The Seattle Seahawks had high hopes of building off an unexpected 9-8 season that led to a postseason berth and a matchup with the 49ers in the wildcard round. Although the Seahawks came up short, there was plenty of reason for Seahawks to be optimistic headed into the 2024 season.
Geno Smith had a resurgent season that led him to being named the “NFL Comeback Player of the Year” award. There were hopes that he would build on last season’s success and propel the Seahawks to the next level. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case.
The Seahawks finished with a 9-8 record. Unfortunately, they fell just short of a playoff berth as the Green Bay Packers edged them out for the final wildcard spot in Week 18.
While the Seahawks put up a competitive fight in the tough NFC West, they eventually succumbed to three major issues plaguing them throughout the season. In this piece, we will go over those three areas of weaknesses and what they can do to fix them.
1. The Seahawks could not stop the run.
The way to overcome the Seattle Seahawks’ defense was pretty simple: Run the Ball.
The Seahawks gave up the 2nd most yards in the NFL. The only team that gave up more yards than the Seahawks on the ground was the Arizona Cardinals. Additionally, the Seahawks gave up the 2nd most rushing touchdowns in the NFL during the season with 24.
For opponents looking to move the chains on the ground, the Seahawks’s defense was the ideal defense to play. The Seahawks gave up more 1st downs than any other team in the league this season.
The Seattle Seahawks could begin to fix issues in this area by going after LB Lavonte David in free agency. Lavonte David is great against the run and is also good in coverage. He will surely aid in mitigating Seattle’s problematic rushing defense.
A key solution would be the healthy return of LB Uchenna Nwosu to the lineup. When Nwosu was in the Seahawks lineup for the 1st seven weeks, Seattle’s run defense was 8th in the NFL. When he got injured, their run defense became one of the worst in football and remained there.
2. The Seattle Seahawks had issues running the football.
We have discussed the Seattle Seahawks’ issues of stopping the run. However, the Seahawks’s offense was hampered by their inability to generate consistent success on the ground.
The Seahawks were 28th in the league in rushing yards per game. They were near the bottom of the league in yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. They also were 24th in the league regarding 1st downs on the ground.
Kenneth Walker III was their leading rusher with 905 rushing yards. Arguably, he would have some more rushing yards if he didn’t miss two games during the season. Nevertheless, he ran for 1050 yards last season while playing the same amount of games. The running game is simply an underwhelming area for the Seahawks.
The easiest solution for the Seahawks is to build their offensive line around tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. Charles Cross was one of the best at his position in terms of run block win rate in the NFL. Abraham Lucas showed strength in that area as well. The Seahawks have to make moves to enhance the run blocking at the center and guard spots. Otherwise, they’ll struggle with the third and final area of weakness.
3. The Seahawks had very little time of possession.
This weakness is the result of the first two weaknesses that were discussed. By being unable to stop the run, Seattle’s defense stayed on the field much longer than they should throughout the year.
The Seahawks’s defense allowed the 2nd most third-down conversions per game in the league.
The team’s lack of potency in the running game undoubtedly aided their issues on 3rd down. The Seahawks were 23rd in the league in 3rd down conversions.
It is unsurprising that the Seattle Seahawks were consistently on the losing end of the time of possession battle.
The Seahawks have the worst time-of-possession average in the entire NFL throughout the regular season.
Their average time of possession was 26:38. This means that the Seahawks were losing the time of possession battle by an average of nearly seven minutes per game.
Over the last three games of the season, the Seahawks had an average time of possession of 24:11.
The return of Nwosu and the signing of Lavonte David will undoubtedly aid in stopping the run. Ideally, this will create more difficult third-down scenarios for opponents and increase the defense’s chances of getting on the field.
By improving their run blocking on the offensive line, the Seahawks can create manageable third downs and increase their down conversion percentage.
Both will help the Seahawks win the time of possession battles more frequently again.
