For a ninth straight time, the Seahawks have come up short at Lambeau Field. On Sunday, Seattle suffered a 28-23 loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.
The Seahawks have not won in Green Bay since 1999 and their string of bad luck continued once more as they lost out on a trip back to the NFC Championship game. Seattle also continued its losing streak in divisional-round matchups on the road, as the franchise has not won such a game since 1983.
Although Sunday night featured plenty of questionable officiating, the fact of the matter is the Seahawks squandered plenty of opportunities presented to them. As such, they will now be entering the offseason.
Here are two duds and two studs in Seattle’s frustrating playoff defeat.
No. 1 Dud – The entire first half
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before . . . the Seahawks found themselves in a deep hole the first half, unable to get anything going, only to mount a furious comeback effort in the second.
Once more the Seahawks came out stumbling early. Their inability to move the ball on offense was coupled by a defense unable to stop Green Bay, which led to a 21-3 halftime deficit.
Unfortunately, this is not a new situation for the Seahawks. In 2012, Seattle found itself down 20-0 to the Falcons and in 2015 the Seahawks trailed 31-0 to the Panthers. In both instances, the Seahawks were able to make them one-score games but ultimately fell short. Sunday was just yet another example.
No. 1 Stud – Tyler Lockett
The brightest spot for the Seahawks offense was No. 1 receiver Tyler Lockett, who put forth a superstar effort for Seattle.
Lockett routinely found success against one of the more unheralded secondaries in the league as he was able to haul in nine receptions on 10 targets for a team-high 136 yards. Lockett also managed to find his way into the end zone to help Seattle’s late comeback bid.
Lockett’s success was striking compared to the rest of Seattle’s receivers. The second leading wideout was rookie DK Metcalf who only had four catches for 59 yards. On a day when the Seahawks offense truly struggled, it’s impossible to put any of the blame on Lockett.
No. 2 Duds – Anyone defending Davante Adams
Lockett wasn’t the only No. 1 receiver who enjoyed a monstrous performance on Sunday, as Green Bay’s own top target in Davante Adams feasted as well.
Adams was indefensible all night long. The star receiver made quick work of any Seahawk defender attempting to cover, or even slow him down. Adams was targeted 11 times and managed to catch eight passes along with two touchdowns.
The back-breaker for Seattle was when Adams hauled in a 40-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers to put the Packers up 28-10, a lead which proved to be insurmountable.
No. 2 Stud – Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson gave it his best effort. With Seattle trailing by 18 at two different points in the game, Wilson almost single handily kept the Seahawks in a game they perhaps should have been blown out of.
Wilson finished his night completing 21 of 31 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 106.5 all while being under relentless pressure from a ferocious Packers defensive front which managed to bring him down for five sacks.
While Wilson was great, it begins another year of “what could have been” for Seahawks fans. For a second straight postseason, it seems as if Wilson wasn’t let loose early enough in what became a playoff defeat.
