth-down failures last week didn’t discourage Pete Carroll from keeping his offense on the field for a key fourth down in Sunday’s game. Trailing 8-5 in the third quarter and facing a fourth-and-inches from their own 48-yard line, the Seahawks elected to go for it.

But instead of a run up the middle, Seattle called a play-action rollout to Wilson’s left that appeared to have running back Chris Carson as the primary target. Carson was tightly covered and Wilson was hotly pursued on the edge, which forced him to spin backward away from the pressure and toss a desperation throw into traffic that fell incomplete. New York then capitalized on the short field and drove for a touchdown to extend its lead to 14-5. 

That fourth-down decision was a sharp contrast from another fourth-down situation earlier in the game, when the Seahawks faced fourth-and-6 from the Giants’ 37-yard line early in the second quarter. Instead of keeping the offense on the field or attempting a long field goal with Jason Myers — who hasn’t missed a field goal all season — Carroll chose the ultra-conservative approach of taking a delay-of-game penalty and punting the ball away.

This season, the Seahawks have been far more willing to go for it on fourth downs than in years past. And prior to last Monday night’s game against the Eagles, Seattle had been relatively successful in doing so. But after their recent fourth-down failures, the Seahawks are now 3 of 8 on fourth downs in non-fourth-quarter-comeback situations, and 7 of 13 on fourth downs overall.

RUN DEFENSE COLLAPSES IN PIVOTAL THIRD QUARTER

Despite all the Seahawks’ defensive struggles this season, their run defense has been among the league’s best. Seattle entered Sunday having allowed just 3.7 yards per carry, which was the third-best mark in the NFL.

This figured to be the easiest game of the season thus far for the Seahawks’ defense. With journeyman backup Colt McCoy starting at quarterback, the Giants presented a minimal threat in the passing game. Seattle and its already strong run defense could load the box and take advantage of a mostly one-dimensional New York attack.

There was no reason the Giants should’ve had success running the ball Sunday. And for most of the game, they didn’t. But in the third quarter, New York suddenly broke several big runs on the ground to key back-to-back touchdown drives that were ultimately the difference in the game.

Wayne Gallman keyed the first touchdown drive with a 60-yard run, taking advantage of a bad angle from safety Quandre Diggs to burst down the left sideline into the red zone. Gallman also sparked the ensuing 48-yard touchdown drive with back-to-back carries of 13 and 23 yards.

Outside of those two touchdown drives, the Giants didn’t have a run of 10-plus yards the entire game. And outside of the third quarter, they mustered just 53 yards rushing at an average of 2.7 yards per carry. But on those two third-quarter touchdown drives, the Giants rattled off four 10-plus-yard runs in a span of just six offensive plays. And in the third quarter alone, they totaled 137 rushing yards at a clip of 12.5 yards per carry.

This matchup should’ve been the simplest of tasks for the Seahawks’ run defense. But the group inexplicably collapsed for two series in the third quarter, and it ended up costing Seattle the game.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seahawks’ loss Sunday essentially eliminated them from contention for the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye. Seattle (8-4) is now two games behind NFC-leading New Orleans (10-2) and one game behind Green Bay (9-3) in the race for the No. 1 seed. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Seahawks’ odds of claiming the top seed are down to just 1%.

Sunday’s loss also moved the Rams (8-4) into a tie with Seattle atop the NFC West, and Los Angeles currently holds the tiebreaker by virtue of its head-to-head victory in Week 10. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Rams have a 60% chance of winning the division, while the Seahawks have a 39% chance.

Seattle most likely will have to win the Week 16 rematch against the Rams in order to have a shot at winning the NFC West. The only way the Seahawks could lose that game and still win the division outright would be if they won each of their other three remaining games and the Rams lost two of their other three remaining games.

Hawk Watch: DK dominates, surging defense shines, and more from Seahawks’ win over Eagles

It wasn’t the flashiest of wins, but the Seahawks took care of business Monday night in Philadelphia.

Behind another dominant night from DK Metcalf and a shutdown performance from its surging defense and suddenly imposing pass rush, Seattle stomped the hapless Eagles for a 23-17 victory that wasn’t quite as close as the final score indicated.

Here are some of the key storylines and takeaways from the Seahawks’ latest primetime triumph, which moved them into sole possession of first place in the NFC West and kept them within striking distance in the race for the conference’s top seed:

DK DOMINATES HIS WAY TO CAREER NIGHT

Once again, DK Metcalf gave the Eagles a painful reminder of what they could’ve had.

Metcalf was still on the board when Philadelphia made its second-round pick in last year’s NFL draft. But the Eagles took another receiver instead, drafting Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside with their 57th overall pick. Seven picks later, the Seahawks took Metcalf.

Arcega-Whiteside has been mostly a non-factor during his two seasons in Philadelphia. And Metcalf? Well, all he’s done is take the league by storm while ascending into one of the game’s premier receivers.

Metcalf took over Monday night’s game, catching 10 passes for a career-high 177 yards. It was the second time in less than a year that he’d tormented the Eagles in Philadelphia. In last season’s wild-card playoff round, he broke the NFL rookie record for receiving yards in a playoff game with nine catches for 160 yards and a touchdown.

With Monday night’s performance, Metcalf moved atop the NFL leaderboard with a league-high 1,039 receiving yards this season. He also ranks second in receiving yards per game (94.5), third in yards per catch (17.9), fourth in yards per target (11.5) and fifth in touchdown catches (nine). He now has five 100-yard receiving games this season, and eight games with more than 90 yards receiving.

Metcalf mentioned in his postgame interview that the Eagles’ decision to pass on him in last year’s draft provided extra motivation Monday night. He also said he gained some more fuel from a pregame conversation with Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who was Detroit’s head coach when future Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson played for the Lions. According to Metcalf, Schwartz told him that he’s not at Johnson’s level yet. However, Schwartz said afterward that he was complimenting Metcalf.

Whatever the case, Metcalf sure played like a man with something to prove Monday night.

Metcalf did nearly all of his damage against Darius Slay, posting eight catches on 11 targets for 158 yards against the former All-Pro cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus. Slay has had a relatively average season, but he entered the night allowing 38.7 receiving yards per game, with a season high of 74 yards.

Metcalf shattered that mark all by himself — and did so while showcasing a variety of routes.

Early on, Metcalf beat Slay on several slant routes for easy completions. In the second quarter, Metcalf sped past Slay on a third-and-long vertical route and hauled in a 52-yard reception at the 1-yard line that set up Seattle’s first touchdown. On the next drive, Metcalf turned a shallow crossing route into a 17-yard gain.

In the third quarter, with Slay seemingly trying to guard against the slant, Metcalf appeared to catch him off-balance with an out route toward the sideline that resulted in another easy pitch-and-catch. A few plays later, Metcalf used his physicality to separate from Slay at the top of an intermediate crossing route and hauled in a 19-yard reception.

And on a corner route to the sideline in the fourth quarter, Metcalf came down with his best catch of the night. Slay provided tight coverage on the play, but it was a perfect throw by Russell Wilson and an even better catch by Metcalf. The Seattle star receiver made a contested 31-yard grab in a tight window while hand-fighting Slay, and showed great strength to hang on to the ball while falling to the ground as Slay tried to swipe it away.

