Seattle Seahawks playoff hopes die in Week 11 loss to Rams: Quick takeaways

Seattle Seahawks playoff hopes die in Week 11 loss to Rams: Quick takeaways

The Seattle Seahawks season is likely done. They are now 6-4 with a very real chance of being 6-8 after Week 15. Losing to the Rams twice in a season doesn’t bode well for playing the San Francisco 49ers twice, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle winning any of those games.

Honestly, Seattle wasn’t going to come close to the Super Bowl anyway. Making the playoffs would be great, but the games are fairly hopeless once there. On the bright side, at least Seattle will get a decent draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Or maybe I am just being pessimistic, though watching Seattle over the course of the year the above outcome seems logical. Let’s hope for 8-9 at this point. Here are three takeaways from the Seahawks 17-16 loss to the Rams in Week 11.

Drew Lock is not the answer for the Seattle Seahawks

How bad was Drew Lock in Week 11? So bad that Seattle had to put an injured Geno Smith – Smith had hurt his throwing arm near the end of the third quarter – back on the field. Smith actually was able to get Seattle closer to making a field goal, but Jason Myers missed a 55-yard try with 8 seconds left. Smith wasn’t overly good either, but he was under constant pressure and finished 22 of 34 for 233 yards and a touchdown.

Drew Lock, though, finished 2 of 6 for 3 yards and threw an interception. I know some Lockers out in 12 Land are going to find reasons for Lock not being productive, but just remember he had the same blocking as Smith. Lock isn’t good, and Seattle needs to find a new quarterback in 2024.

The defense is nowhere near being a playoff contender

Seattle’s defense has been a tale of two halves in almost every game recently. After halftime against the Washington Commanders in Week 10, the Seahawks had shut down the Washington offense pretty well. The same happened against the Rams in Week 11. Los Angeles had 94 total yards and 7 first downs at the half. By the end of the game, LA had 269 total yards and 20 first downs. The Rams got five of those on penalties.

So is the issue the players or the scheme? If other teams go into halftime and adjust and get better and Seattle stays the same, that means pregame preparation is better than in-game adjustments. A good defensive coaching staff can do drive-by-drive adjustments, and the Seahawks are not capable of that.

The officiating was awful but did not affect the outcome

Oh, I can already hear some disagree with me on this. The fact is that while the officiating was horrible – any time 21 flags are accepted in a game part of that problem is the officials being too picky – Seattle’s defense could still have gotten stops. Devon Witherspoon was called for a false pass interference, but Seattle’s defense could have still stopped the Rams from scoring a touchdown.

Seattle Seahawks inactives versus the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11

Seattle Seahawks inactives versus the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11

The Seattle Seahawks have been relatively lucky with injuries so far in 2023. They did lose their best edge rusher, Uchenna Nwosu, to a season-ending pec injury, and the team has played without right tackle Abraham Lucas (knee) ever since Week 1, but every team goes through some kind of attrition. Seattle’s hardest-hit unit has been the offensive line, but even that group is beginning to get a little healthier.

Still, Jamal Adams is a surprise inactive in Week 11 and that is not good. Maybe Seattle just didn’t want to risk playing the safety in two games in the same week. One would assume Seattle is going to be a lot less aggressive, however.

While Abe Lucas was cleared to start practicing this week, he was always doubtful to play against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11. Plus, as Seattle has two games this week (Sunday and Thursday) playing Lucas on Sunday likely means he wouldn’t be available in Week 12 against the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams are good, but the 49ers are better and Lucas is likely more needed against San Francisco than LA.

Of course, that was part of the problem for the Seahawks heading into Week 11. They might have risked playing all the guys who were on the injury report this week, but with two upcoming games so close together, they needed to weigh the risk with the long-term plan. For instance, special teamer Dareke Young has been struggling with an abdomen injury, but why play him against the Rams if it meant he could not play against the 49ers on Thanksgiving Day?

Who is inactive for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams?

Receiver Tyler Lockett missed a couple of days of practice this week with a hamstring injury, but he has missed practice a number of times in previous weeks and always played. Lockett doesn’t really need the practice. Just resting him during the week makes more sense.

The only other player who was a question was tight end Colby Parkinson who has been dealing with a biceps injury. But like Lockett, he has missed practices and still played.

Seahawks Week 11 inactives

• Running back Kenny McIntosh
• Safety Jamal Adams
• Offensive lineman McClendon Curtis
• Offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal
• Receiver Dareke Young
• Defensive lineman Myles Adams