Rost: The winners and losers after Seahawks’ defeat to Buffalo

The Seattle Seahawks lost 31-10 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, dropping to 4-4 on the season.

Seahawks observations | Instant Reaction | Tempers flare | Stats

Here’s a look at who were winners and losers coming out of the game.

• Winner: Bills RB James Cook

Playing the Seahawks’ defense this week? Come on down and collect your first 100-yard game!

Seattle is one of the worst run defenses in the league this year, which was also the case the year before that, and the year before that. Along with abysmal missed tackles and communication issues came season-highs in rushing yards for opposing running backs. By December 2022, the Seahawks had allowed season highs in rushing to Cordarrelle Patterson, Jamaal Williams, Taysom Hill, Alvin Kamara, Kyler Murray, Rachaad White, Josh Jacobs, and Chuba Hubbard. Last year they ended the season allowing 150 or more on the ground in each of their final five games, and 200 or more in each of their final two.

Cook hadn’t had a game with 100 rushing yards yet this season, and fantasy football owners probably thought that would change with a start against the Seahawks. They were right.

I don’t know what Seattle fixes here. If two coaches can’t solve the same problem, is it a coaching problem?

Cookin' with gas!

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/FRA1qDd8Gy

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 27, 2024

• Loser: Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith 

Geno Smith didn’t lose the Seahawks this game. But because he’s a quarterback — and because he’s a quarterback who threw an interception in a loss — he’ll shoulder plenty of the blame. But take a look at his interception (and click here for a solid point made by Locked on Seahawks host Corbin Smith):

Big man INT!

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/6FCtI5v7a5

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 27, 2024

What’s Smith supposed to do here? I mean sure, ideally you don’t throw the game away. He’s still responsible for not throwing a pick. But he’s been the third-most hurried quarterback behind C.J. Stroud and Dak Prescott, the fourth-most sacked quarterback, and second-most blitzed quarterback this season.

The Seahawks don’t have a Geno Smith problem. I don’t think he’s a long-term answer at quarterback, but he’s been one of their better performers this season. They have an offensive line problem. And while some young, dynamic passer on a rookie deal would sit well when thinking of a 10-year plan, that player would be struggling even more behind the starting five Seattle is rolling out.

The good news, if there is any: The Seahawks have one more game before a much-needed bye week, and with that comes the possibility for the return of starting right tackle Abe Lucas.

‘Extremely frustrating’ day for defense | Goal-line gaffes

• Winner: Seahawks WR DK Metcalf

Did the Hawks lose because they didn’t have DK Metcalf, who was inactive with a knee injury? No. But when you’re an agent trying to secure a monster contract extension for your big wide receiver, it helps when his team can’t immediately find an answer for his replacement.

I highly doubt Metcalf felt like a winner Sunday. It’s hard watching your team lose from the sideline. But flags were flying and none of them were because of him, balls were fumbles and none of them were his, and no single pass catcher filled his role.

• Loser: Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald 

Mike Macdonald inherited a roster that had some questions and plenty of holes. There are one-year deals at inside linebacker after moving on from Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner, a banged-up defensive line that at one point was missing both Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy, an outside linebacker group without Uchenna Nwosu, and an offensive line that entered the season with doubt (the latter a decade-long issue).

Coaching is the chief problem when a team simply isn’t playing up to its roster, which is hard to say about the Seahawks when there’s such an obvious personnel gap between them and the league’s top contenders. But coaching was also an issue Sunday. There’s no way around that.

Macdonald seems to be every bit the brilliant defensive mind he was pitched as heading into the season, and maybe Seahawks fans will get to see that when this team adds after the offseason. But he’s also tasked, as is every head coach in the NFL, with trying to do more with less sometimes. This isn’t a scrappy team that put up a fight but ultimately didn’t have the firepower of its opponent. This was a group that played, at times, without discipline. There were sloppy mistakes and fumbles. And in the booth, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb seemingly had no response for a Bills defense that ranked 20th against the run entering Week 8. Special teams continued its gaffes, and both of those fall under Macdonald’s overview as well.

I don’t think his seat should be hot. This was always going to be a year focused on installing a program, building on a winning culture, and establishing trust between players and their new coaches. But I can’t think Sunday’s loss helped.

• Winner: Bills coach Sean McDermott and DC Bobby Babich

The Bills haven’t been an exceptional defense this year. They’re without their best linebacker and are undersized on the second level, which longtime NFL reporter Vic Carucci told us on Seattle Sports’ The Huddle has led to some issues defending the run.

McDermott has been the longtime defensive mastermind and play caller for Buffalo, but he handed those duties off to Babich this season. It’s been an up and down journey, but the two coached an excellent game Sunday. The Bills held the Seahawks to a single rushing yard in the first half and three rushing yards through three quarters. And that was without both starting linebackers, with Terrel Bernard (ankle) having already joined Matt Milano on the sideline for a third week now.

• Loser: Seahawks C Connor Williams 

Williams finished his season as one of Pro Football Focus’ top-graded centers. Coming back from an ACL injury, it was fair to expect a slow start. Perhaps there would be an adjustment to a new quarterback and a new offense. But this was a no good, very bad day for the NFL vet.

A botched snap sailed over Smith’s head in the second quarter for what was officially a fumble, ultimately recovered by Seattle, and it turned a second-and-3 into third-and-22.

Whoops! Chaos in Seattle 👀

📺: #BUFvsSEA on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/JrgqJnkUiQ

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

Later, Williams was pushed back on a fourth-down attempt, which tripped up a crossing Anthony Bradford and Geno Smith and ended any hope of a score.

😬 pic.twitter.com/O4B8vXj4RS

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 27, 2024

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