Metcalf is now on pace for 1,511 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches this season. If he continues at that rate, Metcalf would become just the 11th different player in NFL history to finish with at least 1,500 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches in a season.

DEFENSE, PASS RUSH CONTINUE THEIR SURGE

The Seahawks’ defense took another step in the right direction with Monday night’s shutdown performance.

Seattle set the tone from the get-go, forcing the Eagles into three-and-outs on each of their first five possessions. Nearly 20 minutes into the game, Philadelphia had mustered just 4 total yards. The Eagles didn’t even reach the 200-yard mark until the game’s final minute. And if not for the deflected Hail Mary touchdown in the closing seconds, the Seahawks would’ve held Philadelphia to just nine points.

The caveat, of course, is that the Eagles are one of the worst offenses in the league. They rank 25th in points per game, 28th in yards per game and 30th in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA ratings. Quarterback Carson Wentz has struggled mightily, and he’s received little help from a porous offensive line and an underwhelming receiving corps.

But even for as bad as the Eagles have been offensively, the Seahawks still managed to hold them well below many of their season averages — especially when discarding the last-second Hail Mary.

The Eagles entered the night averaging 330.1 total yards per game. Seattle held them to 250 yards, and just 217 yards prior to the Hail Mary.

The Eagles entered the night averaging 5.0 yards per play. Seattle held them to 3.8 yards per play, and just 3.3 before the Hail Mary.

Wentz entered the night averaging 6.2 yards per pass attempt. Seattle held him to just 4.8 yards per attempt, and just 4.1 prior to the Hail Mary.

Even when accounting for the quality of opponent, this was a dominant showing by the Seahawks’ defense. And it came on the heels of another strong performance the week prior, when Seattle held Kyler Murray and the Cardinals more than 100 yards below their season average. Arizona entered that matchup having scored at least 30 points in each of its previous five games, while averaging more than 470 total yards during that stretch. But the Seahawks limited the Cardinals to just 21 points and 314 yards. Each of the last two weeks, Seattle’s defense has held an opposing offense to a point total that’s tied for the opposing team’s season low.

It’s a small sample size. But after all of its struggles this season, the Seahawks’ defense seems to have turned a corner over the last two games.

A major factor in Seattle’s defensive turnaround has been its surging pass rush, which harassed Wentz for six sacks Monday night and also forced at least a couple of throwaways. The flurry of sacks was widely distributed, with seven different Seahawks recording at least a half-sack.

Philadelphia’s struggling offensive line entered the night having allowed a league-worst 4.0 sacks per game. But Seattle surpassed that mark by a full two sacks, and the six sacks were tied for the second-most the Eagles have allowed this season.

The Seahawks’ pass rush was virtually nonexistent earlier in the season, mustering just nine sacks in their first six games. During that span, Seattle had only one game with at least three sacks.

But it’s been a night-and-day difference lately, with the Seahawks exploding for 22 sacks over their last five games. During that span, they’ve posted three-plus sacks in all five contests.

Seattle’s 22 sacks over the last five weeks are five more sacks than any other team in the league during that span. The recent surge has given the Seahawks 31 sacks for the season, which is tied for seventh in the league. With five games remaining, Seattle already has three more sacks than it totaled last season.

The acquisition of two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap has made a massive impact. Since being acquired from Cincinnati and debuting for the Seahawks in Week 9, Dunlap has posted 4.0 sacks over the last four games. He already has the second-most sacks on the team this season, and the most among Seattle’s defensive linemen. His presence has given the Seahawks the bona fide edge rusher they’d been lacking.

Seattle’s pass rush also has benefited from a return to health. Star safety Jamal Adams returned in Week 9 from a four-game absence. Defensive tackle Rasheem Green returned in Week 9 from a six-game absence. And defensive end Benson Mayowa returned in Week 11 from a three-game absence. Since their returns, Adams has blitzed his way to 4.5 sacks, while Green and Mayowa have added one sack apiece.

Furthermore, the defensive line has shown an increased ability over the last two weeks to generate pressure on its own, without the aid of extra pass rushers from heavy blitzing.

The Seahawks blitzed heavily from Week 8 through Week 10, sending an extra rusher on 52.6% of their opponents’ dropbacks, according to data from Pro Football Reference. During that span, six of their 13 sacks came on non-blitzing plays, which are defined as sending four or fewer pass rushers.

Since then, the Seahawks have toned down the pressure. Over the last two weeks, they’ve blitzed on 38.2% of their opponents’ dropbacks. But they’ve still managed to be very effective, posting nine sacks over that span. Six of those nine sacks came on non-blitzing plays.

At times this season, Seattle seemed overreliant on blitzing to manufacture pressure and make up for its pass-rush deficiencies up front. Too often, that left the back end of the defense too exposed. But with the defensive line generating pressure on its own more consistently, the Seahawks can blitz less and devote more players to pass coverage. It also allows them to be more selective about when they blitz, which preserves the element of surprise and helps players such as Adams be more effective when they do rush the passer.

In addition to its revamped pass rush, Seattle’s defensive improvement has also coincided with more sound play in the secondary.

Due to a slew of injuries, the secondary has been a revolving door for much of the season. But with Adams back from injury — as well as starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who made his return Monday night — the Seahawks’ defensive backfield has finally experienced a bit of continuity in recent weeks. And it’s shown during the last two games.

The frequent miscommunications and coverage breakdowns that plagued the secondary for so much of the season have been mostly nonexistent against Arizona and Philadelphia. Aside from the final minute or so of Monday night’s game, Seattle has surrendered just eight completions of 15-plus yards over the last two weeks, and none of more than 27 yards.

The biggest concern for the Seahawks right now is the health of Dunlap, who exited Monday night’s game with a foot injury. At the moment, it’s unclear whether he will play in Sunday’s game against the Giants.

But as long as Dunlap’s injury isn’t a long-term issue, the forecast for Seattle’s defense remains promising. The pass rush has rounded into form. The linebacking duo of Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright continues to be stellar. The secondary seems to have found its footing.

After an awful first half of the season, the Seahawks have taken meaningful strides defensively over the last two games. The key now is to continue stringing together these types of performances week after week.

CARSON PLAYS WELL IN RETURN FROM INJURY

Starting running back Chris Carson returned Monday night after missing the last four games with a foot injury. The Seahawks eased him back in, giving him just 10 total touches. But he made the most of his limited action.

Carson ran for 41 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt. He also caught two passes for 18 yards. His biggest play was a 16-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, when he took a second-and-goal handoff and weaved his way inside the 5-yard line before bulldozing into the end zone.

By contrast, backup running back Carlos Hyde rushed for just 22 yards on 15 carries. Carson simply has an explosive burst and tackle-breaking ability that neither Hyde nor any of Seattle’s other running backs possess. Carson has averaged 4.9 yards per carry this season, which is over a yard more than any other running back on the team who has at least 10 carries. Carson’s return certainly should bolster Seattle’s running game down the stretch.

FOURTH-DOWN MISCUES

The Seahawks dominated the first quarter, but had little to show for it after a pair of failed fourth-down attempts on their first two possessions.

