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Seahawks Film Breakdown: Examining Seattle's Third Down Defense Struggles vs. Rams

Combining an ineffective pass rush with a mistake-prone secondary, the Seattle Seahawks cooked up the perfect recipe to fall victim to a well-coached Los Angeles Rams squad in Sunday's opener. Why did they struggle so much to make stops on third down?

Corbin K. Smith

In this story:

RENTON, Wash. - Headlining the many problems that doomed them in a 30-13 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's season opener, the Seattle Seahawks simply could not get off the field defensively.

Continuing an unideal trend from last season when they finished 27th in third down defense, the Seahawks allowed their NFC West rivals to convert on 11 out of 17 third down opportunities into a new set of downs. This included Matthew Stafford, Puca Nacua, and company going a perfect five for five on their opening touchdown drive, an unfortunate sign of things to come during a disappointing performance for coach Pete Carroll's defense.

Looking back at their struggles on film, Carroll expectedly indicated on Monday that Seattle's inability to make stops on third down resulted from a combination of coverage miscues and an ineffective pass rush, which allowed Stafford to throw for 326 yards on the afternoon.

“As always, it works together with the rushing and the coverage," Carroll explained. "We weren’t able to hold the coverage up with the rushes we had, and he [Stafford] held the football a bit, made some great throws and they made some really good catches and they converted with some guys hanging on them, like a really good quarterback does. We needed to make him move, and we didn’t make him move enough. You can do it by covering guys, he’s got to hold the football, he moves around. Or you can get the quick rush on him, and we didn’t get either one of those successfully. They did a really nice job against us. It was nothing new, it was just the stuff that they do. What was old, was that Matthew Stafford can still do it. He did a great job of that.”

What went wrong for the Seahawks on the "money" down on defense? And how concerning are these issues long-term? Here's a close look at each of the Rams 11 conversions complete with film observation and in-depth scheme analysis:

Conversion #1 (3rd and 4) - Matthew Stafford pass short middle to Tyler Higbee for seven yards

After two run plays to open their first drive, the Rams stayed in 11 personnel with a 2x2 shotgun formation, dialing up a mesh pivot concept. On the backside, Tutu Atwell ran a short crosser after motioning back inside pre-snap and Van Jefferson ran a 10-yard dig, while tight end Tyler Higbee ran an inside-breaking pivot route and Puka Nacua ran and out and up double move from the right numbers.

Defensively, the Seahawks called Cover 2 with two deep safeties in zone and man coverage underneath, putting linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner in one-on-one coverage against Higbee and running back Kyren Williams respectively. This is an instance where outstanding quarterback play beats great coverage, as Brooks stayed in phase with Higbee throughout his pivot route back to the middle of the field and did a great job slipping underneath the route to get his left arm extended seeking a pass deflection. However, Stafford rifled a perfect sidearm throw just out of the defender's reach to connect with Higbee for the first down.

Conversion #2 (3rd and 4) - Kyren Williams rush for nine yards

Considering the situation with the Rams only needing four yards to move the chains, the decision to stay in dime with six defensive backs on the field was a bit of a head scratcher for Clint Hurtt and the Seahawks here. With only one linebacker, three down linemen, and a light six-man box, they were naturally out-leveraged defending the run, leaving a gaping hole in the B-gap on the weakside of the formation with Wagner and Taylor both lined up outside of the right tackle.

Taking advantage, the Rams didn't get cute and executed a simple dive out of shotgun, with right guard Joseph Noteboom sealing Jarran Reed and Wagner not in a position to get downhill to fill the B-gap. Making this an easy conversion, Higbee orchestrated a successful wham block across the formation to kick out Taylor, creating a truck-wide hole for Williams to run through for a nine-yard gain to pick up the first.

Conversion #3 (3rd and 10) - Matthew Stafford pass short middle to Van Jefferson for 10 yards

After forcing two incompletions by Stafford, including a first down throwaway into the turf with cornerback Coby Bryant bearing down on him on a slot blitz, the Seahawks went with one of their bread and butter coverages deploying Cover 3 "Buzz," where the down safety - in this case Julian Love - buzzes down into a hook responsibility, one of the two middle zones underneath along with the middle linebacker.

When it comes to beating zone coverage, timing is everything in the passing game and unfortunately for Seattle, Stafford was wheeling and dealing with precision. Thanks to good play design on the backside of a trips left formation, Williams occupied Bryant running a route out of the backfield into the flats, leaving a window for the quarterback to hit Jefferson on a 10-yard dig route. If Stafford waited even a smidge longer, Love likely breaks the pass up, but the timing was on point to connect with the receiver in the soft spot of the zone for another first down conversion.

Conversion #4 (3rd and 4) - Matthew Stafford pass short middle to Tyler Higbee for 12 yards

Looking to mix things up from running traditional zone coverage without sending extra rushers after Stafford, Hurtt called Cover 3 Fire Zone, dropping Taylor back into curl/flat responsibility from his outside linebacker post and blitzing Wagner from the middle for a different four-man rush. But Wagner wasn't able to get home on blitz and Stafford once again had ample time to scan the field, allowing him to connect with a wide open Higbee for another first down inside Seattle's 10-yard line.

