Takeaways from Seahawks 39-32 loss to Saints

The Seattle Seahawks knew exactly what the New Orleans Saints were going to try to do to them on Sunday. They just couldn't stop it.

Taysom Hill rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another, and Alvin Kamara joined him in rushing for over 100 yards each in a 39-32 Seahawks loss. It's the first time in franchise history the Seahawks have allowed two 100-yard rushers in the same game as the Saints finished with 235 rushing yards on the day.

The Swiss cheese defense by the Seahawks is the biggest reason the Seahawks sit at 2-3 after five games. Geno Smith and the Seattle offense put together another mostly stellar outing that was good enough to get a win. Instead, the defensive issues are still not going away.

Here are the takeaways from the loss in New Orleans:

– Everything starts with the run defense for Seattle.

Taysom Hill rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries for the Saints. Alvin Kamara had 103 yards on 23 carries as well. It's the continuance of a season-long trend for Seattle's defense.

The Seahawks are now allowing 170 rushing yards a game through the first five weeks of the season. After allowing a season-low 103 yards in the first week to the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks have allowed 189 rushing yards to the San Francisco 49ers, 179 yards to th Atlanta Falcons, 145 yards to the Detroit Lions and now 235 to the Saints.

"Got to make the fits and make the hits," said safety Ryan Neal, who made his first start of the year. "I mean, it's simple. Everybody in the stadium knew he was going to get the ball. We know he's going to get the ball. You got to fit up and tackle. Point blank."

It's certainly nothing that caught Seattle by surprise either.

"When you got Mike Thomas out, Jarvis Landry out and a couple others, we already knew what the game plan was going to be around. Going to be around 41 (Kamara), 83 (Juwan Johnson), 7 (Hill) and that's just what they came and did. Ran down our throat and that's something that's unacceptable and we got to know that going into the game."

When you can't stop the running game, everything becomes that much easier for an offense to function. Andy Dalton – starting in relief of an injured Jameis Winston – wasn't fantastic for New Orleans. He threw for 187 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But he didn't have to be special when Hill and Kamara are running roughshod through the Seattle defense.

"Taysom Hill had a great football game against us," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We did not stop him. Our plan for the Wildcat did not work. He had over 100 yards on the day and that was really the difference for them in a lot of crucial situations and he came through in a big way for them. It wasn't new. They had done it. The things we tried to be didn't get us off the field."

A quarterback capable of running does put greater stress on a run defense. It essentially adds an extra player to the offense since a quarterback usually is a non-factor in a play after a hand-off. It would be one thing if Seattle's run game struggles were just a one-time thing. But it's five games of sample size to show a problem.

"It's just no more excuses," Neal said. "There's no more playing around. It's just we got to go to work and we got to iron it out. And if guys don't want to get it done, they'll find somebody else to do it. So it's just at that point now. Hey, no more excuses. We got to go to practice, we got to get this s--- right and we got to fix it because we can't go a season doing that."

The Saints put up 438 yards of offense without Thomas and Landry. The Detroit Lions last week put up 520 yards of offense without D'Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark. Even without big offensive weapons playing, the Seahawks defense is getting rolled and it's not immediately clear what they can do to correct it.

– Rashaad Penny sustains serious injury in blow to Seahawks backfield.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said that running back Rashaad Penny sustained a serious injury to his left ankle that forced him out of Sunday's loss to the Saints.

"He hurt his ankle seriously," Carroll said. "I don't really know exactly yet until they get all the MRIs and stuff. But he's got a bad ankle. He'll have trouble getting back."

Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Penny sustained a fractured tibia on the play early in the third quarter. Penny took a carry off left tackle and was tackled by Marcus Davenport and Kaden Elliss, who landed on the back of his leg.

Penny was immediately in obvious discomfort and took his helmet off. He then slid backwards off the field in a seated position. Eventually he was helped to a cart and taken back to the locker room. He did not return to the game.

"Fell in love with the fact that he emerged and showed us the great player that he is and what he can mean to the game and to our team and all that. For it to come to another setback… he'll be back, but it's a setback that just breaks my heart because he's been having so much fun and he's been so rewarded and so fulfilled. He knows he belongs and he knows he can do it and knows he can be an impact in this league. … To have it taken away because of a mishap is unfortunate. We're going to love him through it.

"He's crushed."

Penny has dealt with numerous injuries through his five years in the NFL. An ACL tear in late 2019 lingered into 2020 as part of an extended recovery. As is often the case, other muscle injuries around the knee surfaced as well as the leg returned to full strength, including multiple hamstring strains.

But Penny has worked hard and showed he can be a terrific running back in the NFL. Now the job is going to be turned over to rookie Ken Walker III, who scored his first career touchdown on a 69-yard run in Penny's absence.

"It's tough," Walker said. "You know, we didn't talk too much about it. I talked to him on the sideline and he just told me, like he's always told me, to run hard, read my keys. And somebody like that, that's been like a big brother in the room to me.

"I'm ready. You know, we practice it every day. I feel real comfortable with the offense. You know, I got older running backs in there to teach me everything I need to know. So I feel real comfortable in the scheme."

– Tariq Woolen intercepts a pass in his third straight game.

The Seahawks seem to have found a gem in rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen.

"Riq the Freak." "Avatar." There's a reason Woolen has garnered these nicknames on the football field. It's because his athletic tools are, well, freakish. A once raw prospect out of UTSA, Woolen is looking like a potential star cornerback for Seattle.

"It's like watching a Rottweiler pup run around the house and he's just bumping into s--- cause he don't know how big he is. It's like that," Neal said of Woolen. "I mean just watching him just do what he do, he just doesn't even understand like you are so damn special and you don't even know it."

Woolen intercepted Dalton on a comeback throw for Tre'Quan Smith alongside the sideline. It's his third interception in as many games after picking off Marcus Mariota and Jared Goff in the previous two games. 

Woolen's absurd athletic tools also showed on Hill's 60-yard touchdown run. Hill was free and clear after stepping through a tackle attempt from Quandre Diggs at the line of scrimmage. Hill is plenty fast, but Woolen is on another level as he chased down Hill from behind. He was unable to keep Hill out of the end zone, but the speed of Woolen was ridiculous and speaks to his potential at the position.

"And I love the way his attitude is," Neal added. "He’s just so cool, calm and collected, not getting the big head and he’s always looking for that ball. Teams are going to learn. You keep trying that man. I mean, he’s got it three times, man. I’m proud of that kid and I just want him to keep it up."

– DK Metcalf ball security issues bite Seahawks.

DK Metcalf has clearly shown he's one of the top receiving talents in the NFL through his first three seasons in the league. However, Metcalf has also shown a tendency for not having the most secure hands at times as well and that showed up in two critical spots for Seattle on Sunday.

Metcalf dropped a would-be touchdown pass from late in the third quarter that forced Seattle to settle for a field goal. On a third-and-8 from the Saints' 13-yard line, Metcalf won on his route and came open. Smith hit him on the hands on a great timing throw but the ball slipped Metcalf's grasp.

Jason Myers converted the 31-yard field goal, but the drop was four lost points for Seattle's offense.

Then on the first play of the third quarter, Metcalf made a tough catch on a slant only to have the ball dislodged by Pete Werner as the was going to the ground. It's not an egregious fumble by Metcalf as he was in a tough position following the catch, but it's another unfortunate break that immediately led to another Saints touchdown.

Metcalf is a terrific receiver and his five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown were important on Sunday, but the one occasional flaw in his game did come back to haunt Seattle in two different ways in the loss.