The Seattle Seahawks gave us hope that things were different after turning a 4-5 record into an 8-5 NFC West lead. With a chance to show that this team is unlike the past couple of seasons, they fell flat on their face, potentially lost their starting quarterback, and never recovered from the hole they dug themselves.

It was an ugly performance and a 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers that, sadly, shows how big a gap the Seahawks still have between themselves and any above-average team.

Let’s get to Winners and Losers.

Winners

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The only standout performer on offense with his 10 catches for 83 yards, giving him a Seahawks franchise record for consecutive games with 70+ receiving yards. He’s on his way to setting a new single-season receptions record in Seahawks history with just 16 more catches.

Leonard Williams

When the run defense tightened, Big Cat was at the heart of the success. He had a TFL on Josh Jacobs in the third quarter and was part of the 4th down stop of Jacobs in the final quarter. Leonard Williams is far and away the best player on Seattle’s defensive line.

Zach Charbonnet

A shame he didn’t get the ball more due to game script and his own offensive coordinator. Charbonnet had Seattle’s only touchdown and rushed for 54 yards on 8 carries. Maybe he’s having his Rashaad Penny-esque leap into high-level performance?

Jaelon Darden

I’m reaching here but the fact that Darden looks like a competent kick and punt returner makes him an instant upgrade over what Laviska Shenault Jr and Dee Williams were providing. Darden had a 37-yard kick return to open the 2nd half and I trust he won’t fumble the ball any time he touches it.

Losers

Ryan Grubb

Whatever was working in the first half of the Cardinals game last week went out the door. I don’t think he should have airtight job security heading into 2025.

Play-action passing was once again scarcely used. Grubb loves half-field reads with route concepts 10-15 yards down the field on 3rd and short, which is just asinine without safety valves to get the ball out quickly. He won’t commit to a run game even when there are signs of success. There was a stretch of 19 consecutive passes called from Geno’s final drive until the Zach Charbonnet touchdown. Seriously?

This isn’t to say Grubb is not trying to adjust. He’s implemented more under-center looks and now he’s discovered duo runs and G-T counters can work, but I think he’s not ready to be an NFL offensive coordinator. If you don’t watch college football, the hashmarks are spread further out which means the alignments are more spread out, linemen can be three yards downfield instead of one, and you can carry a lot more than 46 active players on gameday in college so substitutions are easier. There are major differences to the college and pro rules that I don’t believe Grubb has done an adequate job of adapting to.

Grubb has made life too hard for Geno Smith all season and it’s perhaps fitting that Smith’s injury came on the millionth screen to JSN that defenses have caught up to. There is too much predictability in Grubb’s offense and too many “tells” that have almost completely neutered the play-action game.

I don’t think Grubb was ever first-choice as OC. I think Grubb was hired when the Seahawks weren’t committed to Geno Smith in 2024. Both Grubb and OL coach Scott Huff should be under serious scrutiny at season’s end. A bad OL is not new to the Seahawks but not being able to make life easier for the OL and QB to this extent is an area where Grubb fails to meet the Shane Waldron years.

Sam Howell

Whoo boy. That was an all-timer in the worst way. I know it’s not enviable to come into a 20-3 game and try and lead a miraculous comeback, but that was a wildly inept showing from Howell. Yes, the offensive line is a sieve, but the interception he threw with no pressure in his face was incredibly poor. He was inaccurate almost from the opening throw and ran himself into some comical sacks.

This was how bad Howell was.

He’ll probably be starting for the foreseeable future and at least he’ll have a full week of first-team reps (I assume) for the Minnesota Vikings game, so ideally that won’t be representative of how he’ll always look. I’m also not expecting huge improvement because that was a performance indistinguishable from his time in Washington.

Red Zone Geno Smith

I feel for Geno and hope he’s alright after that knee injury. That interception was enough to put him on the Losers list. A total lofted panic throw that was preceded by a near-interception in the same area. Smith has a league-leading four red-zone interceptions and none more costly than the pick-six in the Los Angeles Rams game. At this point, a good chunk of the red zone woes have to fall on his shoulders in terms of bad decision making.

