Let's go back a decade. The Seattle Seahawks were reaching the peak of the powers of the Legion of Doom and had dominated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. The game wasn't just won by the players, though. 12s helped too.
In fact, the first points Seattle got in the game were because of Seahawks fans and not the players. Denver quarterback Peyton Manning and his center had a miscommunication on a snap, as they did not anticipate 12s being so loud. The snap sailed into the end zone and Seattle got 2 points for a safety.
Those kinds of days might be done. 12s can still be loud, of course, but something has changed. There did not used to be games in the early-to-mid 2010s where another team's fans would come to Lumen Field (or, as we all know, CenturyLink Field) and be more vocal than 12s at times. The team never had to feel like it was playing a road game. That is what 12s would do at opposing stadiums.
Week 8 felt at times like a Bills home game in Seattle. Even on the TV copy, Buffalo fans could be heard reacting to what their team was doing nearly as loudly as Seahawks fans' reactions. Did Seattle fans simply not have much hope for a win ahead of Week 8? It seemed that way based on the crowd reaction during the game. Bills fans just seemed to want to win more.
Speaking with the media after the game, quarterback Geno Smith spoke the absolute truth. His team played horribly and the Bills took advantage of Seattle's mistakes. But he said something much more dire as well.
When asked about the volume of Bills fans inside Lumen Field, Smith said that the game "kind of felt like (the Seahawks) were on the road at times." He wasn't trying to throw 12s under the proverbial bus; Smith was being factual. He could have also said that the team and the fans need to do better as the season grows old.
Everyone should be embarrassed by what happened in Week 8. Sure, the team did not give 12s much to cheer for, but that doesn't mean Seahawks fans stop cheering. 12s should have taken Bills fans being more vocal at Lumen Field as a personal affront. "Sure, your Bills team might be better than this Seahawks team, but your fans aren't better!" Except on Sunday, Buffalo fans were.
