Seattle Seahawks Week Six Review: Seahawks Lose to Steelers in Overtime Despite Great Team Effort
Ah yes, another week and another Seattle Seahawks loss. This week, the Seahawks had the privilege of being victim to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. This means the whole nation witnessed the best safety in the nation, Jamal Adams, drop two easy interceptions and made even more of a fool out of himself, but I digress. This also marks the first time since 2011 that the Seahawks were starting a quarterback not named Russell Wilson—yay! Many exciting things happened in this game for both teams, so let's dive into it.
The Steelers were the proud owners of the first drive of the matchup. The Steelers were moving the ball well with rookie sensation Najee Harris, but Trai Turner committed a false start penalty that pushed the Steelers back five yards. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Harris for seven more yards, but future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner made a tackle and brought up fourth down. The Steelers punted the ball, and now the world would be graced with the presence of the greatest quarterback to ever play on the gridiron, Geno Smith.
Geno Smith, the backup to an injured Russell Wilson. An enigma all too familiar to Gang Green all around the U.S. Smith is an unpredictable player, is known for off-the-field issues, a poor temperament, and being one of the most confusing NFL players of the last decade. While with the New York Jets, Smith would be known for butting heads with coaches and even spitting on fans. My favorite and most bizarre Geno Smith stat is he recorded a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and the worst passer rating of zero in 2014, starting for the Jets--good Lord. Well, it's Geno time, so what do the Seahawks do with their wildcard backup quarterback? They have Geno throw the ball twice to Gerald Everett and D.K Metcalf for a grand total of one yard. The only positive play of that possession was a seven-yard run from backup runningback Alex Collins--don't worry, I'll be mentioning Alex plenty in this article.
Pittsburgh was able to gain some more yards on their second possession, but they failed to get to midfield and had to punt from their own 49-yard line. Both defenses were playing well so far, which would continue for the rest of the first quarter. I was content with how the 'Hawks played defensively, especially from the corners of D.J Reed and the rookie Trey Brown. They both made consistent plays all night, which is refreshing to see.
Seattle's offense retook the field, but this time they were able to make some plays. Notably, there was a 25-yard catch-and-run from running back Travis Homer, which was followed by a 12-yard reception to wide receiver Penny Hart--the drive stalled after that. The Steelers' defense kept the surging Seahawks out of field goal range with a great play from Alex Highsmith, who stuffed the surprisingly effective Alex Collins in the backfield for a loss of one second-and-four. The next play was an incomplete pass from Smith to Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks showed promise on the drive, but ultimately they came up short and had to punt the ball back to the Steelers. Now, I know you, the reader, were really looking forward to my summary of the following two drives of the game, but I opted not to cover them because they were punts. I know how much you all love reading about this exciting duel of the ages between punters Steeles Pressley Harin III and the Seahawks Micheal Dickson; still, I must look over that great content to summarize the first scoring drive of the game-- I'm genuinely sorry.
On a more serious note, the Steelers get the ball after a patented Seattle Seahawks three-and-out and get the ball moving on the ground Najee Harris. A third-and-short was converting with a pass to tight end Eric Ebron, and the Steelers got a fresh set out downs. The drive's big play is when receiver Dionte Johnson received the hand-off from Roethlisberger in the backfield and ran up the right side for a sizeable 25-yard gain. From the Seattle 17-yard line, Roethlisberger did what he does and brought his team further down the field until he found Najee Harris for a five-yard touchdown. Steelers were now up 7-0 after a methodical drive.
The following Seahawks' possession was punted after Smith made a 14-yard gain to D.K Metcalf and then took an 8-yard sack from Cam Heyward, which promptly killed any scrap of momentum Seattle's offense had--now back to the Steelers.
The second scoring drive for the Steelers began with a six-yard pass to Dionte Johnson, followed by a five-yard pass to the same player. Roethlisberger then found his dual-threat rookie, Harris, for a 12-yard gain--they're driving. Once Pittsburgh made it to midfield, Seahawks defensive lineman Bryan Mone was penalized for grabbing a player's facemask, which brought the Steelers deeper into 'Hawks territory. On third-and-three from the Seattle 24, a familiar face to Steelers fans--former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap--committed an offside penalty that brought the Steelers five yards closer to their destination. The 14-play drive ended with a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to promising young wideout Chase Claypool. With not much time left in the first half and down 14-0, the Seahawks were put in a tough place. They needed to get some points on this next drive. The only highlight of that drive was an Alex Highsmith sack on Geno Smith for an eight-yard loss--well, that's unfortunate.
The Seahawks played horribly in the first half offensively. There were some bright spots, such as Alex Collins playing decently, and D.K was catching the balls thrown his way, but they looked inept with Geno Smith slinging the ball--it also doesn't help that Geno was underthrowing every other play. Also, the offensive line was playing poorly--not to take anything away from a good Steelers defensive line. The 'Hawks have had issues with playing a full game of competent football--they can only play for two quarters of a game, that's it. So, if they played so poorly in the first half, that must surely mean they'll play better in the second half, right?
