Observations from Seahawks’ humbling 30-13 loss to Packers

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks surrendered their perch atop the NFC West with a 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night at Lumen Field.

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The loss snapped the Seahawks’ four-game win streak and vaulted the Los Angeles Rams into a share of the NFC West lead. Seattle is now tied with Los Angeles at 8-6, but the Rams currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of their Week 9 victory over the Seahawks. Seattle and Los Angeles meet again in the regular-season finale, which is shaping up to potentially be a winner-take-all showdown for the NFC West crown.

But perhaps the most concerning issue right now is the status of quarterback Geno Smith, who exited with a leg injury after getting hit with a low shot on an incompletion midway through the third quarter.

Rost: What the Seahawks’ 30-13 loss to Packers showed

Here are five things that stood out from the Seahawks’ loss.

• O-line takes a step back: The Seahawks’ oft-criticized offensive line broke through for its best performance of the season in last week’s victory over the Arizona Cardinals. But any hope of that being an immediate turning point for the unit quickly evaporated on Sunday night. After playing their first sack-free game of the season last week, the Seahawks were sacked seven times by the Packers. Backup quarterback Sam Howell took four sacks and Smith took three, including a pair of third-down sacks that ended Seattle’s first two drives of the game. Smith also threw a red-zone interception that was caused in part by heavy pressure surrendered by the O-line. And on Seattle’s opening drive of the second half, a first-down sack and a third-down holding penalty by rookie right guard Sataoa Laumea pushed the offense out of field-goal range. It didn’t help that starting center Olu Oluwatimi exited with a knee injury in the second quarter, forcing undrafted rookie Jalen Sundell to play the rest of the game. That ended a rare stretch of continuity for Seattle’s O-line, which had gone back-to-back full games with the same starting unit.

Rashan Gary with his 4th sack in the last 5 games 😮‍💨

📺: #GBvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zGVqqjr132

— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2024

• Run defense also takes a step back: Seattle’s dramatic midseason turnaround on defense largely stemmed from the massive strides it made against the run. After being gashed for 148.4 rushing yards per game over the first eight weeks, the Seahawks held their next five opponents to just 91.6 rushing yards per game. But while facing one of the league’s top ground attacks on Sunday night, the Seahawks regressed. The Packers piled up 140 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry, including 66 rushing yards on a pair of first-quarter touchdown drives that gave them an early 14-0 lead. Star running back Josh Jacobs, who entered the night as the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, finished with 136 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 94 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, while adding four catches for 42 yards.

• Rough night for the secondary: When healthy, Seattle’s secondary has been a strength this season. But on Sunday night, the unit made several back-breaking mistakes. It began on the game’s second snap, when cornerback Riq Woolen aided a Green Bay touchdown drive by committing a roughing-the-passer penalty on a screen pass. Early in the second quarter, Woolen misplayed a deep sideline pass, resulting in a 36-yard completion to Christian Watson that keyed a field-goal drive. Perhaps the most demoralizing miscue came in the closing minutes of the first half, when quarterback Jordan Love lofted a heave into traffic on what was essentially a free play due to a Seahawks offside penalty. Seattle safety Coby Bryant got outmuscled on the jump ball by tight end Tucker Kraft, who made a 26-yard catch that ignited another Green Bay scoring drive. Five plays after that, Woolen got beat downfield and committed a 34-yard pass-interference penalty, which set up a chip-shot field goal that gave the Packers a commanding 20-3 halftime lead.

Jordan Love saw a free play opportunity and took it for 26 yards to Tucker Kraft

📺: #GBvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/bEL7UJgIlm

— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2024

• Another red-zone pick: After back-to-back turnover-free games, Smith made another costly mistake late in the first half. Facing pressure on a third-and-9 from the Green Bay 12 yard-line, Smith backpedaled and lofted an underthrown pass into double coverage in the corner of the end zone. Green Bay cornerback Carrington Valentine snagged it for an interception, which cost Seattle a chance at a field goal that would have trimmed the deficit to 17-6. It was Smith’s fifth red-zone interception of the season. He now has 13 interceptions overall, which is third-most in the league.

The @packers get the red zone INT thanks to Carrington Valentine!

📺: #GBvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/utG0qOJjKA

— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2024

• JSN continues his tear: One of the few bright spots for the Seahawks was another productive game for second-year wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had 10 catches on 12 targets for 83 yards. It was Smith-Njigba’s sixth straight game with 70-plus receiving yards, which set a record for the longest such streak in franchise history. The former first-round draft pick now has 994 receiving yards this year, which puts him on the brink of becoming the 10th player in franchise history to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season.

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