The Seahawks entered the final weekend of the regular season with an outside shot at the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye.
Seattle ended up taking care of its business, rallying for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 10-point deficit and earn a 26-23 comeback win over the 49ers on Sunday afternoon in Glendale, Arizona.
But the Seahawks didn’t get the help they needed from other teams. Green Bay and New Orleans both won their regular-season finales, meaning that the top three seeds in the NFC remained unchanged from the beginning of the day. Consequently, that rendered Seattle’s result Sunday meaningless in terms of playoff seeding.
It was a largely uninspiring way for the Seahawks to wrap up the regular season. Seattle struggled offensively for most of the afternoon and trailed 16-6 early in the fourth quarter to a 6-9 San Francisco team that was playing with numerous backups, including quarterback C.J. Beathard.
But the Seahawks’ offense came to life in the fourth quarter with back-to-back long touchdown drives, and Benson Mayowa followed with a strip-sack fumble that led to another late touchdown that ultimately sealed the game. The victory gave Seattle its first 12-win season since 2014 and its fifth season in franchise history with at least 12 wins.
The Seahawks enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed and will host a rematch against the No. 6 seed Rams in the wild-card round Saturday afternoon. It will be the third meeting this season between the NFC West rivals. Seattle lost the first matchup 23-16 on the road in Week 10, but returned the favor with a 20-9 home victory over the Rams two weeks ago to clinch the division title.
Here are some storylines and takeaways from the Seahawks’ regular-season finale, as they turn their attention to the postseason and embark on another attempt at a Super Bowl run:
ANOTHER SLOW START FOR THE OFFENSE
Seattle’s offense continued a concerning late-season trend and sleepwalked through a significant portion of Sunday’s game, managing just six points and no touchdowns through the first three quarters.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Seahawks had mustered just 109 total yards and an abysmal 2.9 yards per play. Five of Seattle’s first seven non-kneeldown drives spanned less than 10 yards, including four possessions that were three-and-outs. The passing game had been mostly ineffective, with Russell Wilson completing just 11 of 23 passes over the first three quarters for a pedestrian 101 yards and 4.4 yards per attempt. And the ground game was faring no better, with Seattle’s running backs totaling just 27 yards on 11 carries over that span.
Wilson and the offense deserve credit for roaring to life and finding their groove during the fourth-quarter comeback, when they mounted back-to-back touchdown drives of 75 and 85 yards to take the lead. But after so many strong starts earlier this season, the Seahawks have now sputtered their way through bad offensive first halves in three of their last five games.
Seattle’s offense scored just three points through the first three quarters against the Giants in Week 13. The Seahawks managed just six points in the first half against the Rams two weeks ago. And they mustered just six points through the first three quarters against the 49ers on Sunday. In those three games combined, Seattle scored only one touchdown outside of the fourth quarter.
Slow starts on offense have been a troubling trend throughout the Wilson and Pete Carroll era, especially in the postseason. Since the 2012 season, the Seahawks have averaged just 8.1 first-half points and totaled just 11 first-half touchdowns in postseason games over that span. They were held to three first-half points or less in six of those 15 postseason games, including four scoreless first halves.
The margin for error is slim in the postseason against elite competition, so Seattle can ill-afford to be stagnant on offense for long stretches. As great as Wilson has been at leading late-game comebacks over his career, that’s not a sustainable formula for reaching the Super Bowl, especially in this loaded NFC playoff field.
LOCKETT’S REEMERGENCE WAS AN ENCOURAGING SIGN
One positive development for the Seahawks’ offense on Sunday was a strong performance by Tyler Lockett.
Lockett had been relatively quiet ever since exploding for a career night with 15 catches, 200 yards and three touchdowns in the Week 7 overtime loss to Arizona. Entering Sunday, he’d gone nine consecutive games without reaching 70 receiving yards. Over that stretch, he averaged just 46.9 receiving yards per game and had only one touchdown catch.
But on Sunday, Lockett was the focal point of Seattle’s passing attack. The shifty sixth-year receiver caught 12 passes on 14 targets for 90 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, with most of his work coming on a bevy of short throws and crossing routes. He finished with a season-high 47 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Reference.
Both of his touchdown receptions came in pivotal situations. The first occurred on a third-and-goal scramble drill, with Lockett finding open space in the end zone and hauling in a diving touchdown catch. And on the ensuing drive, with Seattle facing fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Lockett sprinted across the field on a shallow crossing route and caught the go-ahead touchdown just inside the left boundary of the end zone.
