3 Up, 3 Down: Winners, Losers From Seahawks' Strange 26-17 Defeat to Rams
The Seahawks have played in a lot of weird games in the Pete Carroll era, but this may have been the weirdest. After many miscues and one of the most disastrous injuries they could possibly suffer, Carroll's crew falls to 2-3 on the year following a 26-17 defeat to the Rams on Thursday night.
It's time for a wild Week 5 edition of "3 Up, 3 Down."
3 Up
QB Geno Smith
Though he threw Seattle's chances of winning away with a brutal interception on the team's second-to-last drive, Smith performed admirably under unfavorable circumstances. Following a stagnant three quarters from the offense, Smith drove the ball down the field on a pair of 98- and 46-yard scoring drives to keep the Seahawks' chances alive. The West Virginia alum's efficiency in comparison to Russell Wilson's lack thereof is certainly going to be a topic of discussion in the coming days. In all, he completed 10 of 17 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown on the night.
WR DK Metcalf
Metcalf notoriously struggled against Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey last year, but tonight, the third-year receiver got his revenge. Catching five balls for 98 yards, Metcalf found the end zone twice and made a few nice plays with Ramsey in coverage—including on his first score of the night. And when Smith came in the game, the 2020 All-Pro served as a much-needed security blanket. He was masterful in this one.
S Quandre Diggs
Prior to the defense's second-half blowup, Diggs had himself a nice first half. His biggest play of the night came at the start of the second quarter, with the Rams threatening in the red zone. Quarterback Matthew Stafford rolled out of the pocket to his right and attempted to throw the ball out of play, but the pass stayed inbounds and fell into the bread basket of Diggs, who made a great effort to secure possession and get both feet down before going out the back of the end zone. With that, he now has two interceptions in two weeks—the only picks the Seahawks' defense has this season.
3 Down
QB Russell Wilson
For the first time in Wilson's storied career, he was forced to sit on the sideline as his offense played meaningful football. Spraining his middle finger on the hand of Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the future Hall of Fame quarterback was simply unable to comfortably grip the football. Before the injury, however, Wilson struggled mightily in the second half, taking a bad sack on a play where he held the ball for far too long and missing a wide open Tyler Lockett on a deep ball that could have gone for six. It's also hard to ignore how well Seattle's offense performed with Smith under center compared to when Wilson was in, though—and it seems silly to even say this—no one should have delusions about any sort of quarterback controversy moving forward.
All eyes are going to be on the health of the Seahawks' superstar passer—something they've rarely had to deal with over the past 10 seasons. Their playoff aspirations live and die by the availability of No. 3 and, if they're to miss him for an extended period of time, an abysmal 2-3 start to the season just got a whole lot worse.
OT Duane Brown
While Brown played a fine game overall, a huge mistake of his in the closing seconds of the second quarter proved costly for the Seahawks in this one. With 16 seconds left in the first half, Wilson moved up in the pocket and fired a strike to Lockett for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. The score would have put them ahead by at least 10, but it was called back on a holding penalty credited to Brown. Two plays later, kicker Jason Myers missed a 35-yard field goal attempt and Seattle headed into halftime empty-handed.
The Seahawks' second-half defense
One of the biggest surprises in this game was Seattle holding L.A. to just three points in the first half. But after that, it all fell apart—despite Stafford dealing with a finger issue of his own. The Rams put up 301 yards of total offense in the second half, scoring three touchdowns without much resistance. The defense's worst effort of all came immediately after Smith led the Seahawks down the field for a game-changing, 98-yard touchdown drive, injecting life into an otherwise deflated Lumen Field crowd. Stafford picked Seattle's defense apart on that drive, finding receiver Robert Woods for a 24-yard gain, then wideout Cooper Kupp for 33 yards before running back Sony Michel waltzed into the end zone untouched for a two-yard score. Coverage busts galore, Ken Norton Jr.'s defense is off to yet another historically bad start to the season, allowing 2,254 yards through the first five weeks of the season. Something must be done.
