The defending NFC champion Seahawks moved within one win of the first placed Cardinals with a 20-3 victory over the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. It was a game that was never in doubt for Seattle, but questions remain as to how this team that has been one of the more dominating forces in professional football has had such a up and down go of it in 2015.
Where does this inconsistency stem from? The only marquee injury the team has suffered at all through the first seven weeks was a two game absence from starting running back Marshawn Lynch. The receiver and tight end corps have been more than reliable for quarterback Russell Wilson. The offensive line however, while not suffering any catastrophic injuries, has left a lot to be desired. They’ve allowed Wilson to be sacked a league-worst 31 times. The trade of center Max Unger to New Orleans netted them Jimmy Graham, but the line has suffered without their maestro in the middle.
The Seahawks righted the ship on Thursday but that ship is still on fire. After blowing consecutive games to both to a pair undefeateds in the Bengals and Panthers and needing a miraculous play at the goal line to beat the lowly Lions, Seattle needed a definitive win. Instead, the viewing public was treated to one of the more miserable prime time games in the league this year. After jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, the game plodded along at a pace that would turn off even the most die hard of “12th Men.”
Wilson was picked off twice and sacked five times by a team that was torched for 43, 47, and 30 during a four game losing streak. Instead of building a rhythm with potential breakout receiver Tyler Lockett, Wilson found himself regularly running for cover and for the most part neglecting to find it. Even with Marshawn Lynch running for 122 yards, San Francisco didn’t fear anything that the Pete Carroll could draw up. A team that was one poor decision away from beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back to back Super Bowls looked beyond pedestrian. It hasn’t just been the offense sputtering. The vaunted Legion of Boom has had the looks of being the Legion of Bust throughout 2015.
Through the first two games, all the ills of the defense were blamed on the holdout of safety Kam Chancellor. Chancellor would return but the team still looks out of sync. Richard Sherman is still one of the NFC’s top cornerbacks, but the impetus for teams to throw away from him has all but eroded. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are still getting to the quarterback, but the gentlemen around them are finding themselves being left vulnerable on the downs where they don’t.
The schedule for the Seahawks going forward isn’t anything special. They’ll get the MASH unit known as the Cowboys in ten days. Very winnable games against the Niners, Browns, and Ravens are sandwiched between contests with Arizona. The Cardinals may have nothing to play for in that Week 17 affair. We may all be jumping the gun on saying that the 2015 Seahawks are lacking punch but the team’s resume thus far gives us no reason not too. Will the Seahawks that have reigned over the NFC West stand up over the next two months or will this year be one continuous struggle? They are running out of excuses as to why they look as bad as they do. It is time for them to seize the opportunities granted to them instead of just hoping that their reputation will carry them through. We could still see the old ‘Hawks emerge this year. There is just as good a chance though that the tides have turned and the birds of prey have finally been brought to the taxidermist.