Six games into the 2024 season, the Seattle Seahawks are batting .500, which is pretty impressive considering that they don’t even play baseball.
In my season preview, I had them at 3-3 to this point, but how they got to that place in the standings didn’t go as expected. They would struggle against New York (Giants), Detroit, and San Francisco while beating up New England, Miami, and Denver.
Games against New England and New York were supposed to be circled wins, but they took overtime to beat the Patriots and lost the game to the Giants on the game’s final play. Their game against Denver took far too long to decide, their game against Miami with no offense should have been a blood bath, but like Denver they took way too long to sort out the battle on the field. Games against Detroit and San Francisco were too much for them, but we knew those would be their biggest tests in the first half of the season.
They won their first three games, then lost their next three, going 2-2 at home and 1-1 on the road. They go back on the road this week to try and shake off some early-season rust before things get serious. They play Atlanta in the early time slot this Sunday, and while the Falcons have a lot of talent, they have the same issues Seattle does – they don’t know who they are yet.
Seattle should beat Atlanta, but I won’t be surprised if they lose this one and fall below .500 for the first time this season. In just a few weeks, they have had a season’s worth of injuries, and they need to get healthy before they worry about a “get right” game. They are still a few weeks away from their bye and have games against Buffalo and the Rams before that.
Going into week 7, Seattle has the number one passing offense in yards but ranks dead even scoring to giveaways. They are in the bottom half of the league in explosive plays of 20 yards or more, but they rank in the middle in plays of 40 yards or more. They have the most passing yards by more than 100 yards over the next team but are only averaging 10 yards per catch, which is in the league’s bottom half. Watching their film, you might assume they are the most sacked team on the planet, but they are actually fourth behind the Browns, Patriots, and Bears. Simply put, they need fewer negative plays and more explosive plays, or the change in offensive coordinator isn’t going to matter.
Seattle has just 579 rushing yards, 6th up from the bottom. Ironically, they rank 6th in rushing touchdowns, so they need to figure out how to have a more balanced offense between the 20s, not just once they get in the red zone. Seattle has the 8th most explosive running plays over 20 yards and is tied for last with none over 40 yards. They aren’t running enough and asking too much for their passing attack to make up the difference. This team doesn’t need to be a 50/50 split in run/pass, but they need to be more balanced. Their opponents know where their weaknesses are – pass protection and getting into negative down and distance situations. So they know if they manage to force a sack or a tackle for a loss on an early down, it makes Seattle even more one-dimensional and increases the chance of a punt or a turnover. Seattle must make that disappear, and focusing on the run will help. It will give them more chances for play action, which should be a major part of their offense.
Their passing defense has not been stellar, but it hasn’t been awful. They are 19th in yards allowed while in the bottom 10 in scoring plays allowed. They have only given up 15 big plays over 20 yards, but another four went for more than 40 yards. They are 8th in sacks, so the system Mike Macdonald installed has improved over the last year. However, they need to tighten things up so their opponents have to work harder to get down the field and into the end zone through the air. Turnovers are a major issue, as Seattle has just two interceptions this season. If they are getting enough pressure on the QB to get as many sacks as they have been, some of those plays need to result in a change of possession.
You might think if the QB doesn’t throw a pick, they are probably fumbling a lot during those sacks, right? Sadly, no, Seattle only has four fumble recoveries this season. They are averaging one takeaway per game and one giveaway per game; they need to keep their giveaways low and find ways to create more possessions by stealing the ball.
Seattle is not giving up too many passing plays because they are laser-focused on the run. They allow the 5th most rushing yards in the league, which will turn around once they get more healthy defensive linemen, but they also need to make sure they commit to stopping the run to make a point. They allow the 14th most rushing scores, so teams know they can score on them. They have allowed the 5th most rushing plays over 20 yards but have only seen two plays exceed 40 yards, so they aren’t entirely breaking when they bend.
Overall, I would give Seattle a “C” for their first-quarter report card. This team is not on the brink of disaster like some would have you believe, but they are also not going to be confused for a contender until they get their act together.
During their three game winning streak they were getting after the QB, running the ball well despite Kenneth Walker getting hurt, and were surviving in the pass game despite half their offensive line being inept or injured, not sure which it was but both are concerning. The offense is finally getting healthy, but the defense is banged up at a mid-season rate. Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy have both missed games, which has absolutely impacted the run defense. Now they are banged up in the secondary, so the coverage might break down even if the pass rush gets home.
It hasn’t been an ideal start, but considering they are breaking into a new system on both sides of the ball and dealing with many injuries, it’s not as bad as it could be. 3-3 is not where they wanted to be after three consecutive wins, but they could easily be 1-5 right now.
Two years ago, this team was going into a full rebuild. This year, there were not high expectations, but as teams surprise the locals, those expectations tend to explode overnight, whether it’s fair or not. Once you surprise football fans, they tend to turn on you when you regress.
This team has had many ups and downs already, but there are plenty of positives to build on and a ton of talent across the roster. It’s easy to forget how good this team can be when you focus too much on the growing pains or wonder who Geno was throwing to or who DK was talking to when he borrowed a headset.
There’s plenty of ballgame left. This is just week 7 of 18; we’re not even at the halfway point yet. There’s plenty of time to adjust and turn things around.
