Has Seahawks' Offensive Sluggishness Reached Panic Level Entering Playoffs?

Winning each of their final three games, the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot, won the NFC West for the first time since 2016, and captured a 12th regular season win for the first time since 2014. They accomplished these feats against a gauntlet of top-tier defenses, including a No. 1 ranked Rams scoring defense in Week 16.

In each of the past two weeks, when Seattle needed to rally to seize victory from the hands of defeat, Russell Wilson has played his best football in the second half while orchestrating five touchdown drives. Against the 49ers on Sunday, the star quarterback led a fourth quarter explosion by tossing a pair of touchdowns to Tyler Lockett and Alex Collins bullied his way into the end zone to seal a 26-23 win.

"Great finish," coach Pete Carroll said in his post-game press conference when assessing Wilson's performance. "We didn't get going. We couldn't get going early on. Such a slow start for us. But as he did last week, again, he had a great fourth quarter. Led the touchdown drives, throwing and running. Great plays. Great resolve through the whole thing to get it done. It's what you count on from him because he's the real deal and he can do it and he did it again."

Wilson should be commended for yet another strong finish, but with the playoffs set to open next weekend, something still doesn't feel right. This once-potent Seattle offense doesn't feel right.

For the vast majority of the second half of the season, with a 28-21 win over the Cardinals in Week 11 and a 40-3 blowout of the Jets in Week 14 being the exceptions, Wilson and the Seahawks have been grounded offensively. Opponents have wised up playing more two-deep coverages to take away the deep ball and while Wilson did have to throw a few passes away against tight coverage on Sunday, his accuracy on downfield throws hasn't been sharp as of late.

In the first half, Seattle's season-long third down woes continued as the team converted on just three out of eight opportunities and produced 106 net yards of offense. For a second straight week, Wilson was barely hovering above a 50 percent completion rate, connecting on 11 out of 19 passes for 101 yards while taking two sacks and missing out on a potential touchdown to DK Metcalf in the second quarter.

The Seahawks weren't able to get their run game rolling to complement Wilson against the 49ers either. At the half, Rashaad Penny led the team with 15 yards on four carries and starter Chris Carson was bottled up with 10 yards on six carries.

"We didn't run the ball very well early on," Carroll commented. "I don't know what our numbers were but just getting the mix, it's a really good defense, again, I know they are banged up but still they have been playing everybody tough. They have been hard. The defenses in this division are legit, including ours. It's a challenge every week. This is how it is."

Carroll isn't wrong. Seattle has played some of the best defenses in the NFL over the past three weeks and game plans have dictated more reliance on the short and intermediate passing game to protect Wilson against talented defensive lines. But that doesn't make yesterday's dismal showing any less alarming.

Out of the break, unlike a week ago when the Seahawks immediately scored a touchdown to open the third quarter, the offense kept sputtering. Both of their third quarter possessions finished as three-and-outs culminating in a punt by Michael Dickson and they produced three total yards in a putrid offensive display as the 49ers extended their lead to 16-6.

As the broadcasters on Fox noted, Seattle didn't produce a single first down on offense from the 10:18 mark of the second quarter until the opening minute of the fourth quarter. The team inexcusably went nearly 30 minutes of game action without moving the chains one time.

Luckily for the Seahawks, against an opponent that could have qualified as a junior varsity team with all of the injuries the 49ers endured this season, Wilson awoke from his slumber early in the fourth quarter. Much as was the case in Week 16, it started with his ability to get outside of the pocket and throw on the move.

Starting Seattle's first drive of the final quarter with an easy 10-yard dump off to Carson to end the first down drought, Wilson completed several passes in scramble mode, including a quick bootleg toss to tight end Will Dissly, who turned the five-yard catch into a 20-yard play. Three plays later, he slipped out of a sack attempt by Kerry Hyder, climbed the pocket, and found Lockett for a six-yard touchdown.

"Everybody was kind of just crossing and try to make it really difficult," Wilson explained. "Chris Carson did a great job stepping up and blocking Fred [Warner]. He's been a great blitzer all year. Chris Carson stoned him in the backfield and that was key. I just kept retreating and then Tyler scooted across the field and made another great catch. I just tried to put it in a spot where only he could get it and get his feet in and everything else, and he was able to do it."

From there, the Seahawks defense forced a quick punt by the 49ers, putting the ball back into Wilson's hands trailing by four points. The magician went to work, leading a 14-play, 85-yard drive that lasted more than five minutes and concluded with a fourth down touchdown pass to Lockett to put the visitors back in front 19-16.

After defesive end Benson Mayowa strip-sacked quarterback C.J. Beathard three plays later and teammate Rasheem Green recovered the fumble, Collins sealed the deal by hurdling over cornerback Jason Verrett and plowing through multiple defenders at the goal line for six points to cap off a 20-point avalanche.

"To get it done, it was hard," Carroll reflected. "So this was a difficult day for us. We didn't play the way we wanted to on offense early on... But all in all when it came down to it, we had to win in the fourth quarter and our guys did and that's what it took to finish this 2020 in the regular season, it's what it took to finish this four-game stretch that we were pointing to."

As Carroll has yelled in the locker room after games on numerous occasions, games can't be won in the first three quarters and he should be proud of the resolve shown by his team to once again rally late for a division win. Following the game, he again downplayed the offensive struggles early in games and indicated he's "not worried" about the situation, especially with how well Seattle's defense continues to play.

But at the same time, Carroll doesn't have to go back in time very far to see what will happen if the Seahawks limp out to a slow start offensively in a playoff game as they have each of the past three weeks.

Last January at Lambeau Field, the Seahawks fell behind 21-3 to the Packers at halftime in the Divisional Round. Wilson's heroic second half effort nearly brought the team all the way back, but the deficit proved to be too much and they were ousted from the postseason in a 28-23 defeat.

With that recent history lesson in mind, Carroll should be concerned about the fact Seattle hasn't scored a first half touchdown since Week 15. He should be frustrated Wilson completed just one pass play that traveled more than 20 yards in the air against San Francisco. He should be irritated by the team's perpetually poor third down efficiency, which continued with a 4-for-12 performance yesterday.

Put simply, those numbers won't cut it against talented, well-coached teams like the Packers and Saints later this month.

If Wilson and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer can't find a way to get the Seahawks offense firing on all cylinders earlier in games starting next Saturday and more closely resembling the unit that lit the league on fire in September and October, history is doomed to repeat itself. A team with legitimate Lombardi Trophy aspirations could be sent home early once again.

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