Did you expect the Seahawks to lose to the 49ers? If yes, why fire Pete Carroll?

Was anyone surprised that the Seahawks lost to the 49ers again? I mean, really, anyone? Apparently so. I looked through Twitter or X or whatever you want to call it and saw rumblings from supposed football experts who think it’s time for a coaching change in Seattle.

Pete Carroll’s time has run its course. We’re grateful for what he’s done, winning the franchise’s first and only Super Bowl, but yeah, he’s old, the game has passed him by, the Seahawks need to start over because the culture and the record must change.

Unless I missed something, the Seahawks played with a backup quarterback and lost on the road to the best team in the league. If they had lost at home to Carolina with their starting QB on the field, OK, fine, grumble about Carroll all you want. Seems like that would be fair game after your coach loses his fourth game in a row for the first time in his 14 years in Seattle.

Granted, the game that started the losing streak against the Rams should have been avoided. But the last three against Dallas and two against the 49ers? Keep in mind that they nearly beat Dallas on the road, and the Cowboys haven’t lost at home since September of last year.

And naturally, seemingly everyone was complaining about offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who apparently screwed up in a big way by growing too conservative as the game went on after backup QB Drew Lock pushed it down the field beautifully on the first drive.

They’re the same people who would have griped if Waldron’s playbook featured too many vertical throws that might have resulted in more interceptions than the two that Lock threw, not to mention more sacks than the four he took.

I’d be on board with criticism of defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, whose unit gave up 527 yards to the 49ers and 9.9 yards a play, continuing a season-long trend of subpar play on that side of the ball. Out of 32 teams, the Seahawks’ defense ranks 28th in total defense after the 49ers’ game.

As for Lock, he started his first game since 2021 and completed 22 of 31 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating of 133.7 was better than any of Geno Smith’s four games against the 49ers, according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic.

Lock was more than respectable and deserves credit for taking over last minute. Smith was a game-time decision with a groin injury.

If someone on social media wants to start a quarterback controversy, count me in. If Geno’s not the franchise QB of the future, let’s see if Lock is, and if he’s not, it’s time to reassess the position in the draft.

Why would you replace Smith, if healthy, after one of his best games of the year in Dallas? Especially when the Seahawks still have a shot at the playoffs? Fair questions for sure. But who in his right mind feels like the Seahawks can win the Super Bowl if they make the playoffs as a wild-card team?

If you’re in your wrong mind, you would tell me that aside from San Francisco and Dallas and maybe Philadelphia, the NFC has a bunch of playoff pretenders, some of which will appear and disappear just like that in the postseason.

Could these impostors get hot like the Diamondbacks did in the MLB playoffs when they made it to the World Series? Likely not, and with the Seahawks, it stretches the imagination so far that it becomes a fantasy.

They’re guaranteed to fool us down the stretch. Even if they lose to the Eagles next Monday night, just watch, they’ll rip off wins against the Titans, Steelers and Cardinals to finish the season at 9-8 and earn the seventh and final playoff spot like they did last year.

Hopes will be extinguished soon thereafter when it’s realized the Seahawks are a playoff team in name only. As crazy as it sounds, the Seahawks would be better served to end the season with an eight-game losing streak and improve their position in the draft.

In the meantime can the axe-holders hold off with their chopping-block pleas to fire Carroll? Let’s see how this plays out in the next four weeks before demanding the dusting of the best coach in Seahawks’ history.

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.

This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 8:39 AM.