By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Seahawks end the season on a high note.

The Seahawk’s 30 -25 win over the Los Angeles Rams did not erase the sting of making the the playoffs. The win was an indictment of the solid bedrock head coach Mike  Macdonald has set. But oh man, does the sudden end sting for Macdonald and his players.  Of the  15 teams that won ten-plus games this season, the Seahawks were the only team not to make the playoffs. One more shot to the gut: the Seahawks are the first team to win ten games and miss the playoffs since the league moved to a 17-game schedule.

SOLID BELIEF

Give credit to McDonald’s and his players for having a good week of practice and bringing the energy, determination, and resolve to split the season series with the Rams. Now that the regular season is over, the Seahawks and the Rams have identical 10-7 records. What separated the two teams was the third tiebreaker, which is the strength of the schedule.

Tyler Lockett said it best in his post-game interview: “We have to learn not to lose to NFC teams in the head. That’s what hurt us .”  I would say a lack of consistency was what separated the two teams.  Sure, the Rams sat some of their starters on Sunday, but at the end of the day, it was the Rams vs the Seahawks with no asterisk, just as it will say LA Rams 2024 NFC West Division Champs.

AN EXCITING FIRST HALF

Both teams punted on their initial offensive possession, and it was on and cracking after that.   Geno Smith led the Seahawks to two consecutive scoring drives.  The first was a four-yard TD  toss to Jake Bobo, and the second was another TD pass. This one was for 20 yards to DK Metcalf. Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo proved he still had some magic in his arm when he hit TE Tyler Higbee for a six-yard touchdown. The teams traded field goals just before the half, and the Seahawks went into the locker room with a 17-13 lead.

SLOW START, DRAMATIC FINISH

With a three-and-out to start the second half, the Seahawk’s offense opened the door for another  Rams field goal, which brought them within one point.  Seahawk’s offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, dialed up a trick play. On 3rd and 10  and with the ball on their 30-yard line, Geno Smith threw a short pass to Jaxon Smith-Njiba, who lateraled the ball to Zach Charbonnet for a 30-yard gain. The hocus pocus worked. The drive ended with Geno Smith throwing his third touchdown of the day to rookie TE AJ Barner. It was  Barner’s fourth touchdown reception of the season.  

  The Rams answered that scoring play with one of their own. Garappolo hit Tyler Johnson to narrow the Seahawks lead to  24-22. The Rams’ two-point pass play failed when Garappolo’s intended pass for  Demarcus Robinson fell incomplete.  A three-and-out by the Seahawks offense gave the ball back to the Rams, who narrowed the Seahawks lead to just one point after another field goal by kicker Joshua Karty.

FINISHING THE SEASON ON  A HIGH NOTE

Outside of not making the playoffs, the end of the Seahawks 2024  was scripted like a holiday ending. After Ram’s field goal, the Seahawks went on a long and sustained drive that ate up more than four minutes of the game clock and ended with Geno Smith throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the day. The 16-yard pass play was costly; Fant leaped high in the air to snag the Smith pass and landed on his back.  He immediately went into the locker room.   Smith’s attempted two-point pass to Smith-Njiba was incomplete, and the Seahawks clung to a 30-25 lead with 3:24 left in the game.

DEFENSE MAKES ITS STANCE

Garappolo drove the Rams to the Seahawks 16 16-yard line, and it was there that the defense made its final stand of the season by forcing an incomplete pass on 4th and 3 to seal the win.

TAKEAWAYS

Macdonald and his players took care of business on multiple levels. They reached ten wins for the season; the defense had a turnover, and Geno Smith, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Leonard Williams, and DK Metcalf all set personal best and franchise marks. Smith broke his own single-season franhise records for completions (407), attempts( 578), passing yards (4,320), and competition percentage (70.4)

Williams finished the game with two sacks and became the first Seahawks player with double-digit sacks in a season since Frank Clark and Jarran Reed in 2018. Smith-Njgba had four catches for nine yards. The four catches brought his season total to 100 which puts him along Tyer Lockett for the franchise record for most catches in a season . Metcalf’s touchdown was his fifth of the season, making his teh second player in NFL history, along with Randy Moss, to have 900 receiving yards adn 50 catches, and five receiving touchdowns in each of his first six seasons.

Leave a Reply