Three things from the Seahawks’ loss to Carolina

The Seahawks stand at 2-4 for the first time in four years. Only one team in the previous six seasons has rallied to make the playoffs after losing four of their first six games.

But instead of diving headlong into playoff history, let’s take stock of what we learned from Sunday’s loss to Carolina and what has us scratching our heads.

Three things we learned:

1. Turnovers are no longer the key they once were for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks had two takeaways while committing no turnovers. In Pete Carroll’s first five years as Seattle’s coach, that equated to a win. Entering this season, Seattle had lost only two games under Carroll in which it was plus-2 or better in turnover margin. The Seahawks have now lost two games this year at plus-2 or better. More importantly, Seattle is now 0-3 this season when holding an advantage in turnover margin. The Seahawks were 33-6 in Carroll’s first five years in Seattle when they had an edge in that category. The simplest explanation is that Seattle is failing to turn those turnovers into touchdowns. Each of Seattle’s interceptions on Sunday gave the Seahawks the ball on Carolina’s half of the field. Both times Seattle couldn’t manage more than a field goal.

2. Jimmy Graham can be part of Russell Wilson’s improv act.

Seattle’s most important offensive play Sunday wasn’t the double pass that resulted in Ricardo Lockette’s 40-yard touchdown. That was fun. It was exciting. It was also a one-off production. But Seattle’s first play of the fourth quarter – a third-down play, no less – saw Wilson scramble while Graham continued running his route down the sideline. The result was a 45-yard gain that was not only Seattle’s longest play from scrimmage, but the biggest incentive possible for Graham to keep running even when it appears the play has broken down.

3. The red zone remains a dead zone for Seattle.

Seattle drove inside Carolina’s 20-yard line on three possessions Sunday, but settled for a field goal twice. That was better than the Seahawks normally do. They’re scoring a touchdown on 28.6 percent of their red-zone possessions, dead last in the league. Even more troubling: It’s getting worse. Seattle has scored a touchdown on just one of its eight red-zone possessions over the past four games, and so far this season, five of the nine touchdowns scored by Seattle’s offense have been on plays that started outside the opponent’s 20-yard line. That speaks to the Seahawks’ inability to execute within the scripted offense in a compressed situation close to the goal line.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. Why is Seattle’s defense melting in the fourth quarter?

For the second time in eight days, an opposing quarterback started carving up Seattle’s defense in the fourth quarter like, well, Tom Brady carved up Seattle’s defense in the final period of last season’s Super Bowl. More troubling isn’t just the fact that this time it was Cam Newton, who had completed four of 12 passes in the first half. It was also at CenturyLink Field. And the search for some answers now extends back to the end of last season and you have to wonder if Seattle’s success over the month of December was due to the fact that they faced a lineup of relief pitchers like Mark Sanchez in Philadelphia and then Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley in two games against Arizona. The Seahawks got pressure on the Panthers Sunday. They forced two turnovers. And yet when it was all over they allowed a touchdown drive that covered 80 yards in the fourth quarter. Actually, they allowed that twice.

2. Is Seattle’s defense just not that good?

Well, how do you explain how it plays the first three quarters, then? Seattle has allowed 64 points during quarters one through three this season, sixth-fewest in the league. When you take into account number of games played, Seattle is actually allowing the fourth-fewest points in the league over the first three quarters, an average of 10.7. They’re giving up 9.2 points in the fourth period alone, though, which is the sixth most. Unraveling the key to what’s happening over the final 15 minutes of regulation is the key to salvaging this season for Seattle.

3. Why is Wilson holding onto the ball so long?

Let’s state this up front: Wilson has been the single most consistent element of Seattle’s offense over the course of the first six games. His ability to (mostly) avoid turnovers given the difficulties the Seahawks have had in pass protection has been truly remarkable. But there are plays in which he is either not seeing open receivers or gets gun shy on releasing the ball. If Seattle is going to develop a sustainable offense this season, he needs to start hitting some plays on time and according to script, otherwise it’s going to remain a sandlot operation with some spectacular plays mixed in with quarters where the offense absolutely sputters.

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