Jim Moore: If you’re trying to understand the Seahawks’ loss, just ask Gary Payton
Sure, the Seahawks could have won, even should have won, not just once or twice but maybe three times. They had so many opportunities in the red zone, two in the waning minutes but came up empty on both occasions.
That naturally caused a lot of concern about failing to capitalize and more specifically, failing to block the Bengals, whose pass rush got to Geno Smith when it mattered most.
All of which prompted criticism on social media of Smith, who should have avoided the sacks and found one of his receivers in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. That’s pretty easy to say from a couch in front of a flat screen 2,000 miles away.
“He seems to be missing the clutch gene in a big game,” said one critic.
“Losing hope that Geno can take us anywhere,” said another.
There were many more comments, some far worse. It was hard to determine who smacked him more, fans or the Bengals’ defensive linemen.
But sometimes there’s no great explanation for anything that occurs in a game, and such was the case for both teams Sunday. The Seahawks scored a touchdown on their opening drive and didn’t cross the goal line again. The Bengals scored two touchdowns on their first two drives but gained only 87 yards in the last 42 minutes.
How could both teams be so methodically efficient on those three drives yet incapable of repeating their success on ensuing drives?
It reminds me of the years when I covered the Sonics in the 1990’s. As a reporter, I would go in the locker room searching for answers to whatever transpired in the game that night, whether it was a scoring drought or magnificent defensive performance.
More often than not, I’d ask Gary Payton a question relating to a key moment, and The Glove would look at me, cock his head and say: “It was just something that happened.”
That didn’t strike me as being a very good answer, but now when I look back, I get where he was coming from. As if the Seahawks know why they couldn’t convert in the red zone against the Bengals. If they did, they would have, and it would have made their flight home a hell of a lot more fun.
Besides, it’s not like this was an embarrassing loss - the Bengals were favored by three points and coming into the game, it looked like they were clicking again with Joe Burrow appearing to be completely recovered from his calf injury based on his standout effort in Arizona last week.
You see crazy, unexpected stuff in the NFL every weekend. This week we saw the Jets beat the undefeated Eagles, and the horrendous Giants with a third-string QB nearly upset the Bills, a supposed Super Bowl contender.
Imagine being a 49ers’ fan who is trying to figure out how their world-beaters lost on the road as 10-point favorites to the Browns, who played without starting QB Deshaun Watson. The 49ers crushed everyone in their first five games and looked like they might have a chance to go 17-0. But then they went to Cleveland and, yep, it was just something that happened.
Which is great news for the 3-2 Seahawks, who remain just one game behind the 49ers in the loss column in the NFC West.
And what qualifies as equally great news - the gap between the 49ers and Seahawks seemed huge before Sunday’s games. But now? Not quite as much. If you can lose to the Browns and P.J. Walker, a quarterback who was called up from the practice squad, you can lose to the Seahawks or anyone else.
Plus you can factor in two potentially season-changing injuries for the 49ers, who lost their top two play-makers, Christian McCaffrey (oblique) and Deebo Samuel (shoulder), in the second half. Who knows how long they’ll be out?
So we can grouse about the Seahawks blowing it in Cincinnati, but truth is, there were more things to be encouraged than dismayed about. Start with Jamal Adams playing a full game for the first time in more than a year and having a modest impact. The run defense remained stout, and after Burrow dissected the Seahawks’ secondary on those first two drives, he was pedestrian the rest of the way.
When the schedule was first released, this game projected as a likely loss. Now the Seahawks enter the softest part of their schedule where they should be favored in four of the five games, and no one would rule out a victory in the one game when they’ll be underdogs - at Baltimore on Nov. 5th.
It’s fair to think the Seahawks could be 7-3 at the end of this stretch and in position to challenge the 49ers in their 11th game on Thanksgiving night. By then everyone will focus on the Seahawks promising postseason potential and, yeah, that could be something that just happened too.
Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on KJR-FM 93.3, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.