As the third quarter kicked off, the Seahawks decided to take a page out of the 2018 offensive playbook-- or, in other words, run the ball on every damn down. Oddly enough--like 2018--it worked. Respectfully, Alex Collins' first three carries of this drive went for five, eleven, and twenty-one yards. He gained 37 yards on his own before offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was ready to entrust Smith with pass attempts, and on Smith's first pass attempt during the half, he found all-pro wide receiver D.K Metcalf--who's nursing a slight foot injury--for a decent nine-yard gain. The Alex Collins Show continued when he took the ball for 14 more yards on two carries--an unnecessary roughness call on T.J Watt also helped get the ball closer to the Steelers' endzone. Once the Steelers two-yard line, it was obvious what they needed to do--and they did. Smith rewarded his tailback by handing the ball off to him, and he waltzed into the endzone for the first Seattle points of the game. That drive is exactly what the Seahawks needed to get back into the game. Down 14-7, the offense was finally starting to find some rhythm, and it was coming from the powerful legs of Alex Collins.
After the Seahawks found some life, Roethlisberger and his Steelers were hellbent on keeping them out of the game. The first play of this Steelers' drive was a 15-yard pass to Ray-Ray McCloud. After the pass, Najee Harris advanced for six more yards on the ground. Ben decided to go back to Dionte Johnson for 14 more yards to continue the receiver's strong outing. Later in the drive, Johnson ran the same play he did earlier to the outside for 23 yards. However, n illegal block from Chase Claypool brought the Steelers back later in the drive, and brought up a third-and-fourteen. Ben made a completion to Pat Freiermuth for twelve yards--not enough for a new set of downs. Chris Boswell came out and kicked a 27-yard field goal to get the Steelers up 17-7--the second half is off to a great start.
When the ball was kicked back to the Seahawks, running back and kick returner DeeJay, Dallas returned the ball out to the Seahawks' 40-yard line--that set them up big. On second-and-ten, Shane Waldron took a play from the Steeler's playbook and ran the option that their opponent has been running all game with Dionte Johnson for a gain of 14 yards. On second-and-seven from the Pittsburgh 43-yard line, Geno Smith found tight end Gerald Everett wide open, and Everett took the ball down to the Pittsburgh two-yard line. Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Seattle Seahawks attempted a pass on the one-yard line--but it didn't end in the way we all thought it would. Instead, it was a completion to tight end Will Dissly for the score. It's nice to see the tight ends get some appreciation on this drive, and it was nice to get some explosive plays even without Wilson under center. The score is now 17-14, and the Seahawks are starting to heat up.
Pittsburgh suffered another three-and-out, and Seattle got the ball back, ready to score more points--and so was Alex Collins. Collins began the drive with a nice 14-yard gain to continue his strong game on the ground. Facing a third-and-seven, the Seahawks continued to take from their 2018 playbook, Geno Smith handed the ball off to Travis Homer, and he was able to explode for a gain of 26 yards down to the Pittsburgh 15-yard line. This was done through some great run blocking from backup left guard Jamarco Jones. In the second half, Jones came in for Damien Lewis, and he and his fellow offensive linemen were having a great half so far. After an excellent five-yard run from Collins, Smith found Phillip Dorsett--yes, I'm as shocked as you are he's on the Seahawks-- for a minimal gain of three yards. On third-and-two, Geno Smtih took another ugly sack from Alex Highsmith--damn, I was complimenting how well the offensive line was doing too. Seattle settled for a 40-yard field goal from Jason Meyers, and now we have a tied game.
Najee Harris picked up 10 yards on the run, and then Kalen Ballage took the ball for 11 yards-- a solid start for the Pittsburgh offense. Following those great runs, Ben Roethlisberger oddly fumbled the ball, and Seattle recovered it. Big Ben looked as if he was trying to throw the ball but decided last minute not to make the pass. Benson Mayowa made contact with Ben, and he lost control of the ball and dropped it. The officials initially ruled the play as an incomplete pass, but after further investigation, the refs decided it was a fumble recovered by the Seahawks. What a great play for the Seahawks' defense; surely the offense will take advantage of this and continue their strong half!--they didn't. In typical Seahawks fashion, the offense moved the ball for a grand total of -4 yards. It looked like this would be an excellent chance for the 'Hawks after a 16-yard gain from Collins, but alas, there was a holding call on Jamarco Jones and took the run back--good Lord Jamarco, I was praising you! DeeJay Dallas could get those 10 yards back on the ensuing play, but an incomplete pass and a good play from Steelers' corner Tre Norwood on Freddie Swain left the Seahawks with -4 yards of offense, and out of field goal range--you have to be kidding me!