On the first one, Pete Carroll elected to keep his offense on the field for a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Seattle ran a fly sweep for receiver David Moore, but he was swarmed in the backfield for a 5-yard loss after missed blocks from receiver DK Metcalf and center Ethan Pocic.

After forcing a punt and getting the ball back in good field position, the Seahawks soon found themselves in another fourth-and-2 situation, this time from the Philadelphia 37-yard line. Once again, Seattle kept its offense on the field. And once again, Seattle failed to convert. Russell Wilson appeared to be looking for receiver Tyler Lockett on a rub route, but Lockett wasn’t open and Wilson ended up getting sacked.

The Seahawks have been more willing to go for it on fourth downs this season than in years past, and they’ve been relatively successful when doing so. Prior to Monday night, Seattle was 3 of 5 on fourth downs in non-fourth-quarter-comeback situations, and 7 of 9 on fourth downs overall.

It will be interesting to see whether Monday night’s failed fourth-down attempts make Carroll less willing to keep his offense on the field in similar situations going forward, or whether he remains aggressive.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seahawks moved into sole possession of first place atop the NFC West with their win Monday night, along with the Rams’ loss to the 49ers on Sunday. Seattle (8-3) now sits one game ahead of the Rams (7-4) and two games ahead of the Cardinals (6-5) in the division race.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the Seahawks have a 68% chance of winning the NFC West. The Rams’ division-title odds have plummeted to 27% and the Cardinals’ odds are just 5%.

The victory also kept Seattle in the thick of the race for the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye. The Seahawks remain tied with Green Bay (8-3) for the conference’s second-best record. Both teams are one game behind New Orleans (9-2).

Seattle currently has a 22% chance of earning the NFC’s top seed, per FiveThirtyEight. The Saints are the favorite at 45%, followed by the Packers at 30%.

The Seahawks probably have to win out in order to claim the top seed. If Seattle wins each of its remaining five games, it would have a 74% chance of capturing the top seed, according to FiveThirtyEight. If the Seahawks win four of their final five games, their odds would range between 43% and 16%, depending on which game they lose.

Hawk Watch: Defense rises to occasion, Russ rebounds, and more from the Seahawks’ pivotal win over Arizona

In many ways, last Thursday night’s showdown against the Cardinals felt like a season-defining type of game for the Seahawks.

Seattle was reeling, having suffered back-to-back losses and three defeats in its last four games. The embattled defense was just 10 days removed from a debacle in Buffalo that was among the worst defensive showings of the entire Pete Carroll era. And after an MVP-caliber start to the season, Russell Wilson was struggling through a highly uncharacteristic rash of turnovers.

A loss Thursday night would’ve been devastating. It would’ve dropped the Seahawks’ NFC West title odds to 14% and their odds of claiming the NFC’s top seed to just 2%, according to FiveThirtyEight. And it would’ve made a Super Bowl run seem more like a distant possibility than a realistic scenario.

Seattle’s backs were up against the wall.

And with so much at stake, the Seahawks answered the challenge and rose to the occasion with a pivotal 28-21 win over the visiting Cardinals.

The defense compiled its best and most encouraging performance of the season. Wilson bounced back with an efficient and nearly flawless outing. And now, with a very favorable remaining schedule, Seattle is well-positioned in the NFC West race and back in the thick of the battle for the conference’s top seed.

Here’s a look at some of the key storylines and takeaways following the Seahawks’ bounceback win over Arizona:

DEFENSE COMES THROUGH WITH BEST PERFORMANCE OF SEASON

The most encouraging aspect of Thursday night’s game was the performance by Seattle’s embattled defense. This was, by far, the unit’s best and most complete showing of the season.

Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense came into this showdown on a tear. The Cardinals had scored at least 30 points in each of their last five games, while averaging nearly 470 total yards per game over that stretch. For the season, they were averaging a league-high 425.4 yards per contest. Meanwhile, the Seahawks were allowing a league-worst 448.3 yards per game, which was on pace to break the NFL record.

But on Thursday night, it was Seattle’s defense that won the battle. The Seahawks held the Cardinals to 314 total yards and 21 points, the latter of which matched a season low for Arizona’s offense. Both of those numbers were season lows for Seattle’s defense.

Also, keep in mind that one of the Cardinals’ touchdown drives was extended by an unnecessary roughness penalty on safety Quandre Diggs that occurred on a third-down incompletion. If not for that self-inflicted mistake, the Cardinals’ yardage and point total might’ve been even lower.

The credit for Seattle’s defensive success Thursday night was widespread.

Most notably, the once-struggling pass rush had another strong game. The Seahawks had three sacks and a season-high 28 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. And they did so against a good Arizona offensive line that’s tied for sixth in PFF’s team pass-blocking grades. Since posting just one three-sack game in its first six contests, Seattle has at least three sacks in each of its last four games.

Recently acquired defensive end Carlos Dunlap provided two of the team’s three sacks, including the game-sealing fourth-down takedown of Kyler Murray in the final minute. The pass rush also came through during a pivotal sequence earlier in the fourth quarter, when it forced back-to-back penalties that led to a safety. Star safety Jamal Adams began the sequence by blitzing off the edge and forcing Murray into an intentional grounding penalty, which backed up the Cardinals to their own 2-yard line. Then on the ensuing play, defensive end L.J. Collier burst up the middle and drew an end-zone holding penalty that resulted in a safety, which helped swing momentum and control of the game back to Seattle.

Part of the Seahawks’ recent pass-rush improvement can be attributed to an increased blitz rate over the last few weeks, especially in the San Francisco and Buffalo games. But it’s also because Seattle now has a bona fide edge rusher in Dunlap.

Since being acquired in the trade with Cincinnati, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end has 3.5 sacks in three games with the Seahawks. He already has the second-most sacks on the team this season, and the most sacks among all of Seattle’s defensive linemen. Furthermore, Dunlap is tied for 10th in PFF’s pass rush productivity rating over the last three weeks. Prior to that, over the first eight weeks of the season, the Seahawks didn’t have a single defensive lineman ranked in the top 75 of that metric.

It also was particularly encouraging that all three of Seattle’s sacks Thursday night came on four- or five-man rushes. At times this season, the Seahawks have seemed overreliant on blitzing Adams, Bobby Wagner and others to make up for the defensive line’s pass-rushing deficiencies. But if Seattle can generate pressure more consistently with its linemen, that frees up players like Adams and Wagner to spend more time roaming their natural areas of the field, and it leaves the back end of the defense less vulnerable.

Another key factor in the Seahawks’ defensive success Thursday night was their ability to contain Murray, the most dangerous running quarterback in the league.

Murray entered the night averaging 67.1 rushing yards per game and had rushed for at least 60 yards in all but two contests. Seattle hardly blitzed in the teams’ first matchup, largely in an effort to keep Murray from getting loose. But that plan backfired, as the Seahawks not only failed to generate a single quarterback hit in that game, but also allowed Murray to run for 67 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Seattle blitzed more often this time and generated significantly more pressure, while also doing an excellent job of containing the elusive Murray. The Seahawks completely held him in check on the ground, limiting the former top draft pick to a season-low 15 yards on five carries. Arizona’s rushing attack, which entered the night averaging a league-high 168.9 yards per game, managed just a season-low 57 yards.

