Insider: Seahawks should be 'encouraged' by narrow loss in disastrous offensive outing

The Seattle Seahawks are one of the most surprising teams in the league, as not many experts gave them a chance to contend for the NFC West Division. Through the first ten weeks of the season, not only were the Seahawks one of the best in the NFC, but in the entire league.

The Seahawks took a tough 21-19 loss in Week 11 at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams on the road. This was a game where the winner would take firm control of first place in the NFC West. Seattle is now in second place in the NFC West Standings and is currently projected for the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Seahawks needed every one of their star players to be at their best to take down the Rams on the road. Not only did quarterback Sam Darnold have his worst games as a Seahawk, but he also had one of his worst games since joining the league in 2018. Darnold completed 29-of-44 of his passes for 279 yards, no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a QBR of 32.

Despite the four turnovers from Darnold, the Seahawks nearly knocked off their rival on the road. Their defense was elite after a small portion of the game, holding the Rams to only 249 total yards, converting 2-of-11 on third downs.

Kicker Jason Myers made his four field goals. He was close to making his fifth field goal from a potential game-winning 61 yards, but it was wide right. Myers shouldn’t take one percentage of the blame, as poor clock management from the Seahawks’ coaching staff cost that game-winning field goal opportunity.

The Seahawks are now pressing on to Week 12 after the loss that has experts being up-and-down on their potential. Bleacher Report has the Seahawks listed at No. 7 in their latest power rankings going into Week 12 after being No. 4 going into Week 11.

Analyst Maurice Moton says that there aren't moral victories considering the Seahawks have fallen in the divisional and conference standings. That being said, Moton said that the Seahawks should feel encouraged about their progress and how close they were to almost knocking off the Rams despite Darnold's turnovers. It shows that the Seahawks have made great progress to becoming a high-volume team at every position group.

That is one of the biggest reasons why the Seahawks didn't fall far in their weekly power rankings. They were mostly jumped by the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos, and the New England Patriots due to their statement wins in Week 11.

Finally, Moton says that the Seahawks almost took down the Rams, their perceived best team in the NFC, despite the four turnovers from Darnold and putting the team in terrible positions.

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