Seahawks Report Card: Top Performers in 31-10 Loss to Bills

Few players stood out in an unsightly loss to the Bills at Lumen Field, but the Seahawks did have several youngsters excel amid the poor Week 8 outing.

Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) runs for yards after the catch against Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson (7) during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Suffering an embarrassing loss on their own turf, the Seattle Seahawks were defeated by themselves as well as the Buffalo Bills in a 31-10 defeat choked full of self-inflicted mistakes in all three phases.

Even amid the worst loss of the season thus far, however, several Seahawks still had stellar performances that were overshadowed by the litany of issues that plagued the team. Here are my top five grades from a lackluster Week 8 effort at Lumen Field:

Coby Bryant

Overall Grade: 84.0 (Run Defense 80, Tackling 90, Coverage 84)

A rare bright spot on defense for the Seahawks in his second straight start replacing injured veteran Rayshawn Jenkins, Bryant was one of the few players on Mike Macdonald's squad who didn't miss any tackles against the run on Sunday, and he also made a few stops to limit yards after the catch when Buffalo receivers got open against teammates in coverage. One of those stops flying up from a two-high shell to limit James Cook to an 11-yard gain likely prevented a touchdown, though the Bills wound up scoring a few plays later anyway.

Coby Bryant continues to capitalize on his opportunity starting at safety for the #Seahawks. This is a fantastic play pursuing Kincaid from behind in coverage and coming in to swat ball away without interfering. pic.twitter.com/f4Pf3G7Zlt

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 29, 2024

In coverage, Bryant didn't allow a single reception and came through in a key situation midway through the third quarter with a clutch pass breakup in the end zone while defending tight end Dalton Kincaid. After Josh Allen bought extra time by rolling out from the pocket to his right, the third-year defender vacated his single-high alignment to take a beeline to Kincaid, who had beaten his man across the middle on a crosser. Playing with sound technique, Bryant managed to sneak his hand in front of the receiver without interfering and swatted the third down pass away, forcing the Bills to settle for a field goal and keep the game within striking distance at 17-3.

AJ Barner

Overall Grade: 82.0 (Receiving 86, Pass Blocking 78*, Run Blocking 70*)

*Weighted for 11 run blocking plays and two pass blocking plays.

Though far from perfect - he missed a key block on a goal line run by Ken Walker III in the second quarter as just one example - Barner played another solid game taking advantage of limited playing time on offense. Unlike most of Seattle's offensive line, he did have a pair of blocks where he was able to create some push in the run game as an inline tight end, and he blocked well on two passing plays where he was kept in as extra support for tackle Mike Jerrell.

Continuing to exceed expectations as a receiver after only being used sparingly in that capacity at Michigan, Barner caught both of his targets for 34 yards, including snagging a team-long 20-yard catch in the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet. Both of his receptions came on scoring drives, as his first catch was one of nine straight completions by Geno Smith that ultimately led to a field goal after a botched snap by Connor Williams.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Overall Grade: 81.0 (Receiving 86, Run Blocking 55*)

*Weighted for eight run blocking plays

As a player who takes pride in non-pass catching aspects of his game, Smith-Njigba won't be pleased with his performance in the blocking department, as he came up empty on multiple block attempts that prevented runs by Walker from being successful. But with DK Metcalf out, he was the only receiver who actually stepped up with solid pass catching production on the outside, starting with a pair of first down receptions on Seattle's first scoring drive. On one of those plays, he caught a tunnel screen and powered his way down to the Buffalo two-yard line for a 10-yard gain.

It's a bummer that this drive ended with just a field goal after Williams' botched snap because I thought Ryan Grubb had one of his finest drives all year as a play caller. Love this motion to tunnel screen, which was executed perfectly. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/2r5VSUSSTA

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 29, 2024

Though he failed to surpass 70 receiving yards, Smith-Njigba added two more first down-converting receptions in the second half, including an 18-yard snag over the middle to help lead to Charbonnet's goal line touchdown. Doing much of his damage with the ball in his hands, 37 of his 69 yards came after the catch, as he averaged 6.2 yards after the catch per reception. Five of his six catches moved the chains and he ended up accounting for nearly a third of the Seahawks first downs on the afternoon while leading the team in receptions and receiving yards.

Geno Smith

Overall Grade: 79.0 (Passing 82, Rushing 70*)

*Omitting six yard loss after being tripped up by Connor Williams

Smith wasn't on his A-game, or even his B-game, on Sunday against the Bills. He had three passes downfield that could have resulted in interceptions trying to squeeze the ball into tight coverage and then had a screen pass tipped and picked off by defensive tackle Austin Johnson in the third quarter. However, after completing one out of four passes on a pair of three-and-outs to open the game, he found his groove on the Seahawks' third possession, completing nine straight passes for 94 yards, including five consecutive first down converting throws.

Pass protection was actually really good for #Seahawks on third drive. Ryan Grubb helped by mixing in play fakes out of gun and pistol sets, but the group up front did a good job of keeping Geno Smith clean, and he went 9 for 9 on the drive. pic.twitter.com/5JsSNa8Z5H

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 29, 2024

Unfortunately, Smith's efforts only netted a field goal because of Williams airmailing a snap over his head from the Buffalo three-yard line. Still, despite not having a run game to support him and being the benefactor of bad luck on a pair of red zone gaffes, he completed 72.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 212 yards, averaging a respectable 7.3 yards per attempt, and tacked on a 13-yard scramble as a runner in the fourth quarter. Even if he wasn't at his best, the veteran quarterback was far from the biggest reason Buffalo ended up running away with this game and he received little help from teammates along the way.

Charles Cross

Overall Grade: 78.0 (Pass Blocking 85, Run Blocking 73)

Surprisingly, the Seahawks actually held up fairly well in pass protection against a quality Bills defensive line, allowing nine pressures on 36 pass blocking reps. Turning in one of his best games of the season, Cross locked down AJ Epenesa and Dawuane Smoot on the left side, yielding a single pressure and no quarterback hits. The third-year blocker was especially proficient on Seattle's first scoring drive, helping provide excellent pockets for Smith to operate from as he completed all nine of his pass attempts.

As a run blocker, Cross didn't necessarily have a poor performance and wasn't the culprit for most of the broken plays that plagued the Seahawks with Walker regularly getting hit in the backfield. But he wasn't able to muster much of a push off the line of scrimmage either, particularly in short yardage and goal line situations. Nonetheless, on an afternoon where few players stood out in a blowout loss, his sharp pass protection numbers warranted inclusion in the top five grades.

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