Seattle Seahawks Week Fifteen Review: The Rams Strike Again

Bobby Wagner Tackles Sony Michel (Rod Mar)

With their season on the line, the Seattle Seahawks traveled to Los Angeles to take on their rival. This game meant everything to the Seahawks. Their hopes of the playoffs, their integrity, and most importantly, their hopes of having ten straight winning seasons were on the line. 

As if playing the Rams--a team the Seahawks have struggled against in the Pete Carroll-Russell Wilson era--was bad enough, the Seahawks had to play the game on a Tuesday because of an uprising COVID cases amongst the two teams.

The Rams benefited from the rescheduled game because Odell Beckham and Von Miller were cleared to play by Tuesday. The Seahawks, on the other hand, had to deal with the loss of star wideout Tyler Lockett who wasn't cleared from the COVID list for Tuesday's game.

The Rams were the healthier team, benefited more from the change of schedule, and played at home--this game was a recipe for disaster for the Seahawks from the very beginning.

The Seahawks Defense Remains an Enigma

Coming into this game, the Seahawks were the fifth-best scoring defense in the NFL, allowing only 20.2 points per game--the Los Angeles Rams offense was scoring over 28 points per game. Ultimately, the Seahawks defense put up another strong showing with four sacks--Carlos Dunlap recorded three of those--, and they held the Rams to less than 350 yards of total offense. They kept the Rams to 20 points all game to top it off--excellent. Quandre Diggs also had another strong performance that should lead to a pro bowl nod--maybe even an all-pro selection if he's lucky.

Jordyn Brooks prepares to tackle Sony Michel for a loss of yards (Rod Mar)

What wasn't excellent was the performance of legendary linebacker Bobby Wagner. Bobby was toyed with all game long by Sean McVay and his Rams offense. They put Bobby in scenarios that made him a complete non-factor. For example, Cooper Kupp's first touchdown was on Bobby's coverage on the goal line. The Rams shifted their running back before the play, putting Bobby in a frenzy trying to communicate with his teammates. In the middle of communicating, Matthew Stafford and Kupp connected on a quick touchdown pass that left Bobby shaking his head.

Despite Bobby's poor performance, young linebacker Jordyn Brooks had probably the best game of his career; he was stuffing runs in the backfield and made crucial momentum, stopping tackles all night. Many were hesitant when Jordyn Brooks was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the 'Hawks, but he has proved to be a great addition and replacement for the legendary K.J Wright. Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner are third and first in the NFL in tackles this season--and tackles are the most important stat to a linebacker. 

Russell Wilson Holds the Seahawks Back

The Seattle Seahawks offense has been a mess going back a whole calendar year. At the beginning of 2020, Brian Schottenheimer's offense was electric and precise. However, it didn't take long for defenses to figure out how to defend the ariel assault. Many teams started playing two safeties deep, and it completely threw off Russell Wilson and the offense--they never fully adapted.

Against the Rams, Russell Wilson looked terrible. He was 17/31. 156 yards, and one interception--that's a typical Wilson stat line against the Rams. He looked uncomfortable all night with pressure from Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, and of course, Aaron Donald. 

Russell Wilson sacked by Von Miller (photo from the Los Angeles Rams)

However, Russ couldn't make the throw even when he had a clean pocket and a receiver that had the defender beat. This is best shown when D.K Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey faced off. Metcalf had beaten Ramsey at the line almost every play, but Wilson either underthrew his star receiver, or he overthrew him--that is unacceptable from a player of Wilson's caliber.

Wilson again failed to find any rhythm outside of the measly two scoring drives the Seahawks had on offense--a pattern that I'm starting to notice.

Russell Wilson has been the face of the Seattle Seahawks for a decade, but he has been a shell of his former self the past year. He looks confused and defeated--his fighting spirit is gone. Without his optimism, the team looks lost on offense, and there is nothing he can do about it.

The Refs

Now, it isn't fair to blame the refs when a team loses--honestly, it's the coward's way out. However, in this game, the refs need to be mentioned. Two calls--one of which was momentum-killing--were utterly incorrect, and they need to be brought up. 

First, the Seahawks defense had the Rams pinned deep in their territory, facing a third and long. After the play ended, there was a holding penalty on the Seahawks' emergency corner Bless Austin. Anyone with a pair of functioning eyes could see that Austin never held the Rams receiver--Dean Blandino agreed there was no hold, that's saying something. The Rams got a fresh set of downs and used Sony Michel to run over the Seahawks' defense before Stafford found Kupp in the endzone.

The other miscall was late in the fourth when the Seahawks were trailing 17-10 and needed an offensive spark. They managed to make it into Rams territory, but they brought up a 4th-and-6 after a false start and an incomplete pass on third down. Wilson threw a ball up to DeeJay Dallas on fourth down, who was blatantly being interfered with by the Rams defender. The Rams defender held both of Dallas' arms down and failed to turn around to play the ball and there were no flags--that sounds familiar.

Pass Interference that wasn’t called on DeeJay Dallas (Rod Mar)

Dallas got rightfully upset about the no-call and kicked the ball away from the ref after the play, which penalized him. This brought the Rams closer into 'Hawks territory, and they kicked the game-sealing field goal afterward. 

Both of these calls killed crucial momentum and hope for the Seahawks. It would've been nice to see what would've happened had the refs not interfered as much as they did. Have a day, refs!

With the game finished, the Seahawks limped back into their hole at the bottom of the NFC West--where they belong. 

The two stalwart leaders of the Seahawks in Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson both had horrible games--when the leaders can't play, it doesn't bode well for the rest of the team. It was easy for Sean McVay to rip Carroll's team apart.

This team has been playing like a shell of their former self, and there is a lot of blame to go around. The defense may be great at holding their opponents to minimum points, but they struggle to get off the field. The offense should be one of the most lethal in the NFL, but injuries and lack of execution are hurting them. Even on special teams, Jason Meyers has been uninspiring this season after not missing a single kick in 2020. 

Thus the perfect storm has come for the Seahawks--they will suffer from a losing record for the first time since 2011. Ten years of NFL dominance has come to a close--the end of an era. Go 'Hawks!