Another inexplicable collapse for Seahawks D in loss to Panthers

Mixed messages doomed Seattle’s defense on its final play of Sunday’s game.

Cornerback Richard Sherman got one signal from the sideline, a call that wasn’t relayed to safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. The result was that Seattle left the backdoor open, allowing Cam Newton’s uncontested 26-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to give Carolina a 27-23 victory.

Seahawks lose 27-23 | Offense shares blame | Notebook | What Panthers said

If only it was so simple to explain what has happened to Seattle’s defense in the final period this season. That question is far more difficult to answer for everyone from the coaches to the players to the city that watched Seattle blow a multi-possession fourth-quarter lead for the second time in eight days.

“I can’t tell you what’s going on right now,” safety Earl Thomas said. “We’re playing good football. We’re just not finishing, man. I feel like we run out of juice or something out there.”

This is a defense that is missing its finishing touch. A team that has now held opponents to 64 points in the first three quarters, but given up 55 in the fourth.

Against Carolina, the Seahawks played like they usually do against Carolina’s Cam Newton, which is to say they stifled him. He completed 8 of his 21 passes in the first three quarters for 107 yards. And then in the fourth quarter, he was 12 of 15 passing for 162 yards and his only incompletion on the final drive was when he spiked the ball to stop the clock.

There will be a lot of analysis on Carolina’s final play, talking about the miscommunication and confusion in Seattle’s secondary, and all of that was true.

Sherman saw one play signaled in from the sidelines, a coverage named L.A. That was the coverage that defensive coordinator Kris Richard had called, according to Thomas. The problem was that Thomas and Chancellor didn’t get that call relayed to them on the field, and they played the initial coverage, which was Cover Three.

“Sherm was so close to the sideline he got the correct call,” Thomas said, “but we didn’t get it echoed to the whole defense. We didn’t get the job done.”

Seattle’s two safeties thought Sherman had deep coverage on his side; Sherman played the coverage expecting safety help on the back end. But while the confusion sealed Seattle’s fate in the game, that was simply the punctuation mark in another fourth quarter in which the Seahawks failed – repeatedly – to shut the door on an opponent.

This is an experienced defense, one that has allowed the fewest points in the league for three successive seasons. It is a team that started three All-Pros on Sunday even with linebacker Bobby Wagner out, and yet once again the Seahawks defense functioned more like a speed bump than a wall when it mattered most.

“We don’t suck,” Thomas said. “We know who we are. We’re not finishing, man, and we know that our offense is going to battle and we know we’re going to be in those pressure situations every game.”

This time it wasn’t because Seattle had a player who slipped and fell in coverage like it was in St. Louis in Week 1. This loss wasn’t due to the fact the Seahawks were playing the best quarterback in the league on the road like at Green Bay in Week 2. Heck, this wasn’t even Andy Dalton and Cincinnati’s high-powered offense a week ago.

This was a nine-point lead the Seahawks let slip away at home by allowing Carolina to drive 80 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Twice.

What’s happening to this defense in the fourth quarter?

“I know you guys really want to figure it out,” coach Pete Carroll said. ” ‘OK, what is it?’ and pin-point it. It’s not like that. There’s a lot going on.”

This isn’t about the Seahawks sticking to the same coverage. It’s not about their reluctance to blitz as Seattle effectively pressured the Panthers and logged a sack on Carolina’s final possession. It’s not a failure to produce turnovers, either, as the Seahawks picked off Newton twice in the game.

And yet the Seahawks still lost, and this time, it was at home.

“We still have to find our way,” Carroll said. “We need one more play. We need one more first down. It’s across the board.”

Any possibility of salvaging this season depends on the Seahawks finding those answers within themselves.

“Hopefully, we can get it fixed,” Thomas said. “You don’t know. I don’t know.”

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