Seahawks Instant Reaction: Rams still have their number

The Seattle Seahawks were once again bested by a Los Angeles Rams team behind them in the standings, as LA came back to beat the Hawks 17-16 Sunday for its second win over Seattle this season.

Rams 17, Seahawks 16: Recap | Big Plays | Stats

What’s the deal? The voices of Seattle Sports attempt to make sense of it as they share their instant reactions. Read what they have to say below, and be sure to tune in all day Monday on 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app for even more analysis beginning at 6 a.m., including The Pete Carroll Show at 9:30 with the Seahawks head coach.

• Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m.)

That was a really bad loss for the Seahawks. They were the better team for the most of the day but made so many mistakes that they ultimately couldn’t overcome. From dropped passes to unnecessary penalties to poor clock management and even a turnover thrown in for good measure, the Seahawks did everything in their power to lose this game and finally succeeded.

To be fair, the defense played really well. They had held the Rams to just seven points through three quarters – you can’t do it much better than that. They allowed just 267 total yards, just two third-down conversions, and forced a turnover. That should win you a lot of games. But not when your offense goes into a 30-minute slumber and not when you make as many mistakes as the team did.

They blew it with yet another hands-to-face penalty costing them the biggest stop of the day. They were responsible for a mistake in catching a 2-yard pass in the middle of the field to cost them more than 30 seconds. And I can’t comprehend why they weren’t spiking the ball after the long completion to DK Metcalf with around 30 seconds to play. The difference between 55 and 57 yards isn’t much. The potential gain in throwing another pass is enormous.

There was only one positive from this game: we should be free of anyone calling for the backup quarterback to take over. The difference between Geno Smith and Drew Lock was as evident as it gets.

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• Dave Wyman – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.) & Seahawks Radio Network

• Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.)

Twelve penalties for 130 yards, 5 for 15 on third down, three total points scored in the second half. I’m just laying out the biggest reasons the Seahawks lost again to Rams team that looks like a shell of their Super Bowl version.

Throw in Geno getting hurt, and Drew Lock coming in and throwing an interception that led to the Rams’ go-ahead field goal. That was all part of it. But much like the first meeting between these two teams, the offense went to sleep in the second half, and that was before Geno was hurt.

The first four possessions of the second half, the Seahawks went punt, field goal, punt, punt. I point out these four because Geno was still in there at that time. So it would be easy to say Lock came in messed it all up, but it was messed up before he entered the picture.

More: Seahawks Injury Updates – ‘No idea’ if Geno can play vs 49ers

The Seahawks were allowing 22.3 points per game coming into to Sunday. That’s 19th in the league. They allowed five fewer against the Rams, but even that was too many when the offense played the way that it did. Too many mistakes. Too many missed opportunities. Throw in a few terrible calls by the officials and you get this result.

The Hawks have four days to get it figured out because the 49ers are coming to town and they’re rolling. They don’t look anything like the 49ers team that lost three in a row.

• Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob

There is certainly a lot to unpack after this one, but with a game against the 49ers just four days away to start the toughest four-game stretch of the season, the immediate and overarching concern is the status of Geno Smith.

Your season takes on a completely different trajectory if Smith is out for an extended period of time. For all the issues the Seahawks have had in putting together a complete game on offense, it gets even more difficult when you put that on the shoulders of a backup quarterback who might have to face three of the best defenses in the NFL.

That pall hung over the entire fourth quarter, but the Seahawks’ offensive struggles popped up before that. From the identical halftime score (13-7) to Week 1, to the lack of offensive production, this game took on an eerily familiar tone. The Seahawks’ offense does opening drives very well, and this one was one of the best of the season: 14 plays, 88 yards, nearly eight minutes taken off the clock. Yet the inevitable stagnation occurred once again. After the Seahawks started the game 4 for 4 on third down, they missed 14 straight before the conversion on the final drive to DK Metcalf.

Matthew Stafford remains undefeated against the Seahawks as the Rams starting quarterback (4-0), and you have to wonder what the Rams see in these first halves that have allowed them to flip the dynamic in the final two quarters. It wasn’t as egregious as in the season opener, but after a sack on the first drive, the Seahawks generated minimal pressure on Stafford the rest of the game.

A couple of questionable penalties late in the game certainly affected how the fourth quarter played out, but general poor officiating aside, it’s going to be tough to beat any team with the Seahawks struggles on offense and converting third downs – along with putting up just three points in the second half.

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