One of the game’s signature plays was linebacker K.J. Wright’s outstanding open-field tackle of Murray on a key third-and-1 late in the first half. As Murray took off for the edge on a read-option keeper, he attempted to juke his way past Wright for the first down. But the veteran linebacker matched Murray step for step, stayed in front of him, and ultimately forced him to the ground for a 2-yard loss. It ended Arizona’s hopes of a late first-half scoring drive, and it was emblematic of Seattle’s success all night in corralling one of the league’s most dangerous dual-threat playmakers.

And in addition to strong play from their defensive line and linebackers, the Seahawks’ secondary played likely its best game of the year — despite missing its two starting outside cornerbacks.

Miscommunications and coverage breakdowns have plagued Seattle’s secondary all season long. But aside from the touchdown pass to a wide-open Chase Edmonds early in the fourth quarter, those miscues were mostly nonexistent Thursday night.

The Seahawks gave up just five completions of 15-plus yards, and none of more than 25 yards. They held Murray to just 6.4 yards per pass attempt, his third-lowest mark of the season. They limited star receiver DeAndre Hopkins — who entered with 95.7 receiving yards per game, which ranked second in the league — to five catches for 51 yards. And they capped the night with big pass breakups by Diggs and D.J. Reed on second and third down before Dunlap’s game-sealing sack on fourth down.

The question, of course, is whether Seattle can repeat this type of defensive performance on a consistent basis, or whether it was simply a blip in an otherwise dreadful season for this unit. To prove that it truly has turned a corner, the Seahawks’ defense will have to string together multiple games like this.

But the way Seattle’s defense achieved its success Thursday night seems sustainable. There wasn’t anything gimmicky about it. The defensive front created pressure against a good offensive line. The linebackers shut down Murray and the Cardinals’ prolific rushing attack. The secondary played sound and mostly mistake-free football while holding one of the league’s top receivers largely in check. And the unit should only get better with starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin on track to return from injury.

For the first time this season, the Seahawks put it all together on defense. Now, they have to prove they can make these types of performances the norm.

WILSON BOUNCES BACK WITH MISTAKE-FREE NIGHT

After an MVP-caliber start to the season, Russell Wilson had fallen into a highly uncharacteristic turnover funk.  

Heading into Thursday night, Wilson had thrown seven interceptions and lost three fumbles over his last four games. Just how unusual was that for him? Prior to that four-game stretch, Wilson had gone 39 consecutive games without throwing multiple interceptions in a contest. But over those four games, he’d done so three times.

Wilson put those struggles to rest Thursday night.

Wilson bounced back with a highly efficient and nearly flawless performance, completing 23 of 28 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and — most importantly — no interceptions. He also rushed for 42 yards on 10 carries. And he essentially misfired on only one pass all night, as four of his five incompletions were either drops or throwaways.

Though Wilson’s passing yardage wasn’t on par with some of his stat-popping performances earlier this season, Pro Football Focus graded this as Wilson’s third-best game of the year. Wilson’s 89.4 offensive grade Thursday night was higher than every other game this season except for the Miami (91.8) and Atlanta (91.5) contests. And it was vastly better than his previous two games against the Bills (52.7) and Rams (41.4), when he posted his two worst offensive grades since the midway point of the 2017 season. 

Keep in mind, too, that Wilson had a 41-yard completion to DK Metcalf that was called back by a questionable holding penalty. He threw another deep ball to Metcalf that resulted in a 46-yard pass-interference penalty, and thus didn’t show up in his stats. And three of Wilson’s passes were dropped, including a would-be touchdown strike to Metcalf in the closing seconds of the first half. Wilson very well could’ve finished closer to 300 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Wilson did seem to play a bit more conservative than usual, opting for a lot of shorter passes and scrambles instead of deep shots downfield. He had just two official pass attempts that were targeted 20-plus yards downfield, and just five that were targeted 10-plus yards downfield. He finished with 7.0 yards per attempt, which was his third-lowest mark of the season. After his recent turnover struggles, perhaps he overcompensated a bit with a safer-than-usual approach.

But regardless, this was a nice bounceback performance for Seattle’s superstar quarterback. And with some easier opposing defenses coming up, expect Wilson to get back to being more aggressive and taking his typical amount of downfield shots — while continuing to show that his recent rash of turnovers was simply a blip on the radar.

O-LINE PAVES WAY FOR PRODUCTIVE RUN GAME

There was an inaccurate narrative floating around parts of the NFL media world that Thursday night’s game marked a return to the Seahawks’ pre-2020 ways of running the football frequently and sporting a more balanced attack.

On the surface, that narrative seemed true. A quick glance at the box score would seem to indicate that Seattle had 31 run plays and 31 pass plays. But in reality, it was a far different story.

The box score fails to account for the fact that seven of the Seahawks’ 31 rushing attempts were Russell Wilson scrambles that came on designed pass plays. And two more of the rushing attempts were a fumbled snap and a kneeldown. When factoring in those details, the Seahawks actually had 38 designed pass plays and 22 designed run plays. That ratio is pretty consistent with the pass-heavy approach Seattle’s offense has been taking all season.

It’s true that the Seahawks did run the ball slightly more often Thursday night. Running-back carries made up 33.9% of Seattle’s offensive plays, which was its third-highest rate of the season. It was a slight uptick from its 28.5% rate over the first nine games.

But the difference in the Seahawks’ run game Thursday night wasn’t that they ran the ball significantly more often. They were still very much a pass-first team.

Rather, it was simply that they ran the ball more effectively.

Led by a dominant run-blocking performance from the offensive line, Seattle’s running backs combined for 123 yards rushing at an average of 5.9 yards per carry. It was just the second time all season that the Seahawks’ running backs have averaged at least five yards per carry in a game. Entering the night, the running backs were averaging 4.1 yards per carry for the season.

Backup tailback Carlos Hyde, making his return from a three-game injury absence, rushed for a team-high 79 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Bo Scarbrough added 31 yards on six carries and DeeJay Dallas ran for a 13-yard gain on his lone carry. All three running backs had at least one gain of 12-plus yards.

The bulk of the credit, though, goes to the offensive line. Arizona was missing two starting defensive linemen, and Seattle’s offensive line took advantage by paving open running lanes with regularity. According to Pro Football Focus grading, three of the top nine run-blocking performances among offensive linemen in Week 11 belonged to Seahawks, as Damien Lewis, Mike Iupati and Duane Brown each posted run-blocking grades above 82.

And after Thursday night’s success on the ground, Seattle’s rushing attack should receive an added boost with starting running back Chris Carson set to return from injury for next Monday night’s game at Philadelphia.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Seahawks now embark on one of the easiest four-game stretches an NFL team can have. Seattle’s next four opponents — the Eagles, Giants, Jets and Washington — have a combined 9-30-1 record and an average ranking of 26.5 out of 32 teams in Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings. Following this four-game stretch, the Seahawks close the regular season with divisional matchups against the Rams and 49ers.

