Film Study: Seahawks' Offensive Problems Multi-Pronged in Denver Disaster
Even with almost 200 more yards of offense, the Seahawks couldn't get out of their own way and the Broncos set the tone with an aggressive pass rush to steal an OT win on Thursday, leaving no shortage of problems for Seattle to try and figure out entering a 10-day break.
It's a rare event when an NFL team out-gains an opponent by nearly 200 yards, allows fewer than 170 yards on defense, and finds a way to lose, but the Seattle Seahawks did just that in a 17-14 overtime road loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football in a nightmarish offensive performance.
Turning the ball over three times for the third time in the past four games, self-inflicted damage continued to plague Sam Darnold and the Seahawks, with the veteran quarterback getting picked twice in the fourth quarter and overtime to seal an ugly defeat in the Mile High City. Courtesy of those two latest mistakes, he has now thrown seven interceptions in the past four weeks, an untenable number for a defending champion that expects to be right back in the mix competing for another Lombardi Trophy.
But for as poorly as Darnold has continued to play since his return from a glute injury in Week 3, Seattle has a multitude of other issues away from the quarterback that showed up once again in Denver. Scoring just three points in the first three quarters, a beleaguered offensive line allowed five sacks for a second straight game, while another fumble by a runner was lost in a prime scoring situation as Rashid Shaheed coughed up the ball this time around.
"We're not questioning people. We're evaluating. We're finding solutions," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said afterward. "I'm responsible for the performance of the team, so we have to do a great job of that, you know. I believe in our guys. I believe in all of our guys.”
Suffering a second straight loss that dropped the 'Hawks to 3-3 on the season and further behind the 49ers in the NFC West, what stood out as the biggest problems against a talented Broncos defense in prime time? And who deserves the most blame for a putrid overall performance?
