Heaps: Seahawks’ offense must start playing ‘full 60 minutes’ vs 49ers

The Seahawks find themselves in an unfamiliar spot as they enter a crucial NFC West showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

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Not only is Seattle 1-2, but the team is looking to avoid a three-game losing streak, which the haven’t had since 2011. That was a year prior to star quarterback Russell Wilson’s arrival in the NFL.

What’s contributed to the Seahawks’ rough start?

Well defensively, they’re giving up the most yards in the NFL at 440.3 a game, and are 21st in points allowed after giving up 33 and 30 the last two weeks, respectively.

The other side of the ball has been better, but in each of Seattle’s two losses, that unit has struggled to put points on the board and sustain drives. The Seahawks scored just six points in the second half in a Week 2 loss to the Tennessee Titans and were shutout in the second half last week against the Minnesota Vikings. That came after putting up 24 in the first half against the Titans and 17 in the first half against the Vikings.

So in an NFC West matchup that’s key for a number of reasons, how can the offense be better than it has been? Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps shared his thoughts during Friday’s edition of Jake and Stacy on 710 ESPN Seattle.

“They’ve got to remain balanced, obviously,” he said. “You want to continue to keep Chris Carson involved.”

Carson has 202 yards and three scores on the ground this year through three games and is averaging nearly five yards per carry. He alo has five catches for 28 yards.

What else is Heaps looking for in Week 4 for the Seahawks?

“If you just look at the first half of the way that they’ve played football against Tennessee and more specifically the game that I loved personally was (against) the Minnesota Vikings,” he said. “The first half that they had was incredible. You’ve got to be able to bottle that up and you’ve got to be able to play a full 60 minutes.”

“The only critique I have for this offense this season, yeah third downs have been an area of concern, but more importantly being able to produce and have that same level of production that you had it in the first half and carry it over into the second half,” Heaps added. “That to me is going to be the key and if you are going to beat a division rival in the NFC West this offense is going to have to carry you for a full 60 minutes. It’s just the way that this is shaped up right now … The execution has to be crisp. It has to be winning football for these games and it has to start this week.”

Listen to the full second hour of Friday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.

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