“You don’t want to play two teams at the same time — yourselves and the opponent,” goes an old coach’s jargon.
This self-discipline-based adage emphasises that unintentional mistakes can be just as harmful as anything your adversary throws at you.
The Seahawks did, in fact, play two teams on Sunday. They both kicked the living daylights out of them.
Losses can occasionally be attributed to a string of unfortunate events unrelated to the skill of the opposition. Not this one. Even though the Seahawks were a mess in their 31-10 defeat to the Bills, Buffalo’s roster was more severely hurt than their own.
This performance further indicated that the Seahawks’ disparity with the NFL’s best players extends from end zone to end zone.
That’s the outcome of a strong football team outperforming us in each of the three game phases, and things spiral out of control when you’re doing what we did today. In addition, we didn’t help ourselves,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald stated. It’s a long list of items. If you would like, we can look over each line item individually. In summary, we were outcoached and outplayed, and we need to go make amends.
Here’s the four-item laundry list, if you’re wondering.
1. On second-and-goal from the Buffalo 3, Seahawks center Connor Williams snapped it over quarterback Geno Smith’s head, leading to a 19-yard loss. The Seahawks settled for a field goal to make it 7-3 Bills early in the second quarter.
2. On fourth-and-goal from the Buffalo 1, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith fell after seemingly getting tripped up by Williams’ leg, leading to a turnover on downs with the score still 7-3 in the second.
3. On third-and-seven from Seattle’s 24, Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall delivered a late hit to Bills quarterback Josh Allen after an incomplete pass, which not only gave Buffalo a first down from the 12, but negated what would have been a 5-yard illegal motion penalty on the Bills. Allen connected with tight end Dalton Kincaid on a 12-yard touchdown pass two plays later to put Buffalo up 14-3 with 18 seconds left in the first half.
4. On first-and-10 from the Buffalo 40, and the Seahawks trailing 17-3 in the third, Smith’s pass was tipped by the Bills’ Casey Toohill and intercepted by Austin Johnson. The Bills scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
That’s a comedy of errors the Lumen Field crowd found strikingly unfunny, but it’s not the main reason the Seahawks — who, granted, were playing without receiver DK Metcalf — lost. They just got pummeled by a superior team.
At one point in the fourth quarter, when the Bills went up 31-3, Buffalo (6-2) had outgained Seattle (4-4) 416 yards to 141. Bills running back James Cook had 111 yards on 17 carries, while Allen finished with 283 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Josh Jobe, a cornerback, intercepted Allen in the second quarter, which was the only bright light for the Seahawks defence, which only forced three punts. However, that resulted in no points. Just a downs turnover. In a blowout loss, a fitting blow.
Six days ago, I argued that after the Seahawks’ 34-14 away victory over Atlanta last week, expectations should be lowered. However, the Seahawks have lost by 13 points, 12 points, and 21 points, respectively, to the Lions, 49ers, and Bills—past opponents who seem like real Super Bowl candidates.
How representative was today of the current state of the program? They asked Macdonald.
That’s a valid question, in my opinion. Macdonald, whose club began 3-0 but has already lost four of its last five games, said, “We talk about stacking wins around here, and when you’re going on and off, back and forth, it’s frustrating.” “In order to move our program in the direction we want it to go, you want to be able to build on the positive things we’re doing. It’s quite depressing and annoying to take a step backwards as you did today.
When Hall’s costly late hit forced him and teammate Jarran Reed to separate on the Seahawks sideline, you could see that rage growing on the field. As Macdonald responded to enquiries regarding the running game, it was evident that the Seahawks, who arrived on Sunday, the 27th, rushing yards per game — tallied just 32 yards on the ground. The run defense is equally concerning and has shown no signs of improvement.
To be honest, considering the Seahawks’ 9-8 record from the previous season, this is about where they were predicted to be. In some way, they are still tied for first place in the NFC West.
However, when they play beside the Seahawks, it’s obvious which elite teams they are.
The Seahawks undoubtedly committed too many errors on Sunday. Even if they had those plays back, they probably would have lost.
