Takeaways from Seahawks 30-13 loss to Packers

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 15: Donovan Jennings #67 of the Green Bay Packers sacks Sam Howell #6 of the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter of the game at Lumen Field on December 15, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

SEATTLE - The Seattle Seahawks lost a football game Sunday night, lost their lead in the NFC West, and may have lost their starting quarterback to injury all at once.

The Green Bay Packers dominated the first half of the game with Josh Jacobs and Jordan Love carving their way through the Seattle defense. A 20-3 halftime lead was far too much for the Seahawks to overcome, especially when Geno Smith left the game midway through the third quarter due to a knee injury.

The Achilles heel that has been the Seahawks' offensive line turned back into a pumpkin after playing their best game of the year last week in Arizona. The Packers combined for seven sacks of Smith and backup quarterback Sam Howell with 12 total quarterback hits.

"You got to give Green Bay a lot of credit, head coach Mike Macdonald said. "I thought they out-coached us. We didn't have a good enough plan in all three phases. I'm responsible for that, and frankly, didn't play good enough. Didn't do the things we been doing that have won us games. We didn't do those things."

The Packers offense caught Seattle off-balance early with a game plan that took advantage of some of their soft spots to build the early lead. Jacobs had nine touches on 10 offensive plays on their opening drive in jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

Soon it was 14-0 after a sack ended Seattle's opening drive. Love and Romeo Doubs connected for their first of two scores of the night and the Seahawks had to play from behind the rest of the night.

While the defense was able to successfully correct their course after the early struggles, the same couldn't be said for the offense. Smith had a poor interception in the red zone that thwarted a scoring chance late in the first half.

"You want to feel like you're ahead of the game and we just didn't start fast enough. So we'll look at why and figure out schematically what we can do better," Macdonald said. "But we're never going to come in here and be like, ‘look, the guy screwed…’ I got to put them in better positions; we got to have a better plan on offense and special teams. We know that. It just wasn't good enough. Our job is to figure out why and fix it so we can move forward."

While Macdonald's report on Smith's status after the game was seemingly positive, any further absence could scuttle any chances of returning to the playoffs.

Here are the takeaways from the loss to the Packers:

– Geno Smith injury threatens Seahawks playoff hopes.

While the loss of Geno Smith to injury may not have cost Seattle this game against the Packers, any extended absence moving forward will undoubtedly cost them a chance at the playoffs.

Smith was injured midway through the third quarter as Seattle was driving deep into Packers' territory. Edgerrin Cooper pressured Smith into throwing a pass away as Smith retreated from pressure. Cooper forced Smith's feet out from underneath him, but his right shoe briefly caught in the turf and twisted his leg.

Smith initially got up after the play, but sat back down on the field and was tended to by the training staff. Smith slammed his helmet on the sideline once he left the field and was taken to the injury tent for evaluation. Smith would then be taken into the locker room for further examination.

Macdonald said after the game that they believe Smith's knee is structurally sound, though they'll get an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.

"Tell you this: This guy is probably the toughest player I've ever been around," Macdonald said. "Was severe enough for him not to come back in the game. We'll do all the tests tomorrow and figure it out as we go. Right now structurally it looks like it's okay. Got to get it imaged and all that stuff."

Sam Howell saw his first extended action at quarterback in place of Smith. Howell was immediately sacked twice on three drop backs in his first drive in relief of Smith.

Smith jogged back to the sidelines before the end of Seattle's next offensive possession, but had a noticeable limp in doing so. When Seattle's offense returned to the field, it was Howell that remained in the game.

Smith had an ice wrap on his right knee on the sidelines as Howell finished the game under center for Seattle.

Howell ultimately was sacked four times and threw an interception of his own as Green Bay pulled away late.

"He wanted to (come back)," Macdonald said. "He was about to come back I think one of those drives, I think the one before we threw the pick, and then just couldn't go."

Smith wasn't perfect himself before exiting the game. He threw his fourth red zone interception of the season, which is most in the NFL this year. However, the contrast between Smith and Howell was just as stark as its seemed since training camp when Smith appeared vastly superior.

