Why did the Seahawks come up short in Green Bay?
Plenty of fans and media are focusing on the end of the game: Pete Carroll’s decision to punt on fourth-and-11 from the Seattle 36 with 2:41 left (we would have punted, too), Ken Norton letting rookie Ugo Amadi cover Davante Adams on a third-and-8 that turned into a 32-yard gain and the close Jimmy Graham play against Lano Hill (why was he in coverage anyway?) on third-and-9 that sealed it.
But let’s be clear: That game was lost in the first half, when Russell Wilson and company scored just three points. It was the fifth time in nine road playoff games that Carroll’s Seahawks had scored three points or less in the first half (the four others were scoreless first halves). In those nine games, the Hawks have averaged 4.7 points in the first half, never scoring more than 13. They have led just once, 10-3 in Philadelphia in this season’s wild-card round, and they are 3-6 in those games (five of the losses in the divisional round).
Continue reading Why the Hawks again started slowly in a road playoff game
If you liked the drama of Seattle’s past two games, you will love it when the Seahawks and Packers resume a series that has been one of the NFL’s best non-division rivalries for two decades.
The Seahawks just got upset by a bad division rival at home and now face a big finale against a playoff-bound division foe. Sound familiar?
The Seahawks have built a 10-3 record largely on the strength of the league’s fifth-ranked offense (fourth in DVOA), but we just saw what happens when that unit does not play well enough against a good team and the defense does not get the takeaways.
Everything was set up for the Seahawks to take command of the NFC, but the offense failed to score and a 28-12 loss to the Rams means Seattle probably needs to win its final three to claim the division title.
The Seahawks are a sickly, battered bunch who still can’t win by more than one score. But they’re also 10-2 and in total control of the No. 2 seed in the NFC — with sights set on No. 1.
By the time the Seahawks host the Vikings on Monday night, they will know whether they are playing for first place in the NFC West and a spot among the conference’s top two.
