It was a tough day for the Seattle Seahawks’ defense in Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
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The Bills moved the ball at will throughout the game and were rarely denied as they scored on five of their first seven drives. Along the way, Buffalo picked up a season-high 29 first downs and converted on 8 of 15 third-down attempts.
A big factor in the Bills’ ability consistently move down the field was the run game, which continues to be a major weakness for Seattle’s defense. Buffalo collected a season-best 164 rushing yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry and became the fourth straight team to rush for at least 155 yards against the Seahawks.
The Bills’ success on the ground led to an embarrassing stat for Seattle, and one that’s become an unwelcomed trend over the past two seasons in the Pacific Northwest.
During his Monday morning Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, FOX football analyst and former NFL quarterback Brock Huard addressed the alarming trend that’s plagued the Seahawks’ defense.
“They gave up 14 rushing first downs,” Huard said. “So I reached out to (ESPN Seahawks insider Brady Henderson). I said, ‘Help me understand, because I think this is rare, right?’ … Well, last year Seattle gave up 14 rushing first downs to Pittsburgh in that game at the end of the year that I think honestly was the final call with where things were in the (Pete Carroll) regime and all that. And they gave up 16 at Baltimore, that was a season high.
“… That’s only happened 13 times all of last year and this year – 14 or more – you’ve had three of those. So it’s less than 3% of NFL games, less than 3% over last year and this year (a team has given) up 14 rushing first downs, and you’ve done it three times. That’s hard to do.”
The Seahawks have played 25 games since the start of last season, meaning they have surrendered 14 or more rushing first downs in 12% of their past 25 games. That’s four times the NFL average during that stretch.
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Seattle is also on pace to finish 29th or worse against the run for the third straight season.
“At some point I look at it and I say it’s two different coaches, two different schemes – it’s not the scheme, it’s the players. You don’t have the right players to do the job,” co-host Mike Salk said. “That’s kind of what it looks like to me, and has for quite some time now.”
Brock Huard answers three football questions every weekday at 7:45 a.m. during Blue 88. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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