Seattle (7-3) is currently tied with the Rams (7-3) atop the NFC West, with both teams holding a one-game lead over Arizona (6-4). According to FiveThirtyEight, the Seahawks have a 43% chance of winning the division. The Rams are a slight favorite at 45%, while the Cardinals have just a 12% chance.

Seattle also is tied with Green Bay (7-3) for the second-best record in the NFC, with both teams one game behind the Saints (8-2) in the race for the conference’s top seed and lone first-round bye. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Saints (34%) are the favorite to capture the top seed, followed by the Packers (23%), Rams (20%) and Seahawks (20%).

To earn the top seed, Seattle probably has to win out. If the Seahawks win each of their remaining six games, they would have an 83% chance at the top seed, per FiveThirtyEight. If they win five of their final six games, then their odds would vary between 19% and 49%, depending on which game they lose.

Hawk Watch: Storylines and takeaways as Seahawks’ struggles continue in loss to Rams

One month ago, the Seahawks were riding the high of their first 5-0 start in franchise history. They were the NFC’s only remaining unbeaten team. And they were in firm control of the NFC West.

My, how things have changed.

Seattle’s midseason slide continued Sunday with a 23-16 divisional loss to the Rams in Los Angeles, which dropped the Seahawks to 6-3. It was Seattle’s second consecutive defeat, and its third in the last four games. Seattle’s NFC West lead has completely disappeared, with the Cardinals and Rams now tied with the Seahawks atop the league’s toughest division.

And with Arizona coming to town for a pivotal NFC West showdown Thursday night, Seattle doesn’t have much time to lick its wounds.

Here are some of the key storylines and takeaways after another disappointing performance from the Seahawks:

THIS TIME, WILSON DESERVES BULK OF THE BLAME

For the first five games of the season, it was Russell Wilson’s brilliance that led the way and made up for a historically bad defense.

But as of late, Wilson has struggled. And on Sunday, his mistakes cost Seattle the game.

Wilson threw two more interceptions and lost a fumble on a low snap, continuing a concerning turnover trend in recent weeks. After tossing 19 touchdown passes and three interceptions over the first five games, Wilson has nine touchdown passes and 10 turnovers over the last four games. All 10 of those turnovers — seven interceptions and three fumbles — have come in the Seahawks’ three losses.

It’s been an extremely uncharacteristic stretch for Wilson, who typically protects the football very well — especially for how many deep shots he takes downfield.

Prior to this four-game stretch, Wilson had gone 39 consecutive games without throwing multiple interceptions in a contest. But over the last four weeks, he’s had three multi-interception games. And after throwing just five interceptions in 18 regular-season and postseason games last year, Wilson has exceeded that total in the last four games alone.

In the Seahawks’ first two losses, there was plenty of blame to go around outside of Wilson. Seattle’s defense gave up 34 points in regulation against the Cardinals and an alarming 44 points against the Bills. Wilson’s mistakes were far from the only reason the Seahawks lost those games.

The responsibility for this loss, however, lies primarily with Seattle’s star quarterback.

Although the Seahawks’ defense struggled again for a large portion of Sunday’s contest, the unit matched its season low with 23 points allowed. That should’ve been enough for Wilson and the league’s highest-scoring offense to surpass. But after a touchdown on its opening drive, Seattle never found the end zone again, managing just three field goals on its other nine possessions.

Wilson’s biggest mistake Sunday was his first interception, which was one of the worst decisions of his career.

The Seahawks had just taken over at the Los Angeles 27-yard line after a forced fumble by Jamal Adams late in the first half. That gave Seattle a much-needed momentum boost and an opportunity to tie the game with a touchdown. Taking a second-and-5 shotgun snap, Wilson moved up in the pocket and looked as if he was about to scramble. He had lots of open field in front of him and could’ve run for an easy first down.

But instead, Wilson inexplicably lofted a pass across the field toward tight end Will Dissly, who was streaking down the left sideline. Los Angeles cornerback Darious Williams broke on the ball and intercepted it in the end zone, ruining a prime scoring chance for the Seahawks and killing any momentum they had just gained. It was simply a horrendous decision by Wilson, given that he could’ve practically jogged his way across the first-down line.

Wilson’s second interception also was a costly one. Seattle had driven inside the Los Angeles 40 and had a chance to cut into the Rams’ 10-point lead and make it a one-possession game. But on third-and-4, Wilson seemed to lose track of the play clock and took a delay-of-game penalty that backed the offense into a third-and-9. Wilson then tried to force the ball to tight end Greg Olsen on an out route toward the right sideline, but Williams dived in front of the ball and came up with another interception.

It wasn’t just the interceptions, though. Wilson also was off-target on several deep throws. He overthrew an open Tyler Lockett down the right sideline on Seattle’s second drive — although he did have to release the ball early because of pressure. He overthrew an open Freddie Swain for a potential 24-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. And in the fourth quarter, he overthrew DK Metcalf on a deep pass down the left sideline that could’ve resulted in a first-and-goal situation or even a touchdown.

Those were the types of big plays Wilson was connecting on earlier this season. If he hit just one of those, it could’ve been a different game. But Wilson simply hasn’t been his usual superstar self the last two weeks.

Through the first eight weeks of the season, Wilson had a league-best Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 95.0. Over that span, his lowest single-game grade was 78.8. The last two games, however, Wilson has had offensive grades of 52.7 and 41.4. Those were his lowest offensive grades since posting a 47.4 grade against Washington in Week 9 of the 2017 season.

Yes, Wilson has been dealing with more pressure the last two weeks. He was sacked five times against the Bills and a season-high six times against the Rams. Also, he’s been without starting running back Chris Carson and backup Carlos Hyde for each of the last three games. But more than anything, these struggles are on Wilson. He just hasn’t played well the last two games.

Wilson has gone through slumps like this before, and he’s bounced back each time. This surely will be just a blip in the radar for one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

But with another crucial showdown Thursday night against the Cardinals, the Seahawks need Wilson to snap out of this funk. Seattle has little margin for error, with its defense struggling as much as it is. For the Seahawks to reach their Super Bowl aspirations, Wilson needs to protect the football and get back to playing at an MVP-caliber level.

CARROLL’S QUESTIONABLE FOURTH-DOWN DECISION

On the opening drive of the second half, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll faced a pivotal decision. His team was staring at fourth-and-inches from its own 42-yard line, trailing 17-13. The analytics surely would say to go for it in that situation. So, too, would common sense.

The Seahawks have the highest-scoring offense in the league. Their defense, meanwhile, had struggled for most of the first half and remains on pace to break the single-season NFL record for yardage allowed. If you’re in Carroll’s shoes, shouldn’t you have more confidence in your elite offense gaining a half-foot, rather than your porous defense coming up with a stop?

Carroll didn’t see it that way. Instead, he opted to play it conservative and trust in his struggling defense. The offense went back on the field, but only to attempt to draw the defense offside. When that didn’t work, Seattle took a delay-of-game penalty and punted the ball away. The Rams started with poor field position at their own 12-yard line, but it didn’t matter. They still proceeded to drive 88 yards for a touchdown. Carroll’s decision completely backfired.

