Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Lose Geno Smith, NFC West Lead in Ugly 30-13 Loss to Packers

Failing to rise to the occasion under the lights, the Seahawks fell behind early and couldn't muster a comeback without Geno Smith as the Packers dominated.

Dec 15, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Unable to capitalize on their latest opportunity to impress in prime time, the Seattle Seahawks fell behind by two scores early and watched their starting quarterback go down with a potentially significant injury as they suffered their first loss in a month in a 30-13 defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.

Prior to leaving with a knee injury after a low hit from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the third quarter, Geno Smith completed 15 out of 19 passes for 149 yards and threw a red zone interception to cornerback Carrington Valentine. Out of the backfield, Zach Charbonnet rushed for 54 yards on just eight carries, scoring Seattle's lone offensive touchdown on a 24-yard scamper in the third quarter, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba paced the passing game with 10 catches for 83 yards.

Falling out of first place with a dreadful performance at home, here are five quick takeaways from Seattle's latest loss at Lumen Field:

1. Seahawks fans receive a crude awakening to what life without Smith under center looks like.

Prior to exiting in the third quarter, Smith endured a topsy-turvy first half. On one hand, he completed north of 80 percent of his pass attempts while averaging a solid 7.7 yards per attempt. But on the other hand, he threw his league-worst fourth red zone interception late in the second quarter, unsuccessfully trying to squeeze the ball into tight end Noah Fant in double coverage. As a result, the Seahawks managed to score just three points on three first half possessions while having the football for nearly 13 minutes of game time.

However, Smith's lone mistake suddenly didn't look so bad once Howell checked into the game and the offense was rendered near non-operational. Playing his first meaningful action since being acquired in a trade back in March, the third-year quarterback played like a deer caught in the headlights, struggling to throw the football with accuracy and taking a ton of punishment from an aggressive Green Bay defense. In his first six drives, Seattle netted negative yardage on 15 drop backs as he completed five out of 13 passes for 24 yards and threw a horrible interception telegraphed right into the hands of linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Additionally, he took four sacks in the half, often holding onto the ball way too long with extra rushers sent after him.

2. Seattle barely tried to establish a run game early and couldn't go back to it after falling behind big.

After rushing for over 170 yards in Arizona last week, even against a top-10 Packers run defense, it seemed like a strong probability the Seahawks were going to try to continue leaning more on Zach Charbonnet and an offensive line that had showed marked improvement in recent weeks. But in part due to game flow falling behind by 14 early, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb seemed hell bent on spreading Green Bay out with three and four-wide shotgun sets, calling pass plays on 15 of 22 first half snaps on offense. As expected, the lack of balance allowed the visitors to be able to tee off on Smith, sacking him twice on third down to end drives.

Once Howell checked in and the Seahawks were down three scores, Grubb couldn't go back to the run game much, with the lone exception being Charbonnet's 24-yard touchdown run on a buck sweep that briefly gave the team a glimmer of hope drawing within 10 points. But away from that run, they only rushed eight other times in the final two quarters, with three of those coming from undrafted rookie George Holani on the game's last drive as they ran out the clock to mercifully end the game. Even though they averaged five yards per carry, there simply wasn't enough opportunities to be able to compete against

3. Struggling to defend sideline to sideline, the Seahawks took a significant step back versus the run.

Allowing just 97 rushing yards per game in their four-game winning streak, the Seahawks were tasked with their toughest test yet dealing with Jacobs, one of the NFL's best all-around backs. Unfortunately, from the opening kickoff, Macdonald's unit wasn't up for the task as the Packers fed the bruising back both in the run and pass game, handing him the ball on eight out of nine offensive snaps that culminated with him plowing into the end zone for a one-yard score. In the first half alone, he rushed 14 times for 73 yards while adding 38 yards on three catches in the passing game, creating major problems for the defense both inside and outside the tackles with pre-snap motion making things even more difficult.

After halftime, Seattle made some schematic adjustments to bottle up Jacobs, stuffing him on fourth down on two different occasions for turnovers on downs and holding him under four yards per carry in the last two quarters. But late in the game, Green Bay was able to mix in reverses and jet sweeps from its receivers with great success, including a 13-yard run by Jayden Reed. Overall, the visitors rushed 34 times for 140 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry, doing more than enough damage to help sustain long drives, keep the chains moving, and put points on the board. It was a disappointing regression for a unit that had been among the best in the league in recent weeks and the Seahawks will have to go back to the drawing board with three games left to play.

4. Minimal pressure coupled with a balanced attack left Jordan Love far too comfortable all night.

As one of the clear effects of Green Bay's early success pounding the rock, Seattle's pass rushers were kept on their heels for the majority of the evening, making life a lot easier for Love on standard drop backs as well as play action. Red hot out of the gates with a consistently clean pocket in front of him and throwing to all three levels of the defense, he completed 12 out of 13 passes in the first half for 142 yards, including a 36-yard completion to speedy receiver Christian Watson toe-tapping along the sideline after beating cornerback Riq Woolen vertically.

The Packers did a fantastic job of protecting Love up front, sprinkling in an occasional bootleg to get him out of the pocket as well to help the cause schematically and allow him to use his legs. As a result, with Jacobs pounding them on the ground and setting up prime play action opportunities, the Seahawks mustered just a grand total of six quarterback hits and no sacks on 28 drop backs as the quarterback completed nearly 75 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a healthy 123.8 passer rating.

5. Explosive pass plays returned with a vengeance through receptions and penalties.

During their defensive renaissance since Week 11, the Seahawks have not only improved their run defense, but they also have limited big plays in the passing game. A versatile pass rush played part of that success, however, and without them able to generate much pressure on Love, the secondary wasn't near as sharp as it had been over the past month. Getting picked on going against Watson, one of the few receivers in the league with enough speed to challenge him, Woolen not only gave up a 36-yard reception, but he also got flagged for a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty inside the five-yard line that allowed the Packers to tack on a short field goal before halftime.

Away from Woolen, Josh Jobe also got nailed for pass interference in the second half against Watson, gifting the Packers another automatic first down on a 39-yard gain. With the game already decided, Devon Witherspoon allowed a 22-yard touchdown reception to Romeo Doubs inside five minutes left to play, giving Green Bay four receptions of 20-plus yards in addition to two other gains via penalty and a 19-yard run by Jacobs. While it wasn't the worst performance the Seahawks have had this year surrendering explosives, it was another step in the wrong direction after weeks of making strong progress on that front.