The Seahawks and Steelers traded punts after the 'Hawks failed to score points from the turnover. Pittsburgh got the ball back and ran a nine-play drive for 40 yards to get into field goal range. Chris Boswell nailed a 52-yard field goal from the Seattle 34-yard line to get the late lead in the game. The Seahawks could get the ball back with a minute, and thirty left and began moving the ball down the field. Following their formula, the Seahawks offense used a healthy dose of running the ball and relying on Geno Smith's arm. Smith methodically lead the Seahawks well into the Steelers' side of the field. With only 18 seconds left on the field, Smith found D.K Metcalf for an 11-yard gain, but D.K decided to make a boneheaded move by advancing for more yards instead of getting out of bounds. DeKaylin fumbled the ball on this decision, but luckily Freddie Swain was able to jump on the ball and keep the ball in the 'Hawks' possession. Confusion ensued if the 'Hawks ran out of the clock and would get enough time to spike the ball and take a field goal. Eventually, the officials concluded there was time on the clock left for Seattle to spike the ball kick a field. Jason Meyers kicked the 43-yard field goal to send the Seahawks into their second overtime game of the season.
In overtime, the Seahawks wanted the ball, and they tried to score--only they didn't. After receiving the ball, the Steelers' defense smothered Geno Smith and the Seahawks run game. Smith was sacked twice on the drive from Heyward and the always dangerous T.J Watt. After losing all those yards, it made the 21-yard gain to Tyler Lockett null and void, so Seattle had to punt the ball back to the Steelers, who only needed a field goal to win the game--but they had another three-and-out after the Seahawks defense came up strong. Geno Smith now had the ball back, and all he had to do was get the Seahawks into field goal range--which he failed to do. Instead of leading the Seahawks down the field for the game-winning score, Geno opted to do something a bit different. The Steelers did a good job covering up Geno's weapons on the drive's first play, so he had no safe option to throw to. Also, Geno was facing the same pressure he was all night, so he needed to act fast in that situation. Geno ran out of the pocket in an attempt to get some coveted yards on the ground, but T.J Watt wouldn't allow it. The all-world defensive end caught up to the scrambling quarterback and swatted the ball out of his possession. Devin Bush jumped on the free ball, and the Steelers were set up deep in 'Hawks territory. Big Ben took some knees, and then Chris Boswell came out to drill the 37-yard game-winner--what a brutal way to end the game.
Yes, it sucks that the Seahawks lost this game and now sit at a lowly 2-4 in last place in the NFC West, but they played a decent all-around game. The first half was awful for them, but they made the adjustments needed at halftime to come back into the game--thank God Shane Waldron started doing what he promised to do. The 'Hawks showed a lot of fight and resiliency in this game, and I mentioned earlier that I was content with how rookie corner Tre Brown played in his first start and his partner D.J Reed. However, the defensive line continued to play poorly, with Darrell Taylor remaining the hopeful part of the unit--for those wondering how Taylor is doing, he will be fine. There is a chance he might play against the Saints next week, so that's excellent news. The offensive line played poorly as a unit for most of the game outside of the third quarter. However, off-season acquisition Gabe Jackson had his best game, maybe yet, as a 'Hawk by not allowing a single pressure on Geno Smtih.
While on the topic of Smith, he played well, in my opinion. Sure he was having problems underthrowing the ball as well being responsible for the game-sealing interception last week and a lost fumble this game. Still, he did enough to get the Seahawks into the positions they needed to get into to score--there isn't much else you can ask from your backup quarterback. He seems to have a good relationship with his receivers and a decent grasp of the offense--he hasn't been a part of the problem.
Moving on to another highly criticized player, Jamal Adams had an ugly dropped interception that could've sealed the game for the 'Hawks late in the fourth quarter. Everyone is giving the self-proclaimed 'best safety in the nation' grief for the missing play. You can call me bias as much as you want, but Jamal hasn't been as bad as everyone is making him out to be. If he were a genuinely abysmal player in coverage as everyone claims him to be, he wouldn't be making good reads on the ball. Like what happened to him against the rams on the 68-yard completion to Desean Jackson, he did everything right in coverage by reading the ball and staying with the flashy receiver; he just never made the play on the ball. I also believe when you're the highest-paid player at your position, you should be making those plays. Still, it should be recognized that he is at least reading it, so give him his participation award for at least reading the offense consistently.
As stated earlier, it sucked to lose this game--even Pete's coaching and decision-making were satisfactory in this one. Pittsburgh was the better team that night because they were more consistent from start to finish. Had the 'Hawks made some plays on offense, they would've come away with this game, but they didn't. This is the NFL. There are no moral victories; there are wins and loses--and ties, but those are stupid and should be removed as an option for game results. At the end of the day, Pittsburgh got back to .500, where the Seahawks sank even lower. It sucks for the 'Hawks to lose one of their more complete outings of the season, but they can't go back and fix it. All they can do is move on to the next week and hope to win as many games as they can until Russell Wilson returns. I just know they're going to want this one back. Go 'Hawks!