GREEN BAY, Wis.—The Seahawks are a team that prides itself on finishing strong, and have done so in recent years under head coach Pete Carroll, compiling a 17-3 regular-season record in December and January since the 2012 season. On Sunday, however, the Seahawks suffered a rare late-season loss, struggling in all phases of the game in a 38-10 defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.
Here are five rapid reactions to a loss that dropped the Seahawks' record to 8-4-1:
1. A remarkable streak came to an end.
One of the most impressive things about the Seahawks under Pete Carroll is the way they've been able to be in every game, even when they're not at their best. Dating back to the 2011 season, the Seahawks had gone 95 straight games, postseason included, without losing a game by more than 10 points.
On Sunday, however, that streak came to an end on a day where the Seahawks struggled on offense, thanks in large part to six turnovers, and the defense had a hard time slowing down Aaron Rodgers. Â
2. It was a tough day for Russell Wilson and the offense.
A week after the Seahawks scored 40 points and had season highs in yards and rushing yards, they had a hard time scoring against Green Bay. The offense moved the ball well on its opening possession to set up a Steven Hauschka field goal, but from there the Seahawks were unable to score again until Russell Wilson hit Tanner McEvoy in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. Turnovers were the biggest issue, with Russell Wilson throwing a career-high five interceptions, one more than he had against Green Bay in the NFC championship game two seasons ago. Prior to Sunday, Wilson had never thrown more than three interceptions in a regular season game, and the only time that happened was at St. Louis during his rookie season.
Though it wasn't Wilson's best game, the struggles weren't on him entirely, as there were multiple dropped passes—two of which led to interceptions—three Packers sacks, and one fumble lost by Alex Collins.
3. Aaron Rodgers was impressive. Â
Aaron Rodgers set the tone early with a 66-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams, and he never cooled off, throwing three touchdown passes in one of his best performances of the season. Rodgers completed 18 of 23 passes for 246 yards before coming out of the game in the fourth quarter, posting a season-best 150.8 passer rating.
Rodgers, who has now gone eight straight games with multiple touchdown passes, was so good in part because he had time to throw, getting hit only three times. The Seahawks' first sack of Rodgers, which was recorded by Ahtyba Rubin, didn't come until the final play of the third quarter.
4. Thomas Rawls ran well.
The Seahawks went away from the running game for much of the second half because of the score, but if you're looking for a silver lining on an otherwise forgettable day, consider the play of Thomas Rawls, who had another strong outing in his fourth game back from a leg injury. After going over 100 yards last week, Rawls rushed for 67 yards on only 12 carries, good for an average of 5.6 yards per carry.
5. An NFC West title will have to wait.
Thanks to Arizona's loss in Miami, the Seahawks could have clinched their fourth division title under Carroll and a fifth straight playoff berth with a win or a tie Sunday, but instead that will have to wait at least another week. The Seahawks do still have a three-game lead in the division with three games left to play.Â
Action photos from the Seahawks' Week 14 game against the Packers at Green Bay's Lambeau Field.