Schematically, Higbee shouldn't have had his own island in the middle of the field. As was the case on several plays on Sunday, the Seahawks clearly had a communication issue with both Bryant and Love ending up next to each other in the curl/flat zone with nobody manning the middle hook zone. Bryant should have been in that zone with Love covering the flats, and instead, both players ended up standing hip-to-hip in coverage, making this easier than stealing candy from a baby for Stafford and Higbee.

Conversion #5 (3rd and Goal) - Kyren Williams one-yard touchdown run

Capping off a fantastic drive for Los Angeles and an equally frustrating one for Seattle's defense, Williams plunged forward for an easy one-yard score on a simple dive play after Uchenna Nwosu was easily blocked by the left tackle slanting hard inside off the snap and both Brooks and Bryant weren't able to fill the gap quick enough to make a play short of the goal line.

Conversion #6 (3rd and 10) - Matthew Stafford pass short middle to Tutu Atwell for 11 yards

Continuing to search for ways to pressure Stafford, the Seahawks decided to be aggressive out of a 4-1-6 dime package, sending both Wagner and Bryant as blitzers while dropping Nwosu back into zone. But the veteran quarterback was more than ready for the extra pressure called by Hurtt, quickly hitting his hot read in Atwell off his back foot. The speedy wideout snuck in behind Nwosu and beat slot cornerback Artie Burns on a 10-yard drag route, once again getting just enough yardage finding the narrow window in the zone to move the chains.

Conversion #7 (3rd and 4) - Matthew Stafford pass short middle to Puka Nacua for five yards

While Stafford had a field day targeting everyone else, he rarely tested Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen on Sunday, often not even looking in his direction. But with the Rams needing five yards on the opening drive of the second half to move the sticks, Nacua got a quick step inside on a slant against the ball-hawking defender, allowing the veteran gunslinger to hit him in stride for just enough yardage to extend the drive, which eventually resulted in a touchdown.

Conversion #8 (3rd and 8) - Matthew Stafford pass deep right to Tutu Atwell for 44 yards

No play may have characterized Seattle's rough day on defense better than this one that happened moments after Nacua's first down catch against Woolen. All afternoon long, the Rams found great success out of trips bunch sets, including on this 40-plus yard connection from Stafford to Atwell where Carroll said "self inflicted" wounds hurt the Seahawks in coverage.

Bringing five on a blitz, Seattle dropped Quandre Diggs as the deep safety and played man coverage underneath across the board. This can work if communication is on point and coverage rules versus bunch are adhered to, but after Atwell motioned back inside pre-snap, Tre Brown and Love bumped into each other trying to stay with their assignment rather than switching receivers. The end result? With Brown hesitating trying to avoid his teammate in a frustrating sequence, Atwell rocketed past him and instantly created separation, allowing for Stafford to drop the ball in the bucket for a big gain into the red zone.

Conversion #9 (3rd and 1) - Matthew Stafford rush for two yards

This one isn't rocket science. The Rams won at the line of scrimmage off the snap and created immediate push for Stafford on a quarterback sneak, allowing him to easily dive past the first down marker and further extending the drive to continue eating clock.

Conversion #10 (3rd and 11) - Matthew Stafford pass incomplete short middle to Puka Nacua; Penalty on Tre Brown for illegal use of hands

Putting a rotten cherry on top of the sundae for Brown, who endured a challenging game in all facets, the third-year cornerback wiped out what would have been a rare third down stop by getting his hand into the facemask of the opposing receiver. Without the penalty, a pass breakup by Woolen in the end zone covering Nacua would have forced the Rams to settle for a field goal, keeping the game within striking distance for the Seahawks early in the fourth quarter. Instead, the 15-yard infraction set up a Cam Akers touchdown run to extend the lead to 11 points, which felt insurmountable at that stage of the game.

Conversion #11 (3rd and 8) - Matthew Stafford pass deep right to Puka Nacua for 21 yards

With the game already well in hand, Stafford drove the dagger into the coffin with this fourth down completion to Nacua. Though the Seahawks started in a two-deep safety look, Quandre Diggs moved up to the hook zone area as "robber" after the snap with the rest of the defense underneath playing man coverage, as evidenced by Artie Burns following his receiver across the formation pre-snap.

Putting cornerback Mike Jackson in a bind with the Seahawks once again struggling to man up against bunch, Nacua took an inside release from the front of the trips right bunch set, eventually working his way back to the sideline on a corner route. With Jackson in trail and Burns ran off by Atwell's fade route, Stafford lofted a perfect throw to his rookie receiver without another defender in position to make a play on the football, allowing him to get his feet down inbounds for a back-breaking 21-yard gain into opposing territory.

Conversion #12 (3rd and 3) - Cam Akers rush for six yards

By this stage of the game, the Rams were simply chewing clock to force the Seahawks to burn their timeouts. Using 21 personnel with two tight ends on the left side of the offensive line, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur called an inside zone and Akers cut back against the grain, running past a gassed Nwosu and then powering through multiple tacklers to pick up extra yardage, all but sealing with win at Lumen Field.

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Corbin K. Smith
CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.

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