Smith didn’t play poorly outside of a couple of throws. He also has made too many high-leverage mistakes in key areas of the field this season and he knows it. Sometimes it’s okay to give up on a play.

Sataoa Laumea

A terrible night for the offensive line but a particularly bad one for the rookie right guard, whose early promise in two starts gave way to a brutal performance in pass protection against the Packers’ interior line. He allowed multiple sacks and pressures and committed a critical holding penalty that wiped out a 3rd and 19 conversion to start the 2nd half.

You live and you learn, it’s just that he picked a bad time to have a bad night.

Charles Cross

It’s lost in the shuffle but Cross has not been very good since his first couple of games of the season. The ill-fated Geno interception should’ve been called a false start on Cross, and then he gave up a sack by getting bullied out of the joint on the final sorta serious Sam Howell drive. I’m still waiting for the breakout year from Cross, and it has to happen soon.

Riq Woolen

That was dreadful game worthy of a benching just from his first half. He had a roughing the passer penalty on the opening drive, a pass interference penalty to bail out a poorly managed two-minute drill by the Packers, and in between he got bullied for a touchdown by Romeo Doubs and gave up a 36-yard gain to Christian Watson. It was by some distance the worst game of his career.

His contract ends at the end of next season. As a fifth-round pick he’s provided plus value and has played like a top corner at times throughout his career. When he’s bad? He’s really bad. I don’t know if he’s getting another season in Seattle beyond 2025.

Ernest Jones IV

First time I’ve had to put him in the Losers column and it’s even acknowledging the forced fumble he had on Josh Jacobs. Jones got picked on in pass coverage quite a bit to start the game and his lack of great speed was a problem against Green Bay’s fast offense, particularly when they ran laterally. He’s an excellent player who had a rough game.

Final Notes

• I actually thought Mike Macdonald’s defense played reasonably well after the first couple of drives. The run defense certainly tightened up on Josh Jacobs as the game progressed, and the Packers just made some terrific plays where you tip your cap. I’m not terribly concerned about the defense and what Macdonald’s vision is. They’re not elite but they’re at least not a full-on catastrophe and Macdonald adjusted accordingly.
• The Seahawks are going to have to overhaul their pass-catching options next season. This may even include trading DK Metcalf even though I’m principally against it. I think he’s playing hurt and is a glorified decoy as a result. There are zero consistent “go up and get it” options on the team. Jake Bobo is a meme/WR4 at best and Tyler Lockett has drifted out of the offense. There’s no need for Noah Fant to be here in 2025. Pretending Cody White is going to be even a moderately compelling contributor to the offense when he’s been in the NFL for four years is clinging to preseason highlights. Seattle doesn’t have many YAC options and outside of Metcalf, the speed of the WRs is not particularly good. New QB, new OC, it doesn’t matter, Seattle has to change the way its passing attack functions and that includes changing the makeup of the wide receiver group.
• Another home game where it sounds like the Seahawks fans are outnumbered by the opposition. Green Bay has a huge fanbase and there were plenty of Packers fans in prior meetings at Lumen Field, but the “Go, Pack, Go!” chants weren’t that loud from my recollection. This is probably not changing any time soon.
• Seattle still controls its NFC West fate. Win out and you win the division. That looks virtually impossible without Geno Smith and still tough with him. It sucks, but it’s true. The Los Angeles Rams might have won this division already if they’d been healthy or reasonably close to it for the entire season. This feels like a missed opportunity at a time when this division is the weakest its been in years. The Seahawks aren’t ready yet, and while I’d love to assume they’re on an upward trajectory, there is no such thing as consistent lineal growth in pro sports. Let’s just see if this team has one more positive response to a damaging defeat and be honest with ourselves about the potential of what this Seahawks squad is capable of even if they make the postseason.