Through the first seven games of the season, many a fan have searched for answers as to why the Seattle Seahawks are under .500 and struggling to close out games. Scapegoats range from the defense giving up fourth-quarter leads to Darrell Bevell's "horrendous" offensive play calling. Others will point to the offensive line and say the 'Hawks running game has been subpar. However, nobody seems to want to look at quarterback Russell Wilson's play, specifically.
According to ESPN, Wilson has been intercepted on 2.5 percent of his throws this year, which is a career high for him. He has thrown five picks in 2015, and all of them have come on the road, including at least one in every away game. Here's a look at each interception so far this season, and a discussion of how dramatically they may have affected the outcome of the game they were thrown in.
5. Kenneth Acker, at San Francisco, Week 7, won 20-3
Situation: Seahawks led 17-0 midway through the third quarter when Wilson took a deep shot for receiver Jermaine Kearse.
Result: This was the least egregious of Wilson's interceptions on the year. In what was already a three-score game in favor of Seattle, this bomb essentially was a punt, which pinned the 49ers back inside their own 10. However, Pete Carroll was especially peeved Wilson threw that one up for grabs.
4. Trumaine Johnson, at St. Louis, Week 1, lost 34-31 OT
Situation: In a 7-7 game early in the second quarter, the Seahawks faced a third-and-4 at their own 38-yard line, and Wilson tried to hit running back Marshawn Lynch on a comeback pattern along the sideline.
Result: The Rams turned this Wilson pick directly into points, culminating the ensuing drive by kicking a field goal to go up 10-7. Had Wilson chosen to throw the ball away or take the sack instead of trying to force this throw, Seattle could have punted and prevented St. Louis from having a short field in which to get points in what turned out to be an extremely close game.
3. Jay Elliot, at Green Bay, Week 2, lost 27-17
Situation: Down 24-17 midway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks had first-and-10 at their own 42-yard line when Wilson attempted a screen pass.
Result: The Packers were able to run down most of the clock and add another field goal to put the game out of reach. While this was an incredible play by Elliot, Wilson should have been able to see Elliot between him and his intended target Lynch and held the ball a little bit longer before releasing the screen pass. That turnover effectively ended Seattle's chances of winning.
2. Tramaine Brock, at San Francisco, Week 7, won 20-3
Situation: Up 17-0, with 50 seconds left in the first half, the Seahawks had second-and-10 at the 49ers' 20-yard line before Wilson rolled right and threw to receiver Doug Baldwin in the end zone.
Result: The Seahawks allowed the 49ers to stay in the game at halftime instead of being up 24-0 or 20-0. While Seattle did go on to win the game, this was Wilson's second red zone interception of the year. Wilson failed to see receiver Ricardo Lockette open underneath, which would have been the safer option, and still would have left plenty of time to try to produce a touchdown. However, this pick wasn't as devastating as his worst one of the year.
1. Adam Jones, at Cincinnati, Week 5, lost 27-24 OT
Situation: On their first drive of the third quarter, Seattle was up 10-7 and had first-and-10 at the Cincinnati 16-yard line. Russell Wilson tried to force the ball to tight end Jimmy Graham in the middle.
Result: The Seahawks lost out on an opportunity to add points to their slim lead, which would come back to haunt them when the defense couldn't hold just a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. This red zone interception was especially bad because it was a forced ball when Wilson had Kearse open (top of the screen) and receiver Tyler Lockett open (bottom of the screen) while Graham was double covered. This was a situation where any Seahawk fan would've loved to see Graham not get the ball.
