Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks vs Packers: Takeaways from the blowout loss

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

There wasn’t much to like from the Seahawks today as poor play on both sides of the ball lead to an embarrassing 38-10 loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

The Seattle Seahawks laid a frozen egg in Green Bay today. No, that isn’t a reference to that Disney Princess movie. It was cold, and the Seahawks played terribly on route to a 38-10 blowout loss.

You know that cliche’ about “if you don’t have anything nice to say…” well, lets just get straight to my takeaways from the blowout loss:

1. Where’s the pass rush?

After being in the top 5 in the league in sacks all season, the Seahawks went over 2.5 games without one. Without pressure, Aaron Rodgers picked about Seattle’s coverage.

When the Seahawks did finally get a sack against an injured Rodgers, it was a coverage sack by run-stuffing NT Ahtyba Rubin. Seattle’s trio of pass rushers came up completely empty again.

Michael Bennett, Frank Clark, and Cliff Avril were complete no-shows in this game. When that happens, Seattle’s defense is going to struggle.

Next: What the heck was that Russell?

Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) gets a pass away while under pressure from Green Bay Packers safety Morgan Burnett (42) in the second quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Wilson’s accuracy was way off

Was it the cold? Just a bad game? Both? It doesn’t matter the cause, but Russell Wilson did not play well.

The Seahawks 1st drive stalled when he missed a wide open Tyler Lockett for what would have been an easy TD. On the second drive he overthrew a wide open Jimmy Graham. Then the turnovers started.

This hurts to watch pic.twitter.com/MeEgF1UdBX

— Ben B (@guga31bb) December 11, 2016

Wilson threw just 2 interceptions in the team’s first 10 games. He’s thrown 8 in the 3 games since that point, including five today.

He was only 8/16 for 90 yards at halftime. The 2nd half was better, but not by much.

Wilson was more accurate, but his receivers decided to stop doing their part. First Jermaine Kearse decided not to run off the line on what was supposed to be back should throw. That created a pick. Then this happened.

Just one of them days pic.twitter.com/FyE2Y9i5VA

— Ben B (@guga31bb) December 11, 2016

Later it was Troymane Pope letting a ball go through his hands only to be picked off as well. In the end, there were simply way too many mistakes by everyone on offense today.

Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Ty Montgomery (88) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

3. The defense laid a fist-half egg

Say what you want about how Wilson and the offense played today, but they weren’t the reason Aaron Rodgers had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 at halftime, including two touchdowns. Jeremy Lane was especially bad early on in this game.

Straight dime on the move from ARod pic.twitter.com/UGz8ON58s4

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) December 11, 2016

Rodgers has 202 yards and no picks at halftime. He also couldn’t move because of a bad hamstring. Rodgers was essentially a statue in this game and he picked apart Seattle’s defense.

This made Seattle’s offense one-dimensional and took Thomas Rawls out of the game. Rawls averaged 5.6 yards per carry, but only got 12 carries because the team got behind early and had to try and throw the ball to get back in it.

The Seahawks are at their best when their running game is working, and the score line kept that from being a factor today.

Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; The Seattle Seahawks huddle during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

4. Who are these Seahawks?

Who are the 2016 Seattle Seahawks?

Are they the team that got blown out today by a under-performing Packers team, or the team that went on the road and dominated a very good New England team?

Are the Seahawks the team that has failed to score a TD in four games, or the team that put up put up 40 on Carolina last week?

Are the Seahawks the who beat a very good Falcons team, or the one that laid an egg against the Saints?

We probably won’t know the answer to these questions until the playoffs are over, but it is clear that they have been consistently inconsistent all season.

One thing we do know is that this team does not play well on the road. At home they’re 6-0. On the road they’re only 2-4-1. If the Seahawks are going to make another Super Bowl run, they better hope they get more than 1 playoff game at CenturyLink Field.

Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll reacts in the first quarter during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

5. A short week to move on

If there is any consolation for the Seahawks here, is that there is no time to dwell on this one. The Seahawks will land in Seattle tonight, and immediately begin their preparation for Thursday night’s game.

The Rams are a genuinely terrible team. Playing them at home on a short week is a recipe for getting back on track and to forget the frustrations from today’s game.

On the other hand, they are also the Rams. The Seahawks have been by far the better team and still lost to the Rams on multiple occasions in recent seasons. That includes earlier this year when the Seahawks lost 9-3 to the Rams down in LA.

The Seahawks will need to hold serve at home next week if they are going to continue to push for a first round bye in the playoffs.