Non-Existent Run Game Haunts Seahawks’ One-Dimensional Offense in 33-31 Loss to Commanders
Picking up where they left off on a 16-play scoring drive to put away the Arizona Cardinals one week earlier, the Seattle Seahawks nearly generated an explosive run on the first play from scrimmage against the Washington Commanders on Sunday with Jadarian Price cutting back against the grain behind several nice blocks and powering his way past the marker for an 11-yard run and a first down.
But from that point on, the Seahawks could not get anything going on the ground, as the Commanders bucked up at the line of scrimmage and swarmed the trio of Price, Emanuel Wilson, and George Holani for the rest of the soggy afternoon. 16 combined carries over the final 58 minutes netted a total of - gulp - 28 yards, less than two yards per carry as the visitors had to pivot to airing it out in the second half with run play after run play setting them behind the sticks.
Ultimately, Seattle still managed to put 31 points on the scoreboard with Sam Darnold throwing for 379 yards and tossing four touchdown passes, including two to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But the inability to run the ball all day long made the offense too one-dimensional, and Washington made the veteran quarterback pay twice with costly interceptions, including a pick-six from linebacker Kain Medrano with less than five minutes to play in the game as the home team sealed a 33-31 upset over the defending champions.
After the game, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald didn’t have much of an answer to the team’s run game woes in Sunday’s defeat, crediting the Commanders for dictating things up front and Darnold’s effectiveness de-prioritizing establishing the run game down the stretch.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. That was a good front. I think we were trying to find solutions,” Macdonald said. “I think, also, the way the second half went with the weather clearing up and the way the pass game was going, I think that’s where we decided to emphasize.”
Revisiting the game film coupled with advanced stats, there’s no shortage of fingers to point in the blame game for Seattle’s putrid performance on the ground on Sunday, including the running backs themselves.
Per Pro Football Focus, Price, Wilson, and Holani combined to generate four missed tackles on 17 carries, averaging a pedestrian 2.61 yards per carry after contact, falling into nearly the bottom third for the league this week. Price also lost a critical fumble early in the game, setting up Washington’s first touchdown drive with golden starting field position just outside of the red zone.
After opening the contest with the aforementioned 11-yard run, Price coughed up the football on the next series deep in Seahawks territory, losing a fumble for the second time in as many games in soggy conditions at Northwest Stadium. The Commanders recovered at the 21-yard line and only a few plays later, Marcus Mariota took the turnover to the bank and cashed in with a six-yard touchdown pass to running back Rachaad White, putting them up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
Unlike the previous week where Price quickly got back on the field to shake off his mistake after a fumble near midfield against the Cardinals, Macdonald and offensive coordinator Brian Fleury put the rookie out of Notre Dame into the dog house for a while, as he didn’t receive another carry until after halftime in the third quarter. He ended the afternoon with just five carries for 15 yards, receiving only two of those carries after the costly fumble.
Ball security stood out as one of Price’s few weaknesses in college and unfortunately, that problem has reared its ugly head in the NFL so far, and defenders have been eagerly looking for chances to punch at the football every time he touches it. Macdonald hoped to send a message to the rookie with a temporary benching, maintaining plenty of confidence in the dynamic back turning things around and fixing the issue.
“I think just as a team, if we turn the ball over, it’s not good business,” Macdonald explained. “So, when you come back after the initial fumble, we decide to calm it down and bring it back after the half. He’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna figure it out, he’ll be fine.”
But in defense of Price and his backfield counterparts, the Commanders made life incredibly difficult from the jump, regularly invading the backfield and forcing runners to bounce outside into a well-contained perimeter. According to TruMedia, Seattle finished the game averaging -0.17 yards per carry before contact, with only Green Bay getting hit further in the backfield on average in Week 3. That average speaks volumes about the lack of blocking from the offensive line, contributing to nine runs netting two yards or less, including three tackles for loss two or more yards in the backfield.
Unlike the week before where the Seahawks broke the Cardinals’ will in the second half, they got out-muscled and out-physicaled by the Commanders all day long on Sunday. Adjustments made as the game progressed didn’t seem to do anything to help that problem either, as they regularly were dominated in the trenches, producing a grand total of three first downs via rush and a dreadful -0.53 Expected Points Added (EPA) per rush, ranking 29th out of 30 teams this week in those two categories.
Some of this boiled down to scheming disadvantages, as the Seahawks regularly had poor angles for their blockers to work with up front in the zone game, including a four-yard loss for Price on the opening drive of the game where guard Grey Zabel faced the difficult task of trying to reach block defensive tackle Daron Payne on a wide zone from a 1-tech shade on center Jalen Sundell’s back shoulder. The angle simply wasn’t there to be able to get in front of Payne, who quickly shot into the backfield and forced the running back to bounce right into the hands of defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson.
In other instances, blocking broke down before the run play could even get started. As just one of several examples from Sunday’s dismal performance, Zabel got beat inside by Payne right off of the snap and right tackle Abraham Lucas fell off of a combo block and ended up on the ground without getting hands on a linebacker at the second level on a duo run in the second quarter, giving Wilson nowhere to run but right into a swarm of Washington defenders for no gain.
As Macdonald pointed out, Washington’s front line deserves a ton of credit for setting the tone as well. That’s especially true for Payne, who - no pun intended - proved to be a real pain for Seattle to deal with throughout the game. It felt like No. 94 lived behind the line of scrimmage, often creating big plays for his teammates rather than racking up a bunch of tackles for himself. His final stat line certainly didn’t do his impactful outing justice and the home squad executed a strong game plan to near-perfection shutting down a run game that had produced 164 yards one week prior.
Big picture wise, it’d be easy to want to push the panic button on the Seahawks’ rushing attack after one of their worst performances in the Macdonald era. However, the showing in Arizona proved that the group can be more than effective enough creating balance to complement Darnold and the aerial game, and sometimes, you just have to tip the cap to the opponent and get back to the drawing board for the next week. Game planning better schematic advantages for the offensive line should be the first point of attack for Fleury and offensive line coach John Benton at practice this week gearing up for the winless Los Angeles Chargers.
If there’s a real area of concern, Seattle has to quickly find a way to nip Price’s fumble problem in the bud and help the rookie regain his confidence, as he’s clearly the most talented back available right now with Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL. Keeping him on the sidelines for most of the final three quarters in favor of Holani and Wilson took away explosiveness and burst that the team badly needed against a feisty, swarming Washington defense, particularly in the red zone where they once again got turned away with no points on a fourth down conversion attempt gone awry.
As long as the coaching staff looks in the mirror and makes the proper adjustments to put their offensive line in a better position to succeed and Price isn’t kept in the doghouse, the Seahawks should be able to bounce back and get things rolling again. But if Sunday’s performance leaks into next week’s game and isn’t a one-off, concerns will most certainly be heightened heading into the toughest part of the schedule with games looming against the undefeated 49ers, Broncos, Chiefs, and Bears.
