Green Bay, Wis. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson didn't mince words when he stepped to the podium Sunday evening.
"Obviously, we can't turn the ball over," Wilson said. "I put that on me. That game was on me."
This came from Wilson following Seattle's 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers where he threw a career-high five interceptions, while the Seahawks offense turned the ball over a season-high six total times.
"I thought we were really prepared actually," Wilson said. "And I thought that we had the right things. We had opportunities and we missed them. We just didn't hit them for whatever reason."
Three of Wilson's picks resulted in touchdown drives for the Packers, who were led by Aaron Rodgers as he completed 18 of 23 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns and posted his best passer rating of the season at 150.8.
"Anytime I turn the ball over, I hate that as you guys know," Wilson said. "We just want to move on and keep swinging. We have to, that's the best option for us and that's our focus right now."
Seattle entered the game with the seventh-fewest giveaways in the NFL and have avoided turning the football over much of the season. It was a rare performance from the Seahawks, who hadn't lost a game by more than 10 points in its last 85 regular season games, an NFL record.
"It is hard for a team to get going when we have turnovers," added wide receiever Tyler Lockett. "We don't ever play like that. It is hard to get going when once you get things going you turn the ball over. It is hard then to get the momentum on your side."
Lockett is confident Wilson will be back to his old self in Seattle's next matchup.
"I expect him to bounce back" Lockett said. "He is a soldier. He goes out there and expects to win regardless of the score. He expects us to be able to come back and that is what you want from a leader. You want someone who will remain positive, never have their head down and build each other up and encourage each other. That is exactly what he does. He will bounce back and do a tremendous job."
The Packers have faced questions about their offensive struggles the past year, but certainly looked like the unit that has led them to seven consecutive postseason appearances against the Seahawks. Green Bay had scoring opportunities on four of their first five possessions en route to building a comfortable 21-3 lead at halftime. From that point, the game only became more of a challenge for Seattle.
Said head coach Pete Carroll: "They're good. They're really good. Mike [McCarthy] does a great job with this team. [Defensive coordinator] Dom Capers is legit. And, Mike does a great job on the other side. They've got a great quarterback and great receivers. They did their thing tonight. They looked awesome.
"This was a great night for the Packers. They played great football tonight. They couldn't have looked better on offense and to take the ball away from us like that, that's a great job by them. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but they played great tonight. And, we couldn't get anything going. So, it was a very difficult night for us throughout."
When asked about developing consistency on the offensive side of the ball, Wilson was adamant that it comes down to the Seahawks making big gains when they need to.
"Like I said, I think it comes down to us making plays," Wilson said. "I always put it on myself just because I believe that we're going to find a way. I never would want to put it on anybody else because I think that we have a great chance to do a lot of great things. We have that and we showed that last week. Unfortunately we had some plays tonight, we didn't hit them tonight. The ball bounced their way. Hopefully this week we can go back home and make those and have a great week of practice and have a great game on Thursday night."
The Seahawks have never been the team to dwell on disappointing performances. Players in the locker room described how they've already moved on. It'll be a quick turnaround for Seattle, who is looking to put their recent road woes behind them. As Wilson mentioned, the Seahawks face a condensed week with a Thursday night game as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Rams with an opportunity to clinch the division.
"Next week we play a Rams football team that's really, really good and coached well and they always play us tough," Wilson said. "So, we're looking forward to that game. We go back to home, to our fans, and we believe that we can turn it around and get our mindset right and continue to play good football."
Action photos from the Seahawks' Week 14 game against the Packers at Green Bay's Lambeau Field.