Sunday night was rough for the Seahawks, there is no avoiding that fact.
First off, the Seahawks lost to the Packers, falling behind on the way to an eventual 30-13 defeat. And in case that final score wasn't bad enough, the Seahawks also saw quarterback Geno Smith exit the game early due to a knee injury, the severity of which is not yet known.
"It stings," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said after his team's four-game winning streak came to an end. "Just in general you got to give Green Bay a lot of credit. I thought they out-coached us. We didn't have a good enough plan in all three phases. I'm responsible for that, and frankly we didn't play good enough. Didn't do the things we been doing that have won us games. We didn't do those things."
On offense, the Seahawks failed to get much going throughout the game, managing only one touchdown that came on a short field after a turnover, and the times they did move the ball well, penalties, sacks and one interception in the end zone got in the way of their best scoring chances. And the offensive line that played its best game last week had a tough time with Green Bay's pass rush, with Smith and Sam Howell getting sacked a combined seven times. Defensively, the Seahawks got off to a slow start before playing well in the second half, but the damage Green Bay was able to do putting up 20 first-half points was more than enough.
"They came out and they ran the football down our throat," cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. "That's all it was, nothing crazy. They came out and ran the football, we've got to be better.
"They came out and had a good game plan, they have a good running back. They came out hot, and we put ourselves in a hole. We can't do that."
Sunday's loss dropped Seattle's record to 8-6, and due to tiebreakers, into second place in the NFC West behind the 8-6 Rams. And while the Seahawks obviously wanted to play better and get a win Sunday, what didn't change is that Seattle still controls its own destiny with three games left to play, including a regular-season finale in Los Angeles that very well could determine the winner of the NFC West.
"I just told the team, 'Hey, the good news is everything, all of our goals, are still ahead of us, and we'll get back to work tomorrow'" Macdonald said. "So we'll watch the tape and attack the heck out of it like we have the rest of the season, and move forward and get ready for a good Vikings team coming in here. Let's go. A lot of football ahead of us. All of our goals are right there. We've got to learn from it, which we will, and move on."
The loss, combined with the Rams recent hot streak, means the margin for error is tiny for the Seahawks the rest of the way, but that doesn't change much for a team that has felt like it is in playoff mode ever since it came out of the bye week with a 4-5 record having lost five of the previous six games. The Seahawks responded well to adversity then, winning four in a row, and they fully expect to now as well.
"I just think we've got to go back to the drawing board," said linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who had team-high nine tackles as well as a forced fumble. "Our mindset has been playoff mode, so it's legit now. We gotta go."
"We know what type of team we are, we know what the goal is, what we're trying to accomplish. Us saying it's playoff ball is just putting emphasis on what we said earlier in the year what we wanted to get done. That's win the division, go into the playoffs, get a home playoff game, one or two, whatever the case may be. You see what happens in the playoffs. But, there's no pressure. We just got to go out and play better, and execute better."
Second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the team in receiving with 83 yards on 10 catches, expressed a similar sentiment in the locker room after the game.
"Everything's in front of us, all of our goals, so we just have to get ready for next week, get ready for Minnesota and get a win," he said.
The Seahawks will return to work Monday to begin preparing for next weekend's home game against the Vikings, and will do so knowing two things can be true about Sunday's game: one, it was a bad performance on a lot of levels, leading to a 17-point loss at home, and two, it doesn't change anything going forward about what the Seahawks can accomplish this season if they finish strong.
"I think it's good that we treat each win the same as the losses," safety Julian Love said. "Obviously, they hurt a little more when you lose, all that stuff. But Monday, we're going in and just fine-tooth comb, just going through stuff. We call things how it is, win or loss, and so that mentality's the same. So you don't have to panic, nobody has to tighten up, just because we have three games left. Everything we want to achieve is out there for us, thankfully. And so we're going to treat this week just how we treat every week. Detail it Monday, get back after it Wednesday, and just be ready for the Vikings on Sunday."
Must-see shots of the Seahawks at their Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks players at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks players at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks players at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) and Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (10) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaelon Darden (1) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) and Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) and Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) and Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks players at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Kenny McIntosh (25) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) and Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks guard Sataoa Laumea (63) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell (6) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell (6) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks free safety Julian Love (20) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27), Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13), and Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
Seahawks players at the Week 15 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lumen Field on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
