Halftime Observations: Seattle Seahawks Battered By Detroit Lions' Run Game, Trail 21-7

Gashed on the ground with reserves galore in the front seven and unable to finish drives on offense, the Seahawks find themselves in a huge hole in Ford Field.

Sep 30, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

For the first couple of moments on Monday night, the Seattle Seahawks didn't look like they were missing four starters on defense, quickly forcing a three-and-out against the Detroit Lions capped off by a sack by defensive tackle Jarran Reed.

But from that point on, things couldn't have gone much worse for coach Mike Macdonald's short-handed defense in the first half in a prime time wake up call. Minus Leonard Williams, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, and Jerome Baker in the front seven, Seattle allowed three consecutive touchdown drives that culminated with three rushing scores by the backfield duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, heading into the locker room trailing 21-7 in a one-sided first two quarters of play.

After the initial three-play stop, the Lions rarely even made it to third down with 13 total first down pickups, converting their only two other opportunities as they raced up and down the field with Gibbs and Montgomery leading the way, amassing 88 rushing yards and averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Quarterback Jared Goff benefited immensely from the success running the ball, leaning heavily on play action to complete all 12 of his first half attempts for 92 yards in a near flawless half.

Yards-wise, the Seahawks were able to match the Lions with a pass-centric attack and actually outgained them by 19 yards, as Geno Smith completed 17 out of 24 pass attempts for 165 yards while linking up with seven different receivers. Unfortunately, DK Metcalf coughed up a fumble after a first down reception on a promising second drive, leading to a long return by cornerback Carlton Davis that set up Gibbs' first touchdown run and pushed the Lions lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Smith and Metcalf bounced back on the ensuing possession, however, with the quarterback orchestrating an 11-play, 60-yard touchdown drive. Metcalf hauled in a 29-yard catch, diving to the one-yard line to set up a scoring run by Ken Walker III one snap later, trimming the deficit to seven for a brief few moments.

But while the Lions were able to finish their drives, the same couldn't be said for the Seahawks, who looked poised to strike again after falling behind by 14 on Gibbs' second touchdown run. Smith had marched his squad past midfield, only for a holding penalty by tight end Pharoah Brown to drive them back 10 yards and ultimately stall the possession without any points. Moments later, Jason Myers came up short on a desperation 62-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

Facing their biggest halftime deficit of the season, the Seahawks will receive to open the second half with hopes of pulling off a Monday night comeback. But in order to do so, they will have to shore up their shaky run defense while accounting for several missing key players and find more balance on offense with Walker rushing just four times for six yards in the half.