The lack of big performances from Lockett over the latter half of the season was a crucial missing aspect from the Seahawks’ passing game, especially given the lack of consistent production outside of their top two receivers. Aside from DK Metcalf and Lockett, Seattle’s other wide receivers have averaged just 16.1 yards per game over the last seven weeks.
If the Seahawks are to make a Super Bowl run, they likely will need big contributions from both Metcalf and Lockett. Lockett’s reemergence Sunday was an encouraging sign that he can rise to the occasion and be a factor in the playoffs.
MIXED RESULTS FOR THE DEFENSE
It was an up-and-down showing from Seattle’s defense in the regular-season finale.
The Seahawks stymied San Francisco for most of the first half, holding the 49ers to just 24 yards combined on their first four possessions. During that stretch, San Francisco managed only one first down. It looked like Seattle’s much-improved defense was on its way to another shutdown performance.
But then, the 49ers’ offense suddenly sprung to life. San Francisco mounted scoring drives on each of its next four possessions, totaling 16 points and 221 yards over that stretch. Much of the damage came on the types of big plays the Seahawks had limited in recent weeks, after being gashed for so many long completions earlier this season.
The biggest play came on a third-and-long deep ball to wide receiver Richie James, who sped past cornerback Shaquill Griffin on a vertical route to haul in a 45-yard completion. It was part of a rough day for Griffin, whose 45.3 Pro Football Focus defensive grade was his second-worst of the season. After allowing just 45 receiving yards combined in the first four games following his Week 12 return from injury, Griffin has given up 54 yards and 64 yards over the last two games.
There also were several chunk-yardage completions from the 49ers that appeared to stem from blown assignments or miscommunication in Seattle’s secondary. The Seahawks had a lot of missed assignments and communication problems earlier this season, but had mostly cleaned up those issues over the last six weeks or so. It remains to be seen if the reemergence of those issues Sunday was a one-time blip, or a sign of things to come in the playoffs.
After the stretch of four consecutive San Francisco scoring drives, Seattle’s defense clamped down to force a punt and a turnover on the 49ers’ next two possessions. The Seahawks did surrender a last-minute touchdown, but that came as they were playing prevent defense while nursing a late 10-point lead.
It was another strong day for Seattle’s pass rush, which posted at least three sacks for the ninth time in the last 10 games. Defensive end Benson Mayowa led the way with two sacks, including a key strip-sack fumble in the fourth quarter that set up the Seahawks’ game-sealing touchdown. Defensive end Rasheem Green also had a key sack on third-and-goal in the third quarter that forced the 49ers to settle for a field goal.
Seattle totaled 37 sacks over its last 10 games, which is more than any other team in the NFL over that stretch. The Seahawks finished with the seventh-most sacks in the league at 46 — a remarkable feat considering the state of this once-lifeless pass rush earlier this season. Seattle will need its pass rush to continue to be a strong point in the postseason, especially in an NFC playoff field that features four other offenses ranked in the top 10 of Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA ratings.
INJURY QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME
Some of the biggest storylines heading into Saturday’s wild-card playoff matchup between the Seahawks and Rams involve injury situations. Here are updates on a few of the most notable ones:
- The biggest question mark is the status of Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff, who the Rams listed as questionable on Thursday. Goff is coming off surgery after suffering a broken thumb on his throwing hand in the teams’ Week 16 clash in Seattle. If Goff can’t play, backup John Wolford is next in line. Wolford made his first career start Sunday in the Rams’ 18-7 win over Arizona. The 25-year-old former Wake Forest quarterback completed 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also showed some athleticism while running for a team-high 56 yards on six carries. The uncertainty over Goff’s status has forced Seattle to prepare for two quarterbacks with significantly different degrees of mobility.
- Another question earlier in the week was the status of Seahawks star safety Jamal Adams, who injured his left shoulder in the fourth quarter Sunday against the 49ers. But on Wednesday, Adams told the media that he plans to play Saturday in his first career playoff game.
- Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin (hamstring) and defensive tackle Jarran Reed (strained oblique) were both listed as questionable on Thursday, but head coach Pete Carroll reportedly said after Thursday’s practice that he expects both of them to play.
- Right tackle Brandon Shell and left guard Mike Iupati are both expected to return for Saturday’s game. Shell missed five of the last six games because of an ankle injury and being designated as a close contact through the COVID-19 protocols. Iupati missed the last two games because of a stinger. With both Shell and Iupati on track to return, Saturday would mark just the sixth time this season and the second time since Week 4 that the Seahawks will have all five of their starting offensive linemen on the field together. That could be especially important against all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald and a dangerous Rams pass rush that finished the regular season with 53 sacks, the second-most in the NFL.
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