Seahawks in search of fixes ahead of midseason meeting with Rams

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 27: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball during the fourth quarter of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field on October 27, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Jane Gershovich / Getty Images)

RENTON, Wash. - Nearing the midway point of the season, the Seattle Seahawks know they have issues they need to fix to become the team they believe they can be.

"For us as an offense, each individual, especially, you know, as a team, we're all looking inward and saying, What can we do better?" quarterback Geno Smith said. "And obviously, if we clean up our mistakes – I've been saying this for a while, but if we clean up our mistakes and just play clean, we're more than capable of doing what we want to do."

The good has been, well…, good for the Seahawks through the first half of the season.

Smith leads the NFL in passing yards and is completing passes at a 68.8 rate so far this year, DK Metcalf was second in the NFL in receiving yards before missing last week's game due to injury, and Derick Hall has five sacks on the year as he's having a breakout campaign on defense.

But the bad has been equally as bad.

The offensive line – outside of left tackle Charles Cross – has been pretty abysmal for most of the year, which has left Seattle as the fourth-worst rushing team in the league. The defense forced just one turnover in a five-game stretch from Weeks 2-6, and the run defense is the fourth-worst in the NFL, allowing 148.4 yards per game.

"I think we're pissed off, but even-keeled, you know," defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. "Just not too high, not too low. We're just trying to mentally lock in like during the week, make sure we have a good week of practice."

The frustration was obvious last week as Reed and Hall had an extended volatile interaction of arguing with each other, both on the field and again on the sidelines.

"That's just being two guys who care about football," Reed said. Look, D. Hall is my guy. He's one of my friends on this team. Our parents are cool. We're still cool. There's no love lost. It just happens."

Geno Smith also had moments of frustration as he looked sullen on the sidelines, and committed a personal foul penalty for tossing a football into the helmet of a Buffalo player.

"I'm really not a great loser. It sucks. I hate it," Smith said. "Overall, when I watch myself, hey, man, just continue to uplift the guys. And, you know, if I'm being honest, do a better job at times when we're down. Those are things that I'm constantly improving. I'm not going to say I'm perfect at it. I'm very emotional when it comes to winning, when it comes to doing the right thing. And so at times, I let my emotions show, whether that's good or bad. I guess that's a personal opinion."

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they've lost four of their last five games and fallen out of the lead in the NFC West. Defensive end Leonard Williams explained how guys trying to do extra to fix the issues can actually work against the team.

"I'll use myself as an example," Williams said. "Like, say my gap is the "B-gap", and I feel like they're zoning to the right, but trying to cut back every time. So instead of me just staying in my "B-gap" because I feel like they've been running it on us, now I'm going to try to play the "B-gap" and the"A-gap", instead of just dominating the "B-gap". I'm now trying to do two things at once, and I think sometimes things like that start to happen once you kind of have the stress of things happening over and over.

"So, you know, I think it's just more about us getting back to the basics, trusting our teammate that they're going to do their job and everyone keep it rolling."

However, the belief is there because the Seahawks have seen strong stretches of play on both sides of the ball. It's now a matter of being more consistent and not hurting themselves.

"At this point I think we just need to see it," receiver Tyler Lockett said. "Instead of just hoping for it and talking about it, just being able to see it thoroughly and see it through and through, because I think the plays are there, the coaches are there, the players are there, the commitment is there. Just being able to make sure that we just do what needs to be done."

Added safety Julian Love: "Every week, I feel like we're not far. Might not look like that, but I feel like a few plays kind of can shift a lot of things."

A victory this week against the Los Angeles Rams before Seattle's bye week would be a critical result for the team. It would give them a win over a division opponent and ensure the team remains above .500 as they cross the midpoint of the schedule.

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