Instant Reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on Seahawks’ 24-22 playoff loss to Dallas

The Seahawks’ season came to an end on Saturday night with a 24-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC wild-card playoff game.

Seahawks lose | O’Neil: Hawks die by the run | Takeaways | Photos

As we do after each Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions of 710 ESPN Seattle’s hosts to the defeat. Read their reactions below, and then catch the shows on Monday for tons more reaction and analysis.

Mike Salk (Brock and Salk)

It was a fun season, one that took most of the football world by surprise. And while there will be many who criticize the conservative offensive gameplan that was unsuccessful in Dallas, it was that very plan that allowed this group to be in this spot at all.

Unfortunately, this day called for an adjustment that they were unwilling (or unable) to make on the fly. And while most of the blame will shift to the offense – which is fair after scoring only 14 meaningful points – it was the defense that allowed a third-and-14 run which iced the game and deprived us all of the chance to see what wizardry Russell Wilson had in store.

Fun year. Unfun game.

Dave Grosby (Bob, Groz and Tom)

There sure will be a lot of talk about this one. Bottom line: My key to the game was stopping Ezekiel Elliott, and the Seahawks didn’t.

Many other things to be disappointed about. Seattle had the lead going into the fourth quarter and lost for one of the few times this season. After Dallas took the lead and K.J. Wright made what should have been a game-changing interception, the offense went three-and-out. And after committing one penalty for three-plus quarter, the Seahawks committed several critical penalties down the stretch.

Questionable play calls, critical mistakes – like I said, a lot to talk about. Dallas deserves credit for playing well, especially on defense. Some will blame the officials – I won’t. Real tough day for Chris Carson and Shaquill Griffin, and I hope this wasn’t K.J.’s last game as a Seahawk, but that’s for another time.

The Seahawks were in a position to win and they didn’t. Dallas had more then twice as many first downs, out-gained the Seahawks by about 100 yards, had more than twice the yards rushing and a 10-minute edge in time of possession. The Hawks, meanwhile, were only 2 for 13 converting on third down.

On this day Dallas was the better team. It’s a disappointing end to a surprisingly good season, but this is still a tough one to swallow.

Bob Stelton (Bob, Groz and Tom)

I’m sure at some point soon I’ll be able to appreciate this season for being decidedly better than most people thought it would be, but right now I’m beyond disappointed.

The Hawks had their chances, but some mind boggling play calling, special teams not being so special once again, untimely pass interference calls, mindless penalties (D.J. Fluker’s unnecessary roughness flag) and lack of execution all got in the way of them moving on in the playoffs.

You really don’t need to look any further than the Cowboys facing a third-and-14 in the fourth quarter and the Hawks defense allowing Dak Prescott to run right up the middle for 16 yards. We can all complain about how little the offense did to help the defense up to that point, which is absolutely true. But that play can’t happen – period.

This team has a lot to look forward to with some young talent that really emerged this season along with a very solid group of veterans. The Hawks have skipped the “rebuild” and jumped right to postseason participant and, next season, Super Bowl contender.

It was a fun season that came to an end in a very frustrating fashion.

Jessamyn McIntyre (Danny, Dave and Moore)

This season was a success, regardless of whether or not this game was.

I actually thought the Seahawks would win this game, and albeit its disappointing end, this season showed so much promise for the future.

The Seahawks locked up Tyler Lockett and Duane Brown, who’ve had immensely positive influences on the offense, and they have rookies in Tre Flowers and Jacob Martin who will have sound impact on the defense for seasons to come.

This team has too many bright spots to list, but that’s probably the best sign toward the future I could write down.

Sure, we all would’ve loved a win today, however in a season that saw an entire coaching staff gutted, Pro Bowlers leaving and a lot of doubt, they most certainly won’t have the first pick in the draft.

And I like it that way.

Tom Wassell (Bob, Groz and Tom)

The Seahawks didn’t do anything particularly well. Would have been interesting to see the game in Russell’s hands because he did manage to sneak in a couple of great plays tonight both with his arm and his legs.

Defensively they played well enough to win the game. K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and Bradley McDougald were all standouts. Were they perfect? No, but they did more than their fair share to keep the game close.

Penalties killed them late in the game, as they always do. Most were actually the Seahawks’ fault, but I don’t get the one against K.J.

Special teams had a good night covering kicks until that big return in the fourth quarter. After that, it was a disaster.

I’ll hurl some blame over Brian Schottenheimer’s way. It wasn’t the most stubborn play-calling I’ve ever seen, but throwing the ball to set up the run might have been worth a shot a few drives earlier than they actually did.

Good season.