SEATTLE — So thorough was the whipping Seattle received at home Sunday that even Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, the embodiment of optimism, had nothing good to say about his team’s performance.
Some losses have silver linings, things to build off. This game, a 42-24 spanking handed out by the Kansas City Chiefs, was not one of those losses. The Seahawks’ fourth double-digit loss in five weeks offered no consolation prize.
“It was a most disappointing day,” Carroll said. “We didn’t play anywhere near like we had planned. It didn’t work out in really any phase.”
Most disturbing to Carroll and the Seahawks was the fact that Kansas City so easily had its way with the Seahawks at Qwest Field.
“I really want to see us play so much better when we play here for our fans,” he said. “It was a bad day for us out there. … We played like garbage out there.”
The feeling was a lot different last week even though the Seahawks were coming off of a 15-point loss to New Orleans. In that game, facing an elite opponent on the road, the Seahawks showed signs of life, particularly on offense. The thought was that, at 5-5 and in first place, the Seahawks were in good shape heading into the final stretch of the season. Instead the Seahawks are now 5-6 — still good for a tie for first place with the St. Louis Rams in the NFC West —and searching for answers after the Chiefs thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball.
By the time the beat-down was over, there was little for Carroll to say to his team.
“His advice was basically to shut up and watch the film and we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “We’ll tell the truth tomorrow and see what our real issues are.”
It appears the Seahawks issues are many. The defense gave up 503 yards, the fourth time in five games an opponent has gained at least 487 yards. And after two strong offensive showings in Arizona and New Orleans, the Seahawks did almost nothing in the first half. Seattle was in the game thanks to a Craig Terrill field goal block and a Kennard Cox punt block that was returned for a touchdown by rookie Earl Thomas.
Thanks to special teams play, the score was improbably tied at seven after one quarter despite the fact that Seattle didn’t have first down. Kansas City answered the Seahawks’ score with a touchdown drive to make it 14-7, then after a Seattle punt the Chiefs went up 21-7 on the second of three touchdown catches by receiver Dwayne Bowe. That touchdown was followed by a Matt Hasselbeck interception. But just when it looked like a blowout was on, Seahawks cornerback Roy Lewis forced a fumble and cornerback Marcus Trufant recovered, setting up an Olindo Mare field goal to make the score 21-10 at halftime. At that point Seattle had been outgained 302-71, and had only three first downs to Kansas City’s 16, yet the Seahawks were only down 11.
The Seahawks nearly doubled their first-half output on their first drive of the second half. Hasselbeck hit Ben Obomanu for a 52-yard completion, then connected with tight end Chris Baker for a 13-yard score two plays later. And just like that the Seahawks somehow were within four points.
The score stayed that way for the rest of the third quarter, but the Chiefs put the game away with two quick touchdowns to start the fourth quarter, the second of which was set up when Hasselbeck was sacked and fumbled. Hasselbeck did connect with Obomanu, who finished with 159 yards on five catches, for an 87-yard touchdown, but it was too little, too late.
As bad as Sunday’s loss was however, the fact remains that Seattle is in the thick of a playoff race, tied with St. Louis for first place in the NFC West. But since starting the season 4-2, the Seahawks have lost four of five by an average margin of 24.25 points. The season is far from over, but the Seahawks need to find answers quick to keep those playoff hopes alive.
“It’s disappointing because this is the time of the year where you really need to finish strong to get in the playoffs and do well in the playoffs, and we didn’t do that today,” Seattle tight end John Carlson said. “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing, it’s a little embarrassing the way we played at times. But with that being said, we’re not going to count ourselves out, we’re not going to cash it in. We just have to evaluate it, learn from it and move on.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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