There was nothing at stake in terms of the playoffs for the Seahawks, but they at least ended the season on a winning note against their rivals.
Here in Brazil, it is quite common to have festive games at the end of the year. They usually involve former players and celebrities. The result doesn’t matter much; the goal is to have a show and raise money for charity.
The Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Los Angeles Rams was a bit of that. Take charity and the show out of the equation. The game was worth little to either team. Seattle managed a hard-fought victory against the Rams’ reserve offense. It is interesting to note that the team tied with the Rams in every way, losing the spot only on strength of schedule.
For the final time, let’s look at Seahawks game film this season. All data used in this article was taken from PFF.
The Bad
Just like in Week 1, the offensive line remains a problem
Even playing against most of their reserves, the Rams were still able to pressure Geno. Much of this was the result of poor execution, whether in pass protection or run blocking.
Charles Cross was the unit’s biggest investment, being picked in the top 10. Snaps like this one were common, with Cross finishing the play on the ground.
Speaking of things that happen regularly, we have this one. Geno Smith’s magic on this snap ends up hiding the unit’s incompetence a little. Basically, all five lose the snap. Laken Tomlinson is thrown into Geno’s lap, Charles Cross struggles with a power move, the right side does a slightly better job, but still allows them to be forced towards the QB.
Seahawks need reinforcements in the secondary
The fact that Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon had excellent seasons can’t hide the deficiency of the sector. Riq Woolen had his ups and downs (and the downs were very low), and the team didn’t have any support for anyone in the depth of the sector.
The team (inexplicably) decided to give Rayshawn Jenkins a chance after he was cut by the Jags. Forget the 100+ yard fumble return against the Giants (in fact, forget all about that game) Jenkins didn’t do anything good. As a result, he was limited to a backup role when he returned from injury, losing the contest to Coby Bryant, who was still adapting to the position.
In fact, I watched this play more than 20 times and I still don’t understand what Coby Bryant did here.
Back to Jenkins, he has a chance to limit the offense to a few yards, but his missed tackle leaves the Rams very close to the first down.
A fourth down that could have already decided the game. Jenkins inexplicably decides to be aggressive and allows an important conversion in his zone.
Another play that could have been limited to a short gain. Tre Brown, who also committed a personal foul in the game that gave the Rams 15 yards, misses the tackle and allows an advance beyond the first down.
Even Spoon, who has been a standout for the team and was chosen for the Pro Bowl, had his bad moments in the game. The CB unusually gave up two TDs. Right on the first play of the game, he is exploited physically and gives up the first down.
Spoon is an instinctive and aggressive player. Sometimes this mentality takes its toll. The CB thinks about helping the backfield and allows enough separation for the TE to score the TD.
Here the play was largely due to the WR and the QB. Tyler Johnson imposes himself physically and wins the battle against the CB.
Tyler Lockett Last dance?
We may have seen Lockett’s last plays as a Seahawk, whether due to a cap decision or the WR’s retirement decision, even though he has stated that he intends to play in 2025. However, his numbers could have been better.
Basically, Geno’s two bad passes in the game were both to Tyler Lockett.
I particularly dislike this type of call here to limit the offense to just one side. Geno forces the pass to Lockett but ends up putting it closer to the defender than the WR.
Lockett has not been the deep threat he once was. In fact, the Seahawks’ offense has failed to threaten teams deep since Week 5. Here Lockett wins the route, but Geno’s pass is underthrown and the receiver has to slow down and the defender is able to get there.
Perhaps what can console us is that Lockett’s last reception was a third-down conversion that gave new life to the drive that ended in a TD.
The Good
Julian Love consolidating himself as a fundamental piece of defense
Love had a fantastic game against the Rams. Three pass deflections and an interception.
Of course, the interception was more of a blunder by Jimmy G than a merit of the defense, but sometimes it is important to have a player who is that “lucky.”
On this play, despite the first down, Love shows speed and physicality to make the tackle quickly.
Julian Love reads the QB’s eyes and anticipates to make the deflection and prevent the conversion.
I don’t know what Riq Woolen was covering here after the route turned into a post. Love again shows good speed in changing direction to deflect the pass and almost force a fumble (and another turnover).
Love worries about the deep route at first. After realizing that there is no threat in the area, he anticipates the WR’s route and takes off to deflect the pass.
Leonard Williams writing his name in Seattle history
It had been six years since the Seahawks had a defender with 10 or more sacks. Some came close to doing it, but only Williams was able to break the streak that had been active since 2018, when Frank Clark and Jarran Reed reached that mark.
Steve Avila is a good piece in the Rams’ OL. Leo Williams has an incredible get-off and with a swim move he gets his tenth sack.
First of all, notice the formation that Mike Macdonald calls in this play. The two DTs were placed wider than 9-tech. The EDGEs were placed in front of the OTs, since the team didn’t want to worry about the running game. In addition, Artie Burns and Tyrice Knight threaten the blitz but drop into coverage. Williams’ alignment makes him go unnoticed by the OL and he manages to escape to tackle the QB.
Devon Witherspoon Ups
Spoon gave up two TDs, but he had some incredible moments on defense.
Devon Witherspoon is marking step by step. He anticipates the route with ease and deflects the pass.
Spoon quickly darts to make the tackle against the screen. As always, he is much more physical than his height and weight would suggest.
After giving up the second TD, Spoon recovers and gets to the pass before the receiver to prevent the 2-point conversion.
Ryan Grubb and his last game as OC
I wish what Grubb showed in this game was his first game as OC. He called good concepts and had very creative calls, a balance between the running game and the passing game, as well as different runs as well.
There are obviously areas for improvement. Grubb had two 3 and outs in which he used too many passes in sequence, again putting pressure on his struggling OL.
Here we have a toss run, something that has been rarely seen this year. He uses DK Metcalf as a crack block so that Charles Cross can advance to block.
The teams were already prepared for the inside screen for JSN. The Rams were already ready and tried to make the play. However, Zach Charbonnet, just like the play against the Lions, receives the pass from the receiver and advances. Highlight for the excellent blocks by DK Metcalf.
Great call here. Geno is athletic enough to gain yards with his legs. He calls a zone-read and uses the TE in motion as a lead blocker.
Seattle struggled game after game to score in the red zone. Grubb looked like he had never faced Bobo at UCLA. It took him a while to use something he is very good at. Jump ball in a red zone fade. Great pass from Geno putting the ball where only Bobo could catch it and the WR using his body as a shield.
Another concept in the red zone that was little used was the threat of the seam route to TE against LBs. Maybe if that play had been used more, Noah Fant’s TD production would have been better.
Final Thoughts
Mike Macdonald led the Seahawks to their 10th win of the season. However, it is important to highlight one important statistic. The Seahawks have only beaten two teams that made the playoffs, which were also the Seahawks’ only wins this year against teams that had a good record. The Broncos in Week 1 and the Rams in Week 18. The Broncos were far from the team that ended the season with Bo Nix’s star power, and the Rams played with their reserves.
The only game the Seahawks played against a really good team was the Vikings, which we narrowly lost. The Bills, Packers, and Lions were all games in which the Seahawks never had a chance to win.
This is something to keep in mind when planning for the 2025 season. There is a lot of work to be done, and this game showed that some cuts need to be made and some investments in free agency need to be made.
This was the last game review of the season; this column will return in August with the preseason games. Now it’s time to talk about the Draft and Free Agency, the 2025 season has already started for Seattle!
Go Hawks!