2 Seattle Seahawks to blame for loss to Lions on MNF, 1 player beyond reproach

The Seattle Seahawks lost a barnburner on Monday Night Football, and frankly, they shouldn't feel all that bad about it. There's no shame in falling to the Lions in Detroit, especially having put up the fight they did.

Detroit had a 21-seven lead going into halftime. The Seahawks fought back in the second half, narrowing the gap to eight points in the fourth quarter. They never quit. That's the ultimate takeaway from the game.

Still, Seattle had a chance to upset the Lions on their home field under a national spotlight. So there is blame to go around.

Blame Tyler Lockett for that OPI

I have no interest in defending the state of refereeing in the NFL. Refs are terribly inconsistent. They manage to miss obvious calls left and right (like that DK Metcalf pass interference in the endzone) while somehow finding the tiniest infractions to flag. Having said that, the penalty that put one of the final nails in Seattle's coffin wasn't a ref problem. Tyler Lockett owns that one.

Early in the fourth quarter, Geno Smith found Jaxson Smith-Njigba on the right to convert a fourth-and-three from the Detroit 39-yard line. However, the eight-yard gain was wiped out by offensive pass interference committed by Lockett.

Lockett ran into a defender in an apparent pick play, freeing up Smith-Njigba to make the catch in the flat. He was simply too obvious about it, looking more like a blocker on a running play than a receiver earnestly trying to run his route.

This is Lockett's 10th season in the NFL. He shouldn't have made that such an easy call for the refs. And it's not like Seahawks can really complain all that much when the officials called an even less obvious pick play on the Lions' next drive.

Without that penalty, the Seahawks would have had a real chance to tie the game. Instead, they had to punt.

Blame the injuries on defense for 42 points

Seattle's injury list featured five different starters on defense. Byron Murphy II, Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu were missing from the defensive front. Linebackers Boye Mafe and Jerome Baker also sat out. And they lost Pro Bowl safety Julian Love in the third quarter.

I'm not sitting here and blaming players for being injured. Every single one of the Seahawks inactives undoubtedly wanted to play on Monday. Still, the fact that they were missing heavily contributed to the loss. The circumstances and the deficiencies of the Seahawks' replacements hold the blame.

When you score 29 points on the road, you expect to win. But the Seahawks gave up 42 points. You're not going to win many games with that kind of defensive showing.

The defense gave Seattle an opening to tie the game with a three-and-out after Geno Smith and company scored a touchdown to draw within eight points. However, that was the only meaningful stop they'd manage in the waning minutes.

After Lockett's costly penalty, the Seahawks let the Lions drive down the field with relative ease. Seven plays and 80 yards later, the game was effectively out of reach.

Seattle will expect to play better defense when they get healthy. They're still 3-1 after a hard-fought loss to one of the best teams in the league. This isn't the kind of loss to cause panic. It's just a missed opportunity.

Don't blame Geno Smith

Geno Smith played at an extremely high level on Monday Night Football. It certainly wasn't his fault the Seahawks lost this one.

The quarterback completed 38-of-56 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 38 yards as well. His lone interception was a desperation throw at the end of the game. He was impeccable otherwise.

Playing behind a less-than-stellar offensive line, Smith managed to keep the Seahawks in the game. Every time it looked like the Lions were in complete control, he came up with a massive play.

It's not easy to have Aiden Hutchinson in your face for most of the night. Smith navigated the pressure and still delivered on-target passes to his receivers.

It's certainly not easy to go into Ford Field and beat this Lions team. Smith almost made it happen. Any semblance of a defense and he would have.

If Smith keeps playing like this, the Seahawks will be the team to beat in the NFC West and a legitimate NFC contender.