The Next Two Weeks Will Be Very Telling of Where Seahawks Stand

Seattle sports fans had plenty to cheer for on Sunday. The Mariners kept their improbable playoff hopes alive with a 5-1 win over Shohei Ohtani and the Angels; the Kraken made their NHL debut with a 5-3 preseason win over the Canucks in Spokane; the Sounders and OL Reign continued their dominance in the soccer world with a win apiece; and the Storm nearly advanced to the WNBA semifinals without the presence of star player Breanna Stewart.

But there was one outlier that failed to join in on the fun: the Seahawks—a team that, for the majority of the past two decades, has more or less kept the city out of a sports depression.

As soon as running back Chris Carson crossed the goal line to extend his team's lead to 10 points in the second quarter, any enjoyment derived from the Seahawks' Week 3 battle with the Vikings came to a screeching halt. From that point forward, Seattle went scoreless as Minnesota posted 23 unanswered points without much resistance.

Just two weeks removed from a convincing performance in Indianapolis, Seattle's defense had one of its worst outings in the Pete Carroll era. Quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense moved the ball at will all afternoon long, racking up 453 yards of total offense while punting just twice. They controlled the clock to the tune of a near 12-minute advantage, thanks in part to an 8-for-12 effort on third down.

From safety Quandre Diggs to cornerback Tre Flowers, many Seahawks defenders wore their frustrations on their sleeves. Hands were raised in the air, fingers pointed at one another and the reality of dysfunction set in.

After kicker Jason Myers' failed 44-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, the Seahawks possessed the ball for just nine minutes and 50 seconds on their final six drives—a shocking turn of events considering they won the time of possession battle in the first quarter. The offense started out hot, seemingly well removed from the woes that plagued them in the second half of their 33-30 overtime loss to the Titans the week prior. Quarterback Russell Wilson was dialed in, hitting his receivers in a timely manner within play-caller Shane Waldron's concepts. To the fanbase's delight, Wilson utilized the middle of the field, connecting with receiver DK Metcalf multiple times to move the chains and put up their first six points of the afternoon with ease.

Even when the Vikings quickly responded with a relatively easy scoring drive of their own, the Seahawks appeared to be in full control of the game. They came back with another six-minute drive that ended in a 51-yard goal make from Myers, forced a three-and-out on Minnesota's next possession, then found the end zone once more.

But the defensive woes just continued to pile on and the offense's rhythm slipped through its fingers.

"I don't know, I don't know," Carroll responded when asked what led to the sudden shift in momentum. "Because part of it is opportunities. We got to stay on the field, you know, and when it doesn't mix right and the defense is giving up first downs and the offense didn't convert them, it's just out of the balance. What changed? They didn't do anything different and we didn't do anything different. Shoot, I was fired up about—I think we scored four times in a row or something. We were really on it the way we needed to be. Just missed our chances, and then all of a sudden the game gets away."

This is now the second week in a row the Seahawks have failed to follow through on Carroll's key point of emphasis: "finish." It's a problem that spans all the way back to last year, not just from an in-game perspective but the bigger picture as a whole. Seattle got out to its first 5-0 start in franchise history, then slowly unravelled as the weeks went by, culminating in a disastrous loss in the wild-card round. And no matter who their opponent was—aside from the Jets—the Seahawks notoriously played close games, often getting out to early leads but failing to truly put teams away. They won small and, at times, lost big.

In a way, they were playing with fire. And after an offseason's worth of safety training, they still can't seem to refrain from putting their collective hands on the proverbial stove. Now, they find themselves two games off the pace in a daunting NFC West division led by the 3-0 Rams and Cardinals.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the Seahawks' meltdown is that they haven't even begun intra-divisional play yet. That kicks off next Sunday when they travel to Santa Clara, California for a date with the 49ers. Four days later, they'll head back home for a Thursday night affair with the Rams.

Of the three teams ahead of the Seahawks, the 49ers appear to be the most vulnerable. They've suffered several key injuries and current starter Jimmy Garoppolo may not be the most capable quarterback on his own team. But they're a talented club with an offense predicated on pounding the rock, running screens and attacking the middle of the field—all the things Seattle's defense has greatly struggled to defend over the past two weeks.

Once the final whistle blows at Levi's Stadium, the Seahawks will then have to quickly turnaround in preparation for arguably the best team in the NFL: the Rams, who eliminated Seattle from the postseason nine months ago and have now upgraded at quarterback with Matthew Stafford. In his first three games in a Rams uniform, Stafford has completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 942 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception. His connection with receiver Cooper Kupp has especially been dangerous, combining for 367 yards and five touchdowns on 25 connections thus far.

Pair that with a defense that still boasts cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Los Angeles looks to be on a planet Seattle can only dream of. But with 15 weeks—and 14 games—remaining, there's certainly plenty of time left for the Seahawks to get there.

"It's a long season," Carroll expressed. "We don't know how the stories are going to be written. Right now you guys will go off and try to figure it out, but we don't know. We don't know what's going to happen with other teams and all of that. Just have to keep staying together and connected and keep giving ourselves the opportunity to have a great season. Only way to do that is to hang. On the road next week. Got to get through this start and get rolling."

Seattle has the talent of a championship franchise, but its deficiencies won't be fixed with the snap of a finger. These troubles are not going to magically go away no matter who the organization adds—or subtracts—from the roster. As evidenced by the team's body language on Sunday, there is a clear philosophical issue that needs to be immediately addressed head-on.

If not, the Seahawks could quickly find themselves drop from 1-2 to 1-4 in the blink of an eye.