Carroll has historically been pretty conservative on fourth downs, but he’s been much more aggressive this season. Excluding late-game comeback situations, the Seahawks have already gone for it on five fourth downs this season. And they converted three of those five attempts into touchdowns, with the most notable being Russell Wilson’s 38-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on fourth-and-5 in the season opener against Atlanta. Overall, Seattle is 7 of 9 on fourth downs this season.

It’s possible Carroll would’ve been more inclined to keep his offense on the field if the Seahawks weren’t missing their starting center and top two running backs. But even when factoring in those absences, the chances of this offense gaining a half-foot in that situation were likely still pretty favorable. 

A big part of coaching is playing to your team’s strengths and putting your players in the best positions to succeed. The strength of this team, overwhelmingly, is the offense. To take the offense off the field in that situation and to rely instead on a struggling defense was, to say the least, a questionable decision that’s since drawn lots of scrutiny.

METCALF MOSTLY A NON-FACTOR

DK Metcalf entered Sunday’s game as one of the NFL’s top receivers in virtually every major statistical category. But against star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Metcalf was basically a non-factor.

Metcalf, who was primarily covered by Ramsey, managed just two catches on four targets for 28 yards. Russell Wilson didn’t even target Metcalf until late in the third quarter. By that point, Wilson had already completed passes to seven other Seahawks. Wilson did target Metcalf on a deep pass down the sideline in the fourth quarter, but the ball was slightly overthrown and went off the star receiver’s fingertips on a diving attempt.

Sunday marked just the second time this season that Metcalf has been held to less than 90 yards receiving. The other time also came against a star cornerback. In the Week 7 overtime loss to Arizona, while primarily being covered by Patrick Peterson, Metcalf had just two catches on five targets for 23 yards.

Though Ramsey did a great job covering Metcalf on Sunday, there appeared to be at least a couple of instances where the standout second-year receiver was open for a potential big gain. With as dominant as Metcalf has been for most of this season, he shouldn’t have gone nearly three quarters without getting a target.

Even after Sunday’s quiet performance, Metcalf ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards per game (90.7) and is tied for fourth in touchdown catches (eight). He will get a chance to bounce back and make a statement in Thursday night’s rematch against the Cardinals, when he’ll likely square off again with Peterson.

DEFENSE PLAYS SLIGHTLY BETTER, BUT STILL STRUGGLES

The reality is that things couldn’t have gotten much worse for Seattle’s beleaguered defense after last week’s debacle in Buffalo. The unit looked completely helpless for much of that game and surrendered 44 points — the most ever by a Pete Carroll-coached Seahawks team.

Seattle’s defense looked a little bit better Sunday, especially on the scoreboard. The 23 points allowed matched a season low. But that number was also a bit misleading.

The Seahawks’ defense again looked practically nonexistent on the Rams’ first three possessions, as Los Angeles opened with a 70-yard field goal drive and back-to-back touchdown drives of 77 and 93 yards. Through those first three possessions, the Rams were averaging 8.2 yards per play and Jared Goff had completed 13 of 16 passes for 180 yards.

Seattle did manage to hold Los Angeles scoreless on its next two possessions, thanks to a Jamal Adams forced fumble and a sack that led to a punt. But the Rams made the Seahawks’ defense look toothless again on their first possession of the second half, when they mounted an 88-yard touchdown drive to take a 23-13 lead. So, midway through the third quarter, Los Angeles already had four scoring drives of 70-plus yards.

The good news for Seattle’s defense was that it held the Rams scoreless the rest of the way, forcing punts on each of their final three non-kneeldown possessions. But that doesn’t necessarily tell the full story.

On one of those three possessions, Goff missed a pass to a wide-open Tyler Higbee that would’ve at least given Los Angeles a first-and-goal. And on the latter of those possessions, the Rams were primarily focused on keeping the ball on the ground and running clock, rather than scoring. If Goff had made an on-target pass to Higbee or if the game situation had been different in the closing minutes, this very well might’ve been another 30-plus-point game for the Seahawks’ defense.

FORD QUIETLY COMPILING A STRONG SEASON

Somewhat lost in all of Seattle’s defensive struggles has been the strong play of Poona Ford. The third-year defensive tackle had another notable performance Sunday, posting one sack, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.

Ford’s day was highlighted by a pair of key third-down plays. On the Rams’ opening drive, he pressured Jared Goff into a third-and-goal incompletion that forced Los Angeles to settle for a field goal. And in the third quarter, he brought down Goff for a third-down sack that forced a punt.

Over the last four weeks, Ford has been one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. He has a PFF defensive grade of 90.2 over that span, which ranks second among all interior defensive linemen. The only defensive tackle ranked higher than Ford over the last four weeks is Rams superstar Aaron Donald.

Ford has an 81.9 defensive grade for the season, which ranks eighth out of 64 interior defensive linemen with at least 275 total snaps.

MYERS KICKS HIMSELF INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

Jason Myers continued his stellar season with three more made field goals Sunday, including a franchise-record 61-yarder on the final play of the first half. It was the longest made field goal of the season in the NFL and is tied for the 12th-longest in league history, according to Stathead.com. It was just the 23rd made field goal of 60-plus yards in NFL history.

Myers has made all 10 of his field-goal attempts this season and 34 of 35 extra-point attempts. He also has made 21 consecutive regular-season field goals, dating back to last year.

LOOKING AHEAD

With Sunday’s loss, the Seahawks (6-3) dropped into a three-way tie atop the NFC West with the Cardinals and Rams, both of whom have already beaten Seattle once this season. The Seahawks also fell one game behind Green Bay (7-2) and New Orleans (7-2) in the race for the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye.

So, just how big is Thursday night’s showdown against the Cardinals? FiveThirtyEight’s simulations help quantify the massive significance of this game.

Currently, the Seahawks are still a slight favorite to win the NFC West. They have a 38% chance of winning the division, according to FiveThirtyEight. The Cardinals are sitting at 32%, followed by the Rams at 30%. Meanwhile, Seattle has just a 12% chance of claiming the NFC’s top seed, trailing both the Packers (39%) and Saints (27%).

If the Seahawks win Thursday night, their NFC West odds jump to 55% and their odds of claiming the NFC’s top seed rise to 18%. But if they lose, their NFC West odds fall to 14% and their top-seed odds to just 2%.

Hawk Watch: Seahawks’ defense left searching for answers after demoralizing loss

Heading into Sunday’s game at Buffalo, there were reasons for optimism surrounding the Seahawks’ much-maligned defense.

Seattle was coming off its best defensive performance of the season, having shut down San Francisco for three quarters in a dominant win the week prior. Star safety Jamal Adams was returning after missing four games with an injury. All-Pro pass rusher Carlos Dunlap was making his Seahawks debut.

As poorly as the unit had played this season, there was hope Seattle’s defense might be on the verge of turning a corner.

Those hopes were shattered in the Seahawks’ demoralizing 44-34 loss to the Bills.

Seattle’s defense has never looked more vulnerable under Pete Carroll than it did Sunday, when it surrendered the most points of any Seahawks team during his 185 games since taking over as head coach in 2010.

