After three consecutive meetings between the teams in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Seahawks traveled to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.
In a game that was constantly slowed by penalties, the Seahawks battled through some struggles to claw their way back into the game. However, that clawing was not enough as the team fell to the Packers by a score of 27-17.
Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin led the way for the Seahawks, with Wilson throwing for 206 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 78 yards on ten carries. The quarterback was 19 for 30 throwing the ball. Baldwin hauled in nine passes for 92 yards and one of Wilson’s two touchdowns throws.
While Wilson and Baldwin turned in largely positive displays, the team struggled in other areas. Marshawn Lynch managed a mere 41 yards on 15 carries. ‘Beast Mode’ was constantly stuffed in the back field and was largely contained by the Packers’ defense. One contributing factor in the containment of Lynch was Green Bay’s game plan to take away Lynch’s cut-back lanes when running the ball. Because of the Packers’ handling of Lynch, the team struggled to get much going offensively.
Wilson seemed to spark the offense for a period in the second half when he got out on the edge and ran more, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. One of the more glaring stats of the night was Jimmy Graham’s production—or lack thereof. Graham had one catch for 11 yards. This isn’t entirely Graham’s fault given the fact that he doesn’t call the plays, but it seemed strange that the offense didn’t involve him more.
Another glaring stat was the number of penalty yards racked up by the Hawks. Seattle had six penalties for 92 yards. These ranged from numerous instances when Michael Bennett jumped offsides to an incident where linebacker K.J. Wright was ejected from the game for his role in a scrum.
Wright collected nine tackles, second on the team only to Bobby Wagner, who had 12. DeShawn Shead started in place of Kam Chancellor and played well, registering eight tackles. While Shead’s display was a good sign, the team will be hoping they get Chancellor back. The St. Louis Rams and Packers combined to score 58 points on the Seahawks. Given the talent and history that the Hawks possess, they’ll likely turn it around at some point and reach that next gear, but it has to start happening soon. If anything, the opening losses has removed the team’s margin for error.
A 0-2 start is never a good thing, but the Seahawks likely know that they could have won both games to start the season. The team returns home next week to play the Chicago Bears. Simply going on the fact that the team’s first two games were on the road, the majority of their remaining games are at home. There certainly aren’t any negatives in that.
Seattle can still go on a run and finish the year as one of the league’s best team, if not the best team, but they need to start putting it together soon.