Redskins – 17

Seahawks – 14

There aren’t enough words to truly explain my frustration and infuriation from Sunday’s contest versus the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks were flying high in the midst of a four-game winning streak following one of the most exciting games of recent memory against Houston. A game that thrust Russell Wilson firmly into the MVP conversation and had many wondering if the Seattle offense had finally turned the corner for good on living up to their potential. Seattle also had finally acquired a legitimate, pro bowl left tackle in Duane Brown to help shore up o-line shortcomings.

All of us, including yours truly, was looking at an upcoming two-game stretch where the Seahawks had a tremendous opportunity to pick up two more wins to keep pace with Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Seattle also had a chance to leapfrog Minnesota for the #2 seed in the NFC. Well, what Sunday reminded us was that “should” is not the same thing as “they will” with the Seattle Seahawks.

If the game against the Houston Texans was a football masterpiece, Sunday afternoon’s snoozefest with the Redskins was something akin to a dumpster fire. Instead of riding the momentum wave captured from last week, the offense took several steps backward. For most of the afternoon, that side of the ball was a discombobulated mess, devoid of any rhythm or synchronicity. The fact they were shut out offensively for three quarters by a defense that was giving up an average of 25.7 points per game spoke volumes.

An offensive line that had shown signs of improvement over the past month regressed to the mess we saw in weeks one and two as they were pushed around all day. Not to mention three excruciating misses from Blair Walsh in the first half, leaving at least nine points on the field in a game that was ultimately decided by only three. More on that later.

The inescapable reality of this game was knowing that the Seahawks completely blew an exceptionally winnable game at home. They were playing a Redskins team that had been absolutely decimated by injuries, including an o-line that was so banged up they had to start a backup with two sprained ankles. The Redskins didn’t beat the Seahawks as much as the Seahawks beat the Seahawks. Seattle had more first downs (22 to 16), nearly doubled the yardage (437 to 244), almost one hundred more yards rushing (148 to 51) and won the time of possession (32 minutes to 27), yet they couldn’t muster more than 12 points offensively. Seattle had an astonishing 16 penalties for 138 yards, ten of which came on the offensive side of the ball eliminating any semblance of momentum. Every single member of the o-line had at least one themselves.

Whatever momentum that wasn’t extinguished by penalties was ended by turnovers. Wilson threw two ugly interceptions, his second one being the worst decision I have ever seen him make in six years. Not to mention an outstanding defensive performance was all for naught as the Legion of Boom failed for the second straight week by choking up the lead late. Only this time, there was not enough time for even Russell Wilson to bail them out.

The aspect of this game that will stick out the most will be the kicker Blair Walsh. Cut by the Vikings last season due to the fact he kept missing, Walsh had been given a second shot by the Seahawks. Through nine weeks, Walsh actually had been enjoying a decent season. Entering Sunday, he was still 13/14 on the year.

However, that meant nothing as he missed his only three kick attempts wide left each time. Nine points he denied us, any three of which could have been enjoyed in a 17-14 loss. Breaking it down further, Walsh might have cost us eleven points total when factoring in the decisions to try the two-point conversion twice. Both of which failed miserably. When a kicker misses multiple kicks, and those points are ultimately the difference in the game, it’s always a debate on who’s truly at fault. Is it the kickers? After all, it’s their one job. Or is it the offense as a whole? Considering they were unable to finish drives with touchdowns and had to leave it to the feet of what is basically a soccer player.

Although Walsh absolutely deserves the lion’s share of the loss, we would be lying to ourselves if we put the entirety of the blame on him. The truth of the matter is that the whole team shoulders some aspect of Sunday’s disaster. Penalties, turnovers, stalled drives, and untimely awful defense are all reasons Seattle lost in addition to missed kicks.

What concerns me is this: I truly fear this game will come back to haunt us down the stretch. We had a winnable game at home, right in the thick of a tight NFC race, and we soiled it. The gap between us and Philadelphia grew, especially considering the Eagles had two very convincing wins over Washington. Instead of staving off the Rams one more week, we allowed them to sneak back into first place. The Vikings were also winners on the bye week, as they remain in the number two seed for now.

This won’t entirely derail our season, however, such a stumble might prove to be far more costly than we realize. This could very well be the difference between a one seed and a two seed. The difference between a top two seed and a three seed, something we all witnessed last year. Or it could be the difference between a division title and a road game on wild-card weekend. The margin for error on the season has shrunk exponentially.

The Good

Two weeks ago, the Seahawks pass rush was on pace for the lowest number of sacks in the Pete Carroll era. Even with the addition of Sheldon Richardson, the Seahawks were just not getting home to opposing quarterbacks.

However, as of late, the defensive front has come alive and have become the terror we all expected them to be this year. After last week’s five-sack performance, Seattle racked up six more. Old man Dwight Freeney was a force of nature, picking up two himself. Through his only two games this year, Freeney now has 2.5 sacks. He had all of three last season with Atlanta.

The Bad

As good as the pass rush was, it just wasn’t enough. Kirk Cousins had been harassed all afternoon, and the Redskins offense was getting stymied for most of the game. None of that mattered in the last 1:40 of the fourth. Cousins masterfully drove the Redskins for the game-winning score, shaking off late game struggles that have beset Washington all season. It was too easy. Flashes of 2015 showed all too similar, as Seattle could not hold a late lead once more, completely squandering Russell’s late game heroics.

The Ugly

Injuries continue to mount for the Seahawks. Earlier this week, Pete Carroll announced he wanted Eddie Lacy to have the majority of touches among the running backs. An attempt to build some form of rhythm for a struggling ground game.

Unfortunately, Lacy left the game with a pulled groin. He was not the only Seahawk with an early exit. Fullback Tre Madden injured his calf, linebacker DJ Alexander tweaked his ankle, and defensive end Marcus Smith got a concussion after colliding with fellow teammate KJ Wright.

Looking ahead

The Seahawks and their fans will not have much time to dwell on this disappointing loss as they play this Thursday. Seattle will travel south for their first meeting with the Arizona Cardinals. The struggling Cardinals limped to a 20-10 win over the 0-9 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. During a 33-0 loss to the Rams two weeks ago, quarterback Carson Palmer was lost for the year with a broken arm. The Cardinals have lost their starting quarterback and their super star running back David Johnson for the 2017 campaign, thus ending any hopes they may have had for title contention. Seattle also has not lost in Arizona since week one of 2012, Russell Wilson’s first ever start.

However, it should be noted that Seattle failed to beat the Cardinals last season going 0-1-1 against them. Arizona’s defensive front has always given the Seahawks issues, and always seem to play the Seahawks tough. Even though this is a Drew Stanton-led team with no real chance at the playoffs, this has become a must-win for the Seahawks by nature of their upset loss to Washington.

Side note, this will be a Thursday night game, which means color-rush. Here’s hoping we see those sweet all-neon uniforms for the Hawks.