Instant Reaction: Bears Embarrass Dysfunctional Seahawks in 27-11 Preseason Defeat
Struggling in all facets in their preseason home opener, Geno Smith and the Seahawks were blanked in the first half and a comeback attempt in the final quarter proved too little too late in a 27-11 blowout loss to the Bears at Lumen Field on Thursday night.
Starting his second straight game, Smith completed 10 of 18 passes for 112 yards playing the entire first half, while Travis Homer paced the ground game with 44 yards on five carries. Marquise Blair led the team with eight tackles, Tanner Muse and Myles Adams each contributed a sack, and rookie Coby Bryant had two pass breakups in defeat.
Here are five instant takeaways from an exhibition game Seattle will want to turn the page on quickly:
1. It’s not all on him, but Smith didn’t come close to sealing the deal as Seattle’s Week 1 starter under center.
Without Drew Lock available following a positive COVID test, Smith was blessed with a prime opportunity to put the quarterback competition on ice on Thursday night. There were a few bright moments sprinkled in, including a 41-yard completion to Penny Hart on a vertical route in the second quarter. But while his teammates let him down dropping passes - see Freddie Swain on the opening drive - and committing false starts in bunches, the veteran signal caller didn't orchestrate a single scoring drive on seven first half possessions while completing under 60 percent of his passes and never found a rhythm. That's simply not going to cut it and if there's a big winner from tonight's game, it was Lock being idle and watching the offensive ineptitude, very much keeping him in the race with the preseason finale coming next Friday in Dallas. Kudos to Jacob Eason as well, as he led the only touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and put some good throws on film trying to orchestrate a miracle comeback.
2. Penalties and injuries aside, offensive line play continues to be a rare encouraging sign in an otherwise ugly preseason.
Coach Pete Carroll and line coach Andy Dickerson had to be ready to pull their hair out by the end of the third quarter on Thursday night, as first-round pick Charles Cross drew a whopping five penalties, including four false starts. Losing left guard Damien Lewis to a potential season-ending broken ankle only added insult to injury. But as much as Seattle's offense stagnated throughout the evening, the offensive line wasn't a big part of the problem. In fact, pass protection proved to be excellent most of the game as Smith was hit just twice in the first two quarters and Jacob Eason had ample time to throw from the pocket in his half of play. The front line also performed well run blocking, as Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas, and Darwin Thompson combined for 73 yards and north of five yards per carry. Though he did surrender a few quick pressures and a sack in the second half, rookie Abraham Lucas impressed once again, laying two pancakes in his second NFL game and playing with a nasty edge in the trenches.
3. While pressures didn’t result in sacks, Seattle’s pass rush showed signs of life early, particularly from interior.
Giving up a few inexcusable third down conversions in long yardage situations, the Seahawks fell behind 10-0 early, but the pass rush wasn't to blame. Darrell Taylor and Uchenna Nwosu each generated a pair of pressures and a quarterback hit a piece on the first two drives. In the interior, Poona Ford, Shelby Harris, and Quinton Jefferson all chipped in with at least one pressure apiece, while Myles Adams feasted on backup quarterback Trevor Siemien for a sack after Alton Robinson forced him to step up into the pocket in the second quarter. Overall, the front line looked good for a second straight game and if the Seahawks can carry that over into the regular season, that should be a good omen for a team that doesn't look poised to score a lot of points and will need all the pressure they can ratchet up on opposing quarterbacks to stay competitive.
4. It’s time for Pete Carroll and his staff to reevaluate practice plans as poor tackling remains problematic for the ‘Hawks on defense and special teams.
In today's NFL, it can be difficult to balance keeping players healthy and ensuring they are ready for the rigors of playing football on Sundays. Right now, Carroll may have to try to toe the line a bit more because the lack of tackling and padded practices thus far looks to be negatively impacting his football team in all phases. After missing nearly 30 tackles as a team in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Seattle wasn't much better on Thursday night, as Blair left five tackles on the field on his own accord by regularly failing to wrap and several other players struggled to bring ball carriers to the ground. Even on special teams, horrendous pursuit angles helped Velus Jones and Nsimba Webster break loose for long punt and kick returns during the contest to set up scoring drives. One way or another, something has to change in how the Seahawks approach this issue before the regular season arrives in three weeks.
5. Larry Izzo will need to get back to the drawing board after one of the worst special teams performances in recent memory.
Since Izzo took over two years ago, special teams have been a strength for the Seahawks. But he's got his work cut out for him and then some and might want to just burn Saturday's tape after reviewing it with his players. First, Jones evaded linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe on a 48-yard punt return, setting up the Bears first touchdown to go up 10-0. Later in the half, Jason Myers' 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, leaving the 'Hawks empty handed after Smith's long completion to Hart put them in the red zone. Making matters worse, receiver Cade Johnson muffed a punt with 30 seconds left in the half and the Bears recovered in the end zone for a gifted touchdown to extend the lead to 17 before intermission. Things didn't improve much in the second half as Webster bolted 58 yards on a poorly covered kickoff to lead to a Cairo Santos field goal. Though an onside kick recovery late in regulation provided one positive, little went right in the critical third phase of the game and some soul searching will need to happen before next week's finale.
