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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 03: Michael Jerrell #65, Anthony Bradford #75 and Connor Williams #57 of the Seattle Seahawks line up during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on November 03, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
RENTON, Wash. - Poor play from the offensive line of the Seattle Seahawks is overwhelmingly responsible for the team's slide to the bottom of the NFC West race.
Sunday's 26-20 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams was the latest example that the team is woefully incapable of performing at a level strong enough to make the Seahawks into actual contenders.
"Our guys are fighting their tails off, so we’ve got to help them out and we’ve got to execute better and we’ve got to work together on it. So it's pretty cut and dry," head coach Mike Macdonald said on Monday.
Left tackle Charles Cross is mostly exempt from this criticism. He's had a fairly strong season, which is exactly what you'd hope to see from a former top ten pick in the NFL Draft.
The other four spots on the line? Not so much.
Two more botched snaps between Connor Williams and Geno Smith – as well as a few more near-misses – have added yet another concerning trend to the offensive line story. Smith was sacked a season-high seven times by the Rams. Anthony Bradford and Mike Jerrell combined for five penalties with three holding calls and two false starts on the right side of the line.
Seattle ranks last in the league with 17 false start penalties this season and 29th in the league with 20 offensive holding penalties.
"Well, I think it's the operation and the self-inflicted penalties are the most frustrating," Macdonald said. "We should have that cleaned up by now, so we got to get that fixed and the guys know that we're going to look into it and see what we can do operation-wise, practice-wise, things we're coaching, just look at the whole thing and go attack it but felt like we should be further along in that regard."
Macdonald said Monday that they will do a full breakdown of the team during the bye week in an attempt to find some solutions to their problems.
"You got to go into these things with the mentality that everything's on the table. You’ve got to go with an open mind, open your lens up a little bit, and go back to work," Macdonald said.
The potential of Abe Lucas returning to the lineup after the bye could help solidify the situation at right tackle some. However, George Fant's return to action from a knee injury of his own lasted all of 17 plays on Sunday before he was again sidelined. After such a lengthy rehab process for Lucas, it may not go completely smoothly from the start in his return to the field.
Bradford started at right guard and played the whole game after spending the last several games rotating with rookie Christian Haynes. The continued struggles of both Bradford and Haynes at the spot could force Seattle into trying other options. McClendon Curtis and Jason Peters are veteran options on the practice squad that could get an opportunity to improve the level of play at the position.
After the game, Macdonald harped on their inability to get the one yard they needed on back-to-back plays in overtime as they tried to win the game. Instead, Seattle turned the ball over on downs with Ken Walker III twice stopped by the Rams short of the first down.
"We need to get more movement at the point of attack," Macdonald said. "We've just got to find a dent in it and rock and roll. There's not a lot of space and then you’ve got 11 guys in the box, but the good teams figure out a way to get it done, so that'll be a big priority for us this week."
Despite all the pressure he's faced this season and the lack of a complimentary rushing game, Smith has mostly delivered for the Seahawks. His three interceptions on Sunday against the Rams were certainly costly, but with the pressure he's under it's not a shock that dam eventually burst. Even so, Smith threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, including a two-minute drive that allowed the Seahawks to force overtime.
Smith leads the NFL in passing yards and is completing over 68 percent of his passes.
"We've got to do a better job of taking care of Geno throughout the course of the game," Macdonald said. "We have to be more efficient on those early downs so teams aren't teeing off on us on second long. And, it's hard.
"Now in those situations we do have, at the end of the day, we've got to be ball dominant. We can't put the ball in harm's way. Geno knows that. I know that's why he's really hard on himself right now. But, it is more of a reflection of us as a football team than just Geno when the quarterback's getting hit. So we've got to do a better job."
There were extenuating circumstances with each interception. The first one hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba cleanly in the arms and deflected to a Rams player instead. The second one saw Smith get his arm hit trying to throw the ball away.
"I was trying to throw it out of bounds in the back of the end zone. A guy (Byron Young) hit my arm," Smith said. There's no excuses to be made. I can throw that away, get it out sooner. Be faster in my decision-making. Trying to make a play down there, held it a second too long and it didn't turn out well.
Smith's third interception came when tight end A.J. Barner was held up on a s slip route at the line of scrimmage.
"I thought he got grabbed. Again, that's not an excuse. The ball's in my hands. I get the chance to make a decision and ultimately my decisions affect everybody, not just myself. And so I've got to be better," Smith said. "I'm not just saying that to say it. I really know that I can be better. And so it hurts me. It hurts me that I wasn't able to get it done today."
But Geno needs some help too.
"We've got all the confidence in the world with Geno," Macdonald said.
The offensive line problem is perhaps the most valid criticism of John Schneider's work as general manager of the team. Veteran stop-gap options in Fant (through injury) and Laken Tomlinson have been underwhelming. Bradford and Haynes both struggling at right guard after being relatively high draft picks the last two years is concerning. Entering training camp with Olu Oluwatimi and Nick Harris as the two options at center before having to go sign Williams to band-aid the shortcoming at the position is also not ideal.
It's been at least since Ethan Pocic left after the 2021 season that the Seahawks have had a decent option at center as Austin Blythe, Evan Brown, Olumatimi and Williams have all had their problems. Oluwatimi has even been a healthy scratch several times this year in favor of a undrafted rookie in Jalen Sundell.
Jerrell is going to get a bit of a pass here as he's a rookie sixth-round pick out of Division II Findlay. He's the fourth-string option for right tackle behind Lucas, Fant and Stone Forsythe. It's not a shock that such a situation may not go great. But collectively, the play of the offensive line has left Seattle barely able to function at times.
The Seahawks are now 4-5 on the year after a 3-0 start. They've lost four straight home games for the first time since 2008. It's up to Macdonald to find a fix quickly over their bye week or the Seahawks will be heading on vacation early in January once again.
