How panicked should we be after Seahawks’ discouraging OT loss?

We can no longer refer to the undefeated Seattle Seahawks after Sunday’s 37-34 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and you wouldn’t necessarily be out of line if the manner in which Seattle lost caused you some panic.

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While the Seahawks are still 5-1, the loss came after they took a 10-point lead inside the final seven minutes of regulation. It also occurred in Seattle’s first meeting with a fellow NFC West team this year. And you also have to consider Russell Wilson’s surprising three-interception night, the lack of a single quarterback hit on Arizona’s Kyler Murray, and the continuing struggle on the defensive side of the ball for Seattle, especially with its pass rush.

But should Seahawks fans be panicked because of the loss?

On Monday morning, 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant focused on that topic, and they ended up deciding that Sunday’s loss doesn’t really change how they feel about the team. Let’s take a closer look at what they had to say.

Danny O’Neil

Seahawks panic level: 3 out of 10

“I look at it and say you’ve played four games that go down to the final minute and you win three of them – you’re more fortunate than you are unlucky, and this is probably an accurate reflection of who this team is. They earned every ounce of this loss. It’s frustrating and the flaws are not one-offs. You can see some of them that can be traced back, but this doesn’t change what I think this team is capable of. … It reaffirms some of the flaws. They don’t have a pass rush, but Kyler Murray is kind of the antidote to any pass rush. They do depend on their quarterback (Wilson) being really good, but I think that’s true for most elite teams. And their defense, if you’re going to ask that defense to get a stop, you’re going to sit there with your fingers crossed, your eyes squished, absolutely sweating that out like the worst bet you’ve ever made in your life.”

Paul Gallant

Seahawks level of panic: 2.63 out of 10

“When you look at Russell Wilson, this game I think is an anomaly. I am a little concerned that some of the interceptions this year have been particularly careless… but this offense is a dreadnought. The Chris Carson injury is a little concerning, the defense is what it is, but I think for the most part you aren’t going to go up against many quarterbacks that are as evasive as ‘The Cat-Man’ Kyler Murray. … The other thing is I feel like you puked it away, which at the end of the day isn’t necessarily the (worst) thing if you look at the big picture, because I think it was your mistakes that gave Arizona the win. Credit to Arizona for getting this ‘W,’ and they gave you their own gifts, but I feel like Seattle making mistakes is really the reason they lost last night.”

What’s the Seahawks’ big issue after Sunday?

“The issue is personnel,” Gallant said. “It’s not a matter of the coaches, no matter how you feel about (defensive coordinator) Ken Norton Jr. or the defense that Pete (Carroll) has been running. They don’t have enough pass rushers, and in the secondary, when someone like Shaquill Griffin or Quinton Dunbar goes down, that means Tre Flowers comes in, and Tre Flowers is a giant bullseye for any team that goes up against him.”

You can hear the full discussion in the final segment of the first hour of Monday’s edition of Danny and Gallant in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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