NFL: 5 Teams Dangerously Close to the Panic Button
By Bryce Olin
2. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
If Seahawks fans were worried after losing to Dallas, I think it’s officially time to press the panic button after last week’s loss to the St. Louis Rams.
The Seahawks are still a really good football team, but they’re not executing how they should. Like San Francisco, Seattle is much better when the quarterback doesn’t have to do much of anything the entire game. The Seahawks are a running team and should be running the ball more than they have been. I know it sounds stupid because Seattle is averaging 153.3 rushing yards per game, which is second in the league, but they could do more. Like in the loss to the Rams, Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, and Christine Michael, the Seahawks’ running backs, only rushed for 65 yards combined. Russell Wilson ran for 106 yards with a long of 52 yards. Without Wilson’s 52-yard run, the Rams bottled up Seattle’s running game.
When Seattle runs the ball effectively, it takes the pressure off the defense to strictly stop the other team from scoring and allows them to take chances. Running the ball on offense also allows the defense to rest and keeps them off the field. That’s going to help so much in the long run, if this defense can stay rested and healthy during the season.
With only three wins heading into Week 8, the Seahawks face an uphill battle to reach the playoffs. They’ve got Arizona and San Francisco twice each in the next ten games. Seattle will need at least three of those games to make the playoffs.