Smith completed 15-of-19 passes for 149 yards and an interception before leaving the game. Howell was just 5-of-14 for 24 yards with the four sacks and his interception in the relief effort.

"I think at the end of the day I’ve got to be better," Howell said. "I think my job is to be ready to go in there and play well and help this team win, and I didn't do that today. I’ve just got to be better, watch the film, learn from it. Definitely we had chances there in the second half. Defense played well; put us in good position. I’ve just got to be better."

Smith has done a pretty stellar job this season in helping to mitigate the shortcomings of the offensive line with his own play. He's gotten the ball out on time, found space within the pocket, and gotten on the move when necessary. Howell's play was the total opposite. He was routinely engulfed by the Green Bay pass rush, even on plays where he wasn't taken down for sacks.

"I know he's disappointed," Macdonald said of Howell. "Just didn't feel like we were getting the ball out on time and then it wasn't complemented with our pass protection. I know we gave up a bunch of sacks, and they did a good job, too. They covered the routes and rushed the passer, and it was a complementary game on their end."

Howell led the NFL in sacks and interceptions last year playing for the Washington Commanders. The small snapshot seen Sunday night showed those issues remain par of Howell's package in Seattle.

"It’s tough," linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "Geno is the heartbeat of this offense, heartbeat of this team, and he’s one of our leaders. So, obviously, you don’t want to see him get hurt. We’ve got confidence in Sam, confidence in the guys behind him. I pray everything is OK with Geno, but we got to be ready to go, whoever is at quarterback

The Seahawks are now tied with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, but they lose out on the head-to-head tiebreaker due to the Rams' victory in Seattle earlier this season. A Wild Card spot appears unlikely as they are a game behind the Commanders in the standings and likely to lose a tiebreaker with Washington.

If Smith isn't able to return to action, the door may have slammed shut on the team's playoff hopes as it's tough to see Howell being able to do enough to make up for the absence.

– Geno Smith forces another interception.

Before being injured, Smith did have a low point with another interception as a result of focing a throw in the red zone that wasn't there.

On Smith's interception, the Packers showed Cover 2 at the snap but ended up in man-to-man with safety Evan Williams matched up on tight end Noah Fant. Believing Fant could win the matchup with Williams isn't necessarily a bad thought from Smith. However, trying to force the throw off his back foot as he retreated from pressure was a mistake. The throw never had enough juice to get to Fant even without Carrington Valentine in the mix, but the floated throw was easily seen and undercut by Valentine for the interception.

Smith had just gotten away with a dangerous throw on the previous down as Valentine had Smith-Njigba covered tightly as well.

It was Smith's fourth interception in the red zone this season, which is the most in the NFL.

It was a poor interception from Smith due to being off-balance and unable to make a strong enough throw for the play. If he'd been able to rip the throw with set feet, the throw may have had a chance to be completed.

But it's an error situationally as well. The Seahawks had a chance to get a field goal to cut into the Green Bay lead with a short field goal if not for the interception. With the Packers then able to score before the half themselves, it amounted to a six-point swing that set the rally chances back.

– Riq Woolen struggles.

Cornerback Riq Woolen easily had his roughest game of the year for Seattle.

A 15-yard roughing the passer penalty for drilling Love in the back after a throw on the opening drive of the game helped the Packers get an early score.

Woolen was then dragged into the end zone by Romeo Doubs for Green Bay's second touchdown of the night, despite making initial contact with Doubs at the 5-yard line. Woolen and safety Julian Love were unable to stop Doubs from churning his way into the end zone.

Woolen then allowed Christian Watson to get behind him for a 36-yard completion as he slowed up slightly looking for a possible interception. Instead, the throw carried over his head to Watson along the sideline for the longest play of the night for the Packers.

Then, with 10 seconds left in the first half, Woolen allowed Doubs to get behind him with Woolen committing pass interference trying to recover. The penalty gave the Packers a chip shot 21-yard field goal to carry a 20-3 lead into the locker rooms.

Woolen has generally played at a strong level this season for Seattle, but Sunday night's effort wasn't his best.

– Defense bounces back from slow start.

It certainly wasn't the way Seattle's defense wanted to