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Seahawks Instant Reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on loss 28-12 to Rams

Dec 8, 2019, 9:01 PM | Updated: 10:05 pm

Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett...

Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett struggled for the third straight week in Sunday's loss. (AP)

(AP)

The Seahawks suffered a significant defeat on Sunday night in Los Angeles, a 28-12 loss to the Rams that took them out of the NFC West lead.

Rams 28, Seahawks 12 | Penny hurt | 3 key moments | Hawksplaining

As we do after every Seahawks game, we have collected the initial impressions of the voices of 710 ESPN Seattle. This is just a preview of what you’ll be able to hear throughout the day Monday on the station.

Jessamyn McIntyre – Danny and Gallant

It was the worst of times… and then it got worse. While the Seahawks have proven time and time again that they’re capable of coming back from a deficit, the Rams had their number today – on both sides of the ball.

The good: Quandre Diggs. His pick-6 gave us hope. His second pick on the ensuing drive gave us more.

The bad: A quick three-and-out gave the Rams the ball right back and it all began to dwindle once again. And there’s more bad than that.

Credit to Wade Phillips and the Rams’ defense, as they dialed up pressure on Russell Wilson and caused problems in the backfield. However, the Seahawks have faced strong defenses throughout this season and stood up to the test.

Also bad: Rashaad Penny with an early injury that eliminated him for the game and, according to a somewhat ominous tweet, might have him out for the season.

The Seahawks’ offense put just three points on the board through three and a half quarters and six points in the entire game. What’s the remedy here? Hard to say, as they couldn’t get much of anything going. The offensive line didn’t have a banner day, giving up five significant sacks and allowing the Rams rush to penetrate at will.

Wilson had to have magic today to pull this thing out and he simply didn’t. He didn’t play poorly, per se, but he didn’t have those ‘spectacular Russell Wilson’ plays we’ve seen in games where it seemed as though all hope was lost.

It’s unfair and unrealistic to depend on Wilson to make magic happen in order for the Seahawks to win every game. And if we’re looking ahead to Week 17 (which of course the team isn’t, but hey, we can), then they’re going to have to bring a whole lot more than we saw tonight. The final game against the 49ers will potentially be for the division and home-field advantage.

Is it time to panic? Not quite. The Seahawks have plenty of film to study when it comes to ‘what to fix’ as they head down the final stretch. New faces on this team will continue to get better in their respective schemes. Josh Gordon caught more than a slant route. Diggs had two picks. Cody Barton had his first start. We can hope Ziggy Ansah returns to form when he’s healthy. And perhaps we’ll see more from Shaquem Griffin off the edge.

Is it disappointing? You bet. Seattle would’ve sat in first place in the NFC with a win tonight. Instead, San Francisco ascends to that throne and the Seahawks sit at fifth with the first wild card spot.

We’ll get some answers from Pete Carroll on Monday morning as he joins Danny and Gallant at 9:30 a.m. Until then, try to get some sleep. I know it won’t be easy.

The Groz – Every day at 11:45 with John Clayton

When John Clayton asked me on the air why I was picking the Rams to beat the Seahawks, I told him the main reason was I didn’t see Seattle winning 14 games this year. He then asked me what I thought the panic level would be among Seahawks fans and I said that depended on how bad they lost.

Well, that was pretty bad, and I imagine many are panic stricken.

The best news here is that you are done with the Rams, save potentially hosting them in the NFC Championship game. They are and have been a problem. What was discouraging is they made several mistakes that could have let the Seahawks back in and the offense was unable to take advantage.

Remember when Russell Wilson was the MVP frontrunner? Well, he isn’t anymore. In the last three games he has three TD passes, three picks and a QB rating of about 90. Then look at Tyler Lockett, who has eight receptions, 97 yards and 2 TDs – not in the last game. That’s his output for the last four games.

Very little to like about Sunday but it’s just one game and everything remains on the table for the Seahawks if they can sweep the next three games. All signs still point to the 49ers game at the end of the year decoding the division, but if you’ve been watching these two teams, one of them is playing extremely well and it’s not the Seahawks.

The schedule is favorable the next three weeks and we should learn a lot next week in Carolina. Let’s hope we like what we learn.

Bob Stelton – Bob, Dave and Moore

Quandre Diggs, Chris Carson and DK Metcalf. I just gave you the Seahawks’ positives from this game. Outside of those three players, the rest of the team had little impact or just flat-out played poorly.

The O-line was dominated all night. Wilson was sacked five times and under constant pressure for most of the game. Malik Turner and Jacob Hollister dropped balls on key plays that ended back-to-back drives.

The linebackers were picked apart in coverage by Jared Goff, who by the way did everything he could to keep Seattle in the game by throwing two interceptions. One was even returned for a TD by Diggs. The other just resulted in a three-and-out for the Hawks’ offense.

Outside of Carson, the offense did little to nothing that threatened the Rams defense.

The defensive line generated very little pressure on Goff aside from a handful of plays. The Seahawks ultimately came away with no sacks on the night.

Rashaad Penny suffered a knee injury early in the game that may have ended his season. Jason Myers missed an extra point, and not that it mattered in the end but it was just par for the course as far as the Hawks’ performance in this game.

The Seahawks are still a good team that very much control their own destiny. They just could have made their job a lot easier if they had decided to show up in this one.

Jim Moore – Bob, Dave and Moore

It was unusual to see the Seahawks struggle on offense the way they did, going the entire night without a touchdown. They had the NFL’s third-ranked offense entering the game.

And yes, they blew a chance to clinch a playoff birth while falling a game behind the 11-2 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West race. But I’m having a hard time saying this was a devastating defeat. The 8-5 Rams were in desperation mode, needing to win to stay alive for a playoff berth.

The most disappointing part? On a night when starting tight end Gerald Everett did not play because of a knee injury, second-sting tight end Tyler Higbee picked up the slack with seven receptions for a career-best 118 yards.

I look at it as a bump in the road, nothing to get all up in arms about. Did you think this team was going to run the table and win every game on the road this year? I think we’ll look back on this game at the end of the season and consider it more of an aberration than the start of a disturbing trend.

Want some good news? Next week the Seahawks face a Carolina team that has lost five in a row. The week after that, they host an Arizona team that has lost six in a row. Then they play the 49ers at CenturyLink Field, and if the Seahawks win their next two games, they are guaranteed to be in a position to win the NFC West if they beat San Francisco in the last game of the season.

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Seahawks Instant Reaction: 710 ESPN Seattle on loss 28-12 to Rams