How Can Seahawks Play Back Into Contention After Bye Week?

Dropping five of their last six games, the Seahawks have plunged to last place in the NFC West. Is there any reason to hope for a second half turnaround?

Nov 3, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Only six weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks were riding high to open the Mike Macdonald era, opening the 2024 season on a three-game winning streak to vault into sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

But since that point, little has gone right for the Seahawks, who have excelled at beating themselves just as much as losing to opponents. Dropping five of their previous six contests, they have plunged to the cellar in the division and currently hold the 12th seed in the NFC standings, far outside of projected playoff teams heading into their much-needed bye week.

At the center of these struggles, Seattle's maligned offensive line hasn't protected quarterback Geno Smith well enough, allowing nearly 150 pressures through nine games, while failing to create holes for Ken Walker III with the 31st-ranked run game. Defensively, run defense has been optional for much of the season with Macdonald's unit allowing at least 150 rushing yards four times in the past six games and the pass rush has been inconsistent at times harassing opposing quarterbacks.

While the Seahawks haven't won as many games as they hoped to this point, especially after starting off 3-0, Macdonald hasn't lost faith in his team, believing that their best football remains in front of them with a chance to rebound after doing some soul searching during the bye before returning to prepare for a tough road game against the 49ers.

"It's not where we want to be. It's not where we expected it to be," Macdonald told reporters on Monday. "But I feel like we're resilient as heck. You can just go week-by-week on the adversity that we faced. A lot of it is self-inflicted adversity and great football teams don't do that. They eliminate drag, they go forward fast together. We're going together, we're just not going fast right now. So it's our job as coaches to really eliminate that drag and make it clear for the guys."

Is there any reason to hope for a second half turnaround after the bye? On a new episode of Locked On Seahawks, hosts Corbin Smith and Rob Rang examine what has gone wrong for Seattle thus far and whether or not the ship can be righted with eight games left to play.

Smith and Rang also dish out their "Tell the Truth" midseason takeaways, including why quarterback scouting might be worth ramping up for the 2025 draft, and make their selections for midseason offensive superlatives such as top rookie, most improved, and more!

Listen to the latest Locked On Seahawks in entirety here or subscribe for free to the podcast platform of your choice here.

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