Seahawks Out-Gunned By Raiders, Fall Out of Playoff Race in 40-34 OT Defeat
Gashed through the air and on the ground, the Seahawks yielded 576 yards of total offense in a frustrating 40-34 overtime loss to the Raiders at Lumen Field, dropping out of the playoff picture in the process.
Throwing for 328 yards and completing 73 percent of his passes, Geno Smith connected with Tyler Lockett and Travis Homer for a pair of touchdown passes, while Ken Walker III scored twice on the ground in a losing effort. Turning in his best performance of the season, Quandre Diggs picked off Derek Carr on two of Las Vegas' first three possessions, leading to 10 quick points for the home team before things rapidly went south defensively.
Here are five quick takeaways from the Seahawks demoralizing Week 12 defeat:
1. Despite throwing for over 300 yards, Smith couldn’t will his team to a win with two different opportunities to seize victory.
Out of the gate, Smith wasn’t his usual accurate self, though drops from his receivers contributed to completing just two of his first six passes. He received an early Christmas present when cornerback Duron Harmon wasn’t able to secure an interception on a poor throw in the red zone late in the first quarter, allowing Seattle to salvage the drive with a Jason Myers field goal. Along with throwing a bad interception in the second quarter, he also botched a handoff to Walker in the fourth quarter that likely cost the Seahawks three points minimum.
But as he has done all year, the resilient veteran picked up the slack when adversity struck, rolling with the punches and responding with haymakers of his own. On the drive after his ugly pick to Denzel Perryman and a resulting touchdown run by Josh Jacobs, he lofted a beautiful 35-yard rainbow to Tyler Lockett down the right sideline to cut the deficit back to one point. Then, following his botched handoff early in the fourth quarter, he led another touchdown drive using his arm and legs with an 18-yard scramble for a first down and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Travis Homer to help Seattle re-take the lead. Unfortunately, his efforts to lead a comeback late in regulation were stymied by a questionable overturned completion to DK Metcalf and he couldn’t take advantage of his lone opportunity in overtime with Maxx Crosby hunting him down off the edge.
2. Highlight reel worthy touchdowns considered, Seattle’s ground game continues to struggle mightily.
As he has been doing ever since he stepped into the lineup to replace an injured Rashaad Penny, Walker continued to take up residence in the end zone, scoring a pair of touchdowns to push his total to nine during his rookie campaign. Both were impressive scoring plays for different reasons. Walker immediately opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the game after Quandre Diggs picked off Carr when he alertly bounced an inside zone wide right, following behind Smith and a caravan of blockers down the sideline before diving inside the pylon for six points. Later in the third quarter, the former Michigan State standout emulated Marshawn Lynch by going “Beast Mode” and with the help of fellow rookie tackle Abraham Lucas, he powered a pile of defenders several yards past the goal line for six points.
Unfortunately, despite Walker’s heroics on those 12 and 14-yard touchdowns, however, Seattle didn’t find much traction on the ground away from those two plays. On 12 non-touchdown carries, he rushed for zero net yards, including losing 13 yards on a fourth quarter run. The offensive line consistently struggled to block Andrew Billings in the middle and Las Vegas destroyed numerous runs with instant penetration right off the snap. It marked the third time in five games Walker has been held under 51 rushing yards and below three yards per carry, far from the production coach Pete Carroll wants from his rushing attack.
3. Missed red zone opportunities on both sides of the football loomed large at the end of regulation.
Red zone efficiency has been an area where Seattle hasn’t necessarily been great offensively this season as the team ranked 26th in the league scoring touchdowns on just 48 percent of its red zone trips heading into Sunday. These issues continued into Week 12, as Seattle couldn’t put six on the board after Diggs’ second interception gifted the offense outstanding field position at the Las Vegas 35-yard line. Adding an illegal man downfield penalty on guard Phil Haynes that wiped out a fourth down catch by Lockett the next series, the Seahawks had to settle for Myers field goals on two of their first three visits inside the opposing 20-yard line. Losing up to eight points on the scoreboard, the inability to finish against the worst red zone defense in the league doomed them in the end.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks also missed out on a crucial potential turnover right before the Raiders scored their first touchdown on a pass from Carr to running back Ameer Abdullah. Lofting a ball to the end zone, Carr overthrew his second down pass and safety Ryan Neal had a beat on it for an interception. But the ball bounced off his fingertips and he couldn't complete the play, giving the quarterback another chance that he capitalized on hitting Abdullah on an 18-yard wheel route with Diggs trailing in coverage to tie the game at seven apiece.
4. Porous run defense remains the Achilles heel for the Seahawks bipolar defense.
At this point, nobody should be surprised or caught off guard by Seattle's ineptitude stopping the run. Even after making marked improvements in a four-game winning streak, the defense has regressed back to early season form in the past two games. After allowing a sub-par Tampa Bay run game to amass 161 yards in Munich, Jacobs rebounded from a somewhat slow start to gash Clint Hurtt's defense repeatedly serving as a blunt battering ram with 4.4 speed and underrated quickness.
Held to just 18 yards in the first quarter, Jacobs erupted for 221 yards in the final three quarters of regulation and overtime, spearheading four straight scoring drives in the second and third quarter and rushing for a 30-yard touchdown after Smith's interception. Putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece out of the backfield, he exploded through a crease that could fit a semi truck on the Raiders second overtime drive and after safety Josh Jones failed to trip him up, he was off for the races for a game-winning 86-yard scamper to leave Lumen Field silent. For the game, he racked up 303 all-purpose yards, including 74 yards as a receiver, proving to be a one-man wrecking crew the Seahawks simply had no answer for.
5. Lack of pass rush further magnified third down woes, keeping Seattle's defense on the field far too long.
Known for unloading the football quickly, Carr has always been a difficult quarterback to sack. Still, the Seahawks went into Sunday's game believing they could find a way to get after the veteran signal caller and early, they did find some success pressuring him with Poona Ford registering a sack and Uchenna Nwosu knocking him out for a play after blasting him on a clean hit in the first quarter. Pressure also played a role in Diggs' interception on the first play from scrimmage after Carr bailed to his left.
But after Diggs' second pick, Seattle's defensive line suddenly couldn't muster up a pass rush at all. In part due to fatigue after having to tackle Jacobs play after play, Carr had plenty of time to sit back and run through his reads, particularly on third downs, as the Raiders converted on five of their first seven opportunities to prolong each of their first two touchdown drives. The situation didn't improve after halftime, as Hurtt's defense didn't generate a single quarterback on Carr in the third and fourth quarter combined. Not surprisingly, Las Vegas remained effective on third downs as a result, including a five-yard touchdown pass to Foster Moreau that tied the game up at 34 apiece late in the fourth quarter. Even with Bruce Irvin getting a key hit on Carr in overtime, it didn't matter as the Seahawks were once again dominated in third down efficiency and the time of possession battle.
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