Clock Strikes Midnight For Seattle Seahawks Makeshift O-Line vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Regressing to the mean against a talented pass rush, a banged up Seattle Seahawks offensive line struggled to protect Geno Smith and open up run lanes for Ken Walker III in a tight loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, making the returns of Abraham Lucas and Damien Lewis critical moving forward.

For the better part of a month, the Seattle Seahawks have weathered the storm with numerous injuries along their offensive line, winning three consecutive games despite playing without both of their starting tackles and missing their starting guards for extended periods of time.

Traveling to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday while aiming for a fourth straight win and Seattle's first 3-0 start on the road since 2019, coach Andy Dickerson's unit surprisingly ranked ninth in ESPN's Pass Block Win Rate and 10th in Run Block Win Rate despite not having Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas, or Phil Haynes in the lineup for multiple games. While the offense had not been perfect by any means, thanks in large part to a line built with duct tape, the team had averaged more than 27 points per game leading up to Week 6.

But even with Cross and Haynes back in the lineup after multi-game absences, the magic finally ran out at Paycor Stadium on Sunday. Struggling against a feisty Bengals defensive front led by Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard, particularly in the red zone in crucial situations down the stretch, a poor performance by the group in all facets played a key role in an unfortunate 17-13 defeat.

Following a dismal outing by his standards, quarterback Geno Smith took the sword for his team after throwing a pair of costly interceptions in the second half, including a pick in the red zone trying to force the ball to rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a wheel route against double coverage. Failing to lead his team to a touchdown on four red zone trips in the final two quarters, the veteran signal caller has certainly enjoyed much better days as Seattle's starter under center.

"Those are things that are not characteristic of the way I’ve been playing, and I know that I can be a lot better," Smith told reporters. "I need to look myself in the mirror and figure those things out, so I will.”

While Smith deserves his share of the blame for a potential win that slipped away and must play better, however, in his defense, the quarterback frequently found himself under siege with Hendrickson, Hubbard, B.J. Hill, and others constantly disrupting the pocket. After only being hit 12 combined times during the Seahawks three-game winning streak, the Bengals battered him to the tune of 13 quarterback hits on Sunday.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Cincinnati became only the fourth team with at least four players to produce four or more pressures in the same game since 2020. Leading the onslaught, Hubbard abused and bullied reserve Jake Curhan, pressuring Smith a whopping nine times with most of that damage happening against Curhan. Across from him, Hendrickson nearly equaled him with seven pressures primarily working against Cross, who showed some rust after being sidelined for a month by a sprained big toe.

Hendrickson and Hubbard shined all day long, often working in tandem collapsing both edges down on Smith, and came through with their biggest plays in the shadow of Cincinnati's goal post.

With under 3:30 to go in regulation, Seattle had swiftly moved the ball deep into opposing territory with a chance to take the lead late after a nine-yard catch by DK Metcalf moved the chains to set up 1st and Goal at the seven-yard line. But on the very next play, Hubbard bull rushed Curhan back into Smith's lap, forcing the quarterback to spin back to his left. Even though Cross had done a decent job setting anchor against Hendrickson, the quarterback spun right into the defender's arms for a demoralizing sack that lost 12 yards.

Under constant siege from a feisty defensive line, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith took four sacks and 13 hits during a 17-13 loss to the Bengals on Sunday :: © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Cross and Curhan weren't the only linemen who endured a difficult afternoon. In the interior, Haynes and rookie Anthony Bradford had their own issues with Hill and D.J. Reader, who came through with pivotal pressures and run stops in the second half to help thwart several promising drives by Seattle, including on the game's final possession to ice the victory for the home team.

After the Seahawks were gifted one last opportunity inside two minutes to play by a three-and-out from the defense, Smith connected with receiver Tyler Lockett on a skinny post for a 36-yard gain, promptly advancing down to the Bengals 11-yard line with a timeout still in their pocket. Helping turn the opposition away without points for the third time in the red zone, Reader stuffed Ken Walker III on a second down run and two plays later, Hill hit Smith's arm on 4th and 8 to force a game-sealing incompletion, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

On that final fateful play in particular, Smith wanted to throw to tight end Colby Parkinson, but Hill's quick pressure after ripping past Bradford prevented him from being able to get the throw off before getting hit. Deflecting blame from the offensive line, the quarterback credited offensive coordinator Shane Waldron for a quality play call and lamented not getting the ball out on time to give his receiver a chance to make the winning play.

"There was a guy who was open," Smith said. "I was trying to get it to Colby [Parkinson] there, he had a chance to maybe score in the end zone right there and it just didn’t work out. Like I said, those are things that I need to fix myself and I look forward to that.” 

Throughout the afternoon, the Bengals successfully won at the line of scrimmage, botting up Walker with just 62 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry while sacking Smith four times. The constant barrage of pressure seemed to gradually take a toll on the quarterback as the game unfolded, as he missed a wide open Smith-Njigba at the five minute mark on what likely would have been a touchdown, instead scrambling when he still had room to operate in the pocket.

In that instance, Smith may have been feeling pressure that wasn't necessarily there given the fact Hendrickson, Hubbard, and the rest of the Bengals ferocious front line had been coming after him throughout the game. Ultimately, that persistent harassment led to the Seahawks demise down the stretch.

Now sitting at 3-2 in the NFC West and a game and a half behind San Francisco, Seattle hopes to get healthier in the trenches over the next couple of weeks. Based on recent comments from coach Pete Carroll, Lucas appears to be trending towards returning from a knee injury and will be eligible to be activated from injured reserve starting this week. Lewis also should be in position to make it back after sitting out in Cincinnati with an ankle injury.

For Smith's sake, the Seahawks best keep their fingers crossed both players can return and stay in the lineup. While Curhan and Bradford have performed admirably under tough circumstances and Dickerson has done a phenomenal job coaching up the unit to keep things afloat, if anything became crystal clear during Sunday's gut-wrenching loss, the team needs Lucas and Lewis back in the mix to bring the offensive line back to full strength if they want to have any shot at making a run at an NFC West title.