Seattle entered the day having allowed the most passing yards in NFL history through its first seven games. And while those numbers have been inflated, to some degree, by all the yardage the Seahawks have given up while playing conservatively to protect comfortable late-game leads, this defense sure looked like a historically bad unit Sunday.

Buffalo didn’t even mess around with the run game. Instead, the Bills attacked Seattle’s porous secondary play after play, with Josh Allen dropping back to pass on an astounding 32 of 34 offensive snaps in the first half. And the Seahawks simply didn’t have an answer.

In the first half alone, Allen completed 24 of 28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 31-of-38 for 415 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions — despite throwing just five passes in the fourth quarter.

Allen played well and made some great throws. But more than anything, this was an indictment of Seattle’s defense. Buffalo receivers were consistently wide-open. At times, it almost seemed more like target practice for Allen than an actual football game.

To be fair, the Seahawks were missing starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin and starting nickelback Ugo Amadi with injuries. Also, starting cornerback Quinton Dunbar tried to play through a knee injury and was clearly nowhere near 100%. As a result, Allen and the Bills picked on him time and time again. Dunbar surrendered seven catches on eight targets for 99 yards and a touchdown before exiting in the fourth quarter, according to Pro Football Focus.

One of the more unusual aspects of this game was that Seattle’s struggling pass rush — which had mustered just 12 sacks through its first seven contests — brought down Allen for seven sacks. And yet, it hardly mattered. The Bills moved the ball with incredible ease all afternoon, scoring five touchdowns and three field goals on their 10 non-end-of-half possessions.

Keep in mind, too, that Buffalo’s offense had struggled in recent weeks. After a strong start to the season by Allen & Co., the Bills entered Sunday having averaged just 18.8 points per game over their previous four contests. That included a dismal performance two weeks ago, when they scored just 18 points and failed to reach the end zone against the winless Jets.

But on Sunday, the Seahawks made Buffalo’s offense look like an all-world attack. And while this was clearly the low point of the year for Seattle’s beleaguered defense, it wasn’t an outlier either.

Here are some stats that put into perspective just how bad the Seahawks’ defense has been:

  • Seattle is on pace to allow 5,794 passing yards this season, which would shatter the current NFL record (held by the 2011 Packers) by nearly 1,000 yards.
  • Seattle is on pace to allow 7,292 total yards this season, which would break the current NFL record (held by the 2012 Saints) by 250 yards.
  • Seattle has allowed 2,897 passing yards through its first eight games. That’s already more than the 2,752 passing yards the Super Bowl-winning 2013 Seahawks allowed over the entirety of their 16-game regular season.
  • Seattle has allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in six of its eight games. By contrast, the Seahawks allowed that to happen just six times combined over the course of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons (including postseason games).
  • Seattle has allowed at least 30 points in four of its eight games. By contrast, the Seahawks allowed 30-plus points just four times combined over the course of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons (including postseason games).

Cleary, the Seahawks’ defense needs to turn things around. Even with the brilliance of Russell Wilson and a high-powered offense that’s averaging a league-high 34.3 points per game, it’s unlikely Seattle can reach its Super Bowl aspirations with the defense performing at this level.

The Seahawks currently rank 24th in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play while factoring in situation and opponent. And in the 35-year span of DVOA’s database, only one team (the 2006 Peyton Manning-led Colts) has ever won a Super Bowl after finishing the regular season ranked worse than 21st in defensive DVOA.

However, there have been five Super Bowl champions that finished the regular season ranked between 18th and 21st in defensive DVOA (the 2018 Patriots, 2012 Ravens, 2011 Giants, 1998 Broncos and 1993 Cowboys).

So, history shows that the Seahawks don’t need a good defense to win the Super Bowl. They don’t necessarily even need a league-average defense. But they can’t have a defense that’s among the worst in the league.

As great as Wilson and the offense have proven to be, the defense needs to improve for Seattle to make a legitimate Super Bowl run.  

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE SECONDARY?  

After acquiring All-Pro safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Quinton Dunbar this offseason, it looked like the Seahawks could have one of the league’s best secondaries.

So far, it’s been a disaster.

As a unit, Seattle’s defense is on pace to shatter the NFL single-season record for passing yards allowed. And from a player-by-player perspective, all four starting defensive backs in the Seahawks’ base defense have performed considerably worse in coverage than they did last season, according to Pro Football Focus grading.

Dunbar ranked second among all cornerbacks in the league last season, with a PFF coverage grade of 89.5. He has plummeted to 99th this year, with a coverage grade of just 45.6.

Shaquill Griffin’s coverage grade has dropped from 13th among all cornerbacks last season (77.0) to 60th this season (57.8).

Adams’ coverage grade has fallen from seventh among all safeties last season (87.5) to 75th this season (49.0).

Quandre Diggs’ coverage grade has gone from a tie for 15th last season (77.2) to 60th this season (54.3).

Injuries are one factor that’s undoubtedly played a significant role in the secondary’s struggles.

Adams missed four games with an injury. Griffin has missed the last two games. Dunbar missed two games earlier this season, and he was clearly hampered Sunday while trying to play through a knee injury. On top of all that, starting nickel corner Marquise Blair suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 and backup Ugo Amadi has missed the last two weeks.

With the secondary in a constant state of flux, Seattle’s defensive backs haven’t been able to build much continuity. The effects of that seemed evident Sunday, as there appeared to be at least several instances of miscommunication that left receivers wide-open.

But even with the slew of injuries, there’s still too much talent in this secondary for it to be anywhere near this bad. And keep in mind, even in the one full game all four starting defensive backs played together — the season opener against Atlanta — the Seahawks still allowed 450 yards passing to Matt Ryan. These struggles go beyond just injuries.

Some have pointed criticism at third-year defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., and there’s probably at least some validity in that. When all four starting defensive backs are severely underperforming compared to their talent level, it’s certainly fair to wonder whether the schemes of Norton and Pete Carroll are failing to put them in the best positions to succeed.

But there’s likely not a silver-bullet fix here. It probably will take a combination of factors.

Seattle’s defensive backs need to get healthy. They need to do a better job of communicating. They need to start playing up to their ability level, or at least somewhere near it — both collectively and individually. And yes, Norton and Carroll need to do a better job schematically.

PASS RUSH FINDS SUCCESS, BUT AT WHAT COST?

The only slimmer of positivity from Sunday’s defensive debacle was Seattle’s struggling pass rush. After managing just 12 sacks in their first seven games, the Seahawks exploded for seven sacks against the Bills.

Defensive tackle Jarran Reed led the way with 2.5 sacks. Star safety Jamal Adams posted 1.5 sacks in his return from injury. Recently acquired defensive end Carlos Dunlap had one sack in his Seattle debut. And the linebacking duo of Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright added one sack apiece.

An encouraging sign was that four of the seven sacks came when sending four or fewer pass rushers. The more pressure the Seahawks can generate with their front four, the less they have to rely on blitzes from their linebackers and secondary that leave the back end of their defense more exposed.

However, after starting the game more conservatively, Seattle’s defense ultimately blitzed a lot on Sunday. It did lead to some sacks, including a pair of drive-ending ones on third down — one of which forced the Bills to settle for a field goal and another that forced them into one of their two punts. But the heavy blitzing also backfired and resulted in some big gains. The Seahawks blitzed with an extra pass rusher on 26 of Buffalo’s 45 passing plays, but generated either a sack or another type of pressure on just 10 plays overall, according to Pro Football Reference. That meant there were a lot of plays where Seattle blitzed and failed to create pressure, thus leaving its secondary more vulnerable. And the Bills took advantage on at least a handful of occasions.

The most notable instance came on a pivotal third-and-16 early in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks had recently trimmed the deficit to 27-20. With a stop, they could’ve forced a long field goal and given the ball back to their offense trailing by either seven or 10 points. Instead, they brought heavy pressure with an eight-man blitz, hoping to come up with a sack to knock Buffalo out of field-goal range. It backfired spectacularly. The Bills dialed up a quick wide-receiver screen for John Brown, who took advantage of all the open space and ran for a 33-yard gain to the Seattle 2-yard line. Buffalo found the end zone two plays later to stretch its lead to 14 points.

Ultimately, Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. need to find the right balance between blitzing enough to help the pass rush generate pressure, but not blitzing so much that they leave the secondary too exposed.

As detailed here last week, the stats have been mixed as to whether the Seahawks should blitz frequently or not. It certainly depends, at least to some degree, on the opposing quarterback and offense. For instance, Seattle’s defense thrived last week while bringing heavy pressure on San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was dealing with an ankle injury and who lacks the deep receiving threats other teams have. But in other games, such as Sunday against Buffalo, the results of blitzing were more ambiguous.

Also, when the Seahawks do blitz, they need to do a better job of disguising it. There were at least several times Sunday when they made it too obvious prior to the snap that they were bringing pressure. Blitzes are most effective when they catch the opposing offense off-guard. When they are telegraphed, it makes it easy for the offense to adjust and use the defense’s aggressiveness to its advantage.

WILSON CAN’T RESCUE SEATTLE EVERY WEEK

Russell Wilson has been spectacular this season and is one of the front-runners for the league’s MVP award. But on Sunday, he had his worst performance of the year.

Wilson finished 28-of-41 passing for 390 yards and two touchdowns, but also committed four turnovers — two interceptions and two strip-sack lost fumbles. He now has seven turnovers in the past three games, including his three interceptions in the overtime loss to Arizona.

Yet while Wilson didn’t play well, it’s important to note the context.

Wilson was under siege throughout the game and was sacked five times, including the two strip-sack fumbles. As a result, he appeared more uncomfortable in the pocket than usual. And though the first fumble was primarily Wilson’s fault, the second one was the result of a failed blitz pickup.

And perhaps more importantly, Wilson and the offense were playing catchup from the very beginning. By the time Wilson took his fourth snap, the Seahawks were already in a 14-0 hole. With the way Seattle’s defense was playing, Wilson basically had the pressure of knowing his offense had to score on virtually every possession. That left him taking some chances he probably otherwise would not have.

Wilson’s first interception came on a fourth-and-1 from the Buffalo 5-yard line. There wasn’t anyone open on the play, but with it being fourth down, a throwaway still would’ve resulted in a turnover. So, Wilson threw the ball into traffic to at least give his receiver a chance to make a play, but it was intercepted.

Wilson’s second interception also came in a desperate situation. He was facing a third-and-25 from his own 10-yard line, with Seattle trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter. Given how poorly his team’s defense was playing, he had to take a risk. It didn’t pay off, as the Bills came up with an interception and scored a game-sealing touchdown two plays later. But the reality is that anything less than a first down on that play would’ve all but ended the Seahawks’ hopes as well.

Even with the four turnovers, Wilson and the offense still scored 34 points. And they could’ve scored more, too. They could’ve kicked a field goal on the failed fourth-and-1 from the 5-yard line in the first quarter, although going for it in that situation was likely the analytically correct move. Wilson also nearly tossed a pair of spectacular off-balance touchdown passes, one of which was just a bit underthrown to Freddy Swain and another of which Tyler Lockett nearly hauled in with a diving catch. In both cases, Seattle settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown.

Throughout the course of his career — and especially over the past two seasons — Wilson has demonstrated an incredible ability to carry the Seahawks and make up for mistakes and deficiencies elsewhere on the team. He’s led plenty of improbable comeback victories in situations like this. But it’s simply not realistic to place that burden on him week after week, and to expect him to rescue the team every single time.

METCALF ON PACE TO JOIN ELITE COMPANY

One of the few bright spots Sunday was yet another big performance by DK Metcalf.

Metcalf caught seven passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 41-yard reception down the left sideline in the second quarter. The second-year star has topped 90 yards receiving in seven of eight games this season and has caught at least one touchdown pass in six of eight games.

At the season’s midway mark, Metcalf is on pace to finish the year with 1,576 receiving yards and 16 touchdown catches. If he continues at this pace, he would become just the fifth receiver in NFL history with at least 1,500 receiving yards and 15 touchdown catches in a season. The other four are or will be Hall of Famers — Jerry Rice (who achieved the feat three times), Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison.

Metcalf currently ranks second in the NFL in both receiving yards (788) and receiving yards per game (98.5), and he is tied for second in touchdown catches (eight). He is third in yards per catch (18.3) and sixth in yards per target (11.6).

NEXT TWO GAMES ARE PARAMOUNT

The Seahawks close their toughest stretch of the season with two massive divisional showdowns in a five-day span.

Seattle travels to Los Angeles to face the Rams (5-3) on Sunday, and then returns home to host the Cardinals (5-3) next Thursday night. The Seahawks (6-2) hold a one-game lead over both teams in the NFC West.

After those two divisional matchups, Seattle embarks on a four-game stretch against some of the worst teams in football — the Eagles (3-4-1), Giants (2-7), Jets (0-9) and Washington (2-6). The Seahawks then close the regular season against the Rams and 49ers (4-5).

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of the next two games. For one, they will go a long way to determining how the NFC West race shakes out. Also, Seattle doesn’t have much room for error left in the race for the NFC’s top seed — which carries more importance than ever this season, with only one first-round bye per conference under the new playoff format.

The Seahawks are currently in a three-way tie with New Orleans (6-2) and Green Bay (6-2) for the NFC’s best record, with Tampa Bay (6-3) sitting just one-half game behind.

If Seattle sweeps its next two games, it will be in great shape. That would give the Seahawks at least a two-game lead in the NFC West, with a chance to extend that margin during its ensuing four-game stretch against weaker opponents. It also would give Seattle a good chance of taking a 12-2 record into its final two games, which would place it in prime position for the NFC’s top seed.

If the Seahawks split their next two games, they would still be in the heart of the NFC West race. But it would leave them with very little margin for error in the race for the NFC’s top seed.

If Seattle loses its next two games, it would be in serious trouble in the NFC West race and would probably have little chance of claiming the conference’s top seed.

At the moment, the Seahawks have a 60% chance of winning the NFC West and a 26% chance of capturing the NFC’s top seed, according to FiveThirtyEight. That places them slightly behind the Packers (31%) and Saints (29%) in the race for the conference’s top seed.