Maybe it was the absence of Earl Thomas’ passion in the defensive backfield. Maybe it was (and I can’t believe I’m writing this) Justin Britt’s absence leaving a gaping whole in the middle of the offensive line. Maybe it was recent death of Buccaneer’s cornerback Alterraun Verner’s father that energized the Tampa Bay defense. But for the first time in a long, long time I felt like the Seahawks lost a game because they didn’t want it enough. The Bucs just wanted it more. For the Seahawks, the desire just wasn’t there on Sunday.
I know that’s a dumb cliche. I know that can’t be true, that professional athletes always want to win. I know that I’m just spouting the sort of pointless drivel that hacks spit out when they don’t have anything meaningful to say about a game… but uh… here we are. The Seahawks didn’t have the heart of the champion in their 14-5 loss to Tampa Bay.
Why am I saying that?
Because Russell Wilson and the Seahawks looked awful on offense on Sunday, but after a run of games where they had looked like world beaters, I don’t want to read too much into a single road game. The defense, after two sloppy starting drives and despite missing four starters—Earl Thomas, Michael Bennett, Deshawn Shead and Mike Morgan—played quite well. Also! Every other team in the NFC West lost, so the Seahawks still have a stranglehold on their division. Also! Donald Trump was elected president, and that’s doing enough psychic damage, so I refuse to look for excuses to freak out after a nine-point loss to a pretty good team.
So I guess I’m saying they didn’t want it because I don’t really have any other answers.
Let’s hit the bullets quickly and optimistically:
• The offensive line, which had taken a few steps forward over the past few weeks, spent this Sunday turning around and sprinting back to the depths where they began this season. Justin Britt’s absence in the middle of the line was profound; rookie sixth-round pic. Joey Hunt looked overmatched by Tampa’s front seven. But credit where credit is due: Tampa has some really good defensive linemen. Geno Atkins destroyed Germain Ifedi, but he’s destroyed lots of people in his career. And Noah Spence is a good young edge rusher. Again, I refuse to panic after one bad game.
• Russell Wilson had two interceptions while the Seahawks were in field goal range on Sunday. Jimmy Graham had a fumble in field goal range. I’m choosing to look at the bulk of these players’ careers when I say, more often than not, we’ll cash in those points. I’m choosing not to say, “Russ and Jimmy are broken and are going to start turning over the ball all the time.” I am not going to say that.
• Jermaine Kearse is broken and I will not defend him, except that even in the midst of another nightmare game filled with drops and OPI’s, he still made some huge plays down the stretch. Jermaine Kearse is the weirdest Seahawk, so I will choose to focus on the positive and remain Kearse Krew for life (for now).
• Kam Chancellor has played some of the best football of his career since returning from a groin injury a few weeks ago. He had another interception today and delivered a healthy number of huge hits in the running game to mop up for an uncharacteristically slack front seven. Two months ago I thought the Seahawks would walk away from Chancellor after this season. Now? I’m not so sure.
• While the the Seahawks missed Earl Thomas, Steven Terrell acquitted himself adequately in relief. He recovered a fumble and broke up some passes. He wasn’t Earl Thomas, but he was fine.
• The bigger issue for the Seahawks has been the absence of Michael Bennett’s presence providing interior pass rush. The Seahawks have struggled since his absence. Quarterbacks have eluded Frank Clark and Cliff Avril by stepping up in the pocket and avoiding negative plays. Michael Bennett should be back next week. That qualifies as none too fucking soon.
• I’m going to give a Seahawks bullet point to the Sounders who qualified for their first ever MLS Cup Final on Sunday. They did so despite having arguably their worst run in franchise history through the first half of this season, leading to the firing of their only MLS manager, Sigi Schmidt. They also lost Clint Dempsey for the last chunk of the season. They responded by watching local-boy-made-good Jordan Morris ascend into the ranks of American soccer stardom while acquiring Uruguayan-man-made-good Nicolas Lodeiro, who played so well he won the MLS’ Newcomer of the Year award, despite playing only a partial season. This Sounders team may not be as flashy as previous vintages, but they’re tough as hell and their attack has gelled at just the right time. The Sounders? They wanted it enough this week.
• Hell, that Seahawks game was bad, so I’ll give another bullet point to the University of Washington Huskies. College football is a moral catastrophe. But for the first time in 15 years, our local college football team is pretty damn good. Behind former Boise State coach Chris Petersen, they are 11-1, ranked in the top 5, and likely a Pac-12 title game win over Colorado away from playing in the CFB Playoffs for the first time. Again, college football is a moral catastrophe, so I’m not going to get too hyped about this. But I will acknowledge it, as I, like many other Seattle football fans, grew up loving the Huskies.
The Seahawks played a real stinker this week, but they’re fine heading into a Sunday night battle against a broken Carolina team. If they are inept on offense again? Then, I’ll start to panic. But for now, I’ll write off this weekend to desire.