Film Breakdown: Diagnosing Seahawks Passing Game Woes

After getting off to a scintillating start, Russell Wilson and Seattle's aerial attack have been grounded in the second half of the season. What's behind these struggles? And can they right the ship heading into postseason play?

Finishing the 2020 season with a 12-4 record, the Seahawks eclipsed their franchise record with 459 points. Leading the way, Russell Wilson set a new career-best with 40 touchdown passes, DK Metcalf broke Steve Largent's single-season receiving yards record, and Tyler Lockett became the first receiver in team history to hit 100 receptions in a season.

But the offense hasn't been near as explosive for Seattle during the second half of the season. After posting at least 30 points in seven of their first eight games, the Seahawks have cooled off substantially over the past two months, only surpassing 30 points once in a 40-3 beatdown of the Jets. They have been held to 20 or fewer points in three of the past five games, with Wilson throwing just 12 touchdowns in the last eight games and explosive plays being far harder to come by.

While coach Pete Carroll acknowledged the Seahawks have had an outstanding year offensively overall and feels great about where the the team is at heading into postseason play, he understands the "scrutiny" with point totals dipping as of late.

"We always want to do better and do more," Carroll said on Tuesday. "We have played some games kind of the way we wanted to play them, and that wasn't to just try to stretch the field with the throwing game; we wanted to win the game and take care of the football and make sure we were in control of the rhythm of the game as a team, and I thought we got that done. But we would like to get our explosive plays back up, that's been a little bit different for us. We've got to look for our opportunities, but we don't want to force those. We want to take them as they come to us and make sure we're executing really well."

Most recently, Seattle needed a 20-point explosion in the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit against San Francisco last Sunday. The team scored only six points in the first three quarters and were held to three total yards in the third quarter. Wilson found himself hovering around a 50 percent completion rate with no touchdowns.

What has been holding back this once-potent passing game? And could their fourth quarter surge be a sign of better things to come entering the playoffs? Corbin Smith and Matty Brown diagnose Seattle's passing game issues, including Wilson's missed opportunities, botched pass protection assignments, excellent schemes deployed by opponents, and much more in their latest film breakdown.