SEATTLE — Shortly after Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald left the podium Sunday after calmly speaking to the media following a 27-24 loss to Minnesota, some loud crashing sounds were heard in a back room.
“The whole (f-ing) year,” a voice shouted.
It is not certain who yelled, or what he was referring to behind the door Macdonald had passed through a minute or two earlier.
It could have been regarding another loss at home, as the Seahawks (8-7) saw their postseason chances drastically reduced after losing for the sixth time in nine tries at Lumen Field this season.
Perhaps he was angry about yet another slow start. The Seahawks gave up another touchdown to an opponent on its opening drive, while failing to score a touchdown of their own in any of their 15 game-opening possessions this season.
There were also crucial penalties among the 11 for 77 yards enforced against Seattle — including four false starts in front of its home crowd.
Quarterback Geno Smith threw his 14th and 15th interceptions of the season — the final of which sealed Minnesota’s win as they improved to 13-2.
There were many options for unhappiness.
On a positive note, Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 95 yards and became the 10th Seahawk to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season. DK Metcalf (three catches for 57 yards) and Smith-Njiba each caught a 25-yard TD pass.
Seattle rushed for just 59 yards on 15 attempts, though, led by eight for 31 from Kenneth Walker III, who left the game for good in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
“The reason their record is what it is and what their record is in one-score games is because they’re a good football team,” Macdonald said from the podium. “We hung right in there. We had an opportunity to win the game, and we didn’t. There’s things in all three phases we can do better, but we also did a lot of great things to give ourselves a chance to win.”
The positives and negatives all equated to trouble when calculating the Seahawks’ playoff chances. If Seattle can win in Chicago on Thursday Night Football, they’ll either be playing for everything — or nothing — in the regular season finale on Jan. 5 at SoFi Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams. If the Rams beat the Cardinals on Saturday, it’s almost certainly over, due to a “strength of victory” tiebreaker that would go to the Rams. So, the Seahawks must win their final two, and LA must lose to a Cardinals team that will have nothing on the line. There is a situation involving nine other games going Seattle’s way that would swing the tiebreaker, but the Seahawks were not holding their breath for that one to happen.
“We’ve just to handle our part — which is to win out,” Seahawks middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “And then let the chips fall where they fall. If we catch a little luck we can sneak it in there — but yeah, it’s tough.”
The defense once again looked good for much of the game, but a slow start and a lapse in the fourth quarter — along with an inability to force a turnover — led to another incomplete game. Derick Hall, Boye Mafe and Jarran Reed each recorded sacks, but the Seahawks failed for the second straight week to deliver consistent pressure against a strong opponent.
The Seahawks, at times, looked like they might be able to overcome inconsistency and eke out a victory. Smith, who completed 31 of 43 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, saw encouraging signs against a tough opponent.
“It’s always tough when you don’t get a win,” Smith said. “I thought the guys fought throughout the entire game. I thought our offensive line protected me well. We gave ourselves a shot but obviously didn’t get it done. It’s not how we wanted to close it out at home.”
The Seahawks had their chances to control their playoff destiny before the frustrating ending. Trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Smith led an 11-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 6 minutes, 16 seconds for a 24-20 advantage with 4:21 to go.
The Seahawks seemed to have put themselves in position for a win and prime shot at the NFC West when Dre’Mont Jones and Byron Murphy II combined for a sack of Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold to set up third-and-18 with 4:03 remaining. Murphy, however, nullified the sack when he grabbed Darnold’s facemask for a 15-yard penalty and a first down. Next play, Darnold found star receiver Justin Jefferson for a 39-yard touchdown with 4:03 to go. Jefferson got behind Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen, and Macdonald said safety Julian Love “was late getting over.”
Woolen missed the first drive of the game due to what Macdonald characterized as a “team rule thing.”
The Seahawks took two more shots at victory late in the game. Seattle drove to the Minnesota 37 with 3:04 remaining, but Smith was sacked on first down. Macdonald eventually had to choose between going for it on fourth-and-15, punting with two minutes to go, or a 60-yard field goal from Jason Myers in questionable weather conditions. Myers had made a franchise-record seven field goals of 50 yards or longer this season, but his 60-yard attempt fell well short.
The Seahawks had one final chance with 55 seconds remaining, but Vikings safety Theo Jackson — who started in place of injured Harrison Smith — intercepted a Smith pass intended for DK Metcalf.
“It’s an interception, man, anything that you see that goes wrong — put it on me,” Smith said. “Anything that doesn’t look right — put it on me.”
It won’t all be on Smith for the next two weeks. They’ll need some help from Kyler Murray and his Arizona teammates for a chance at the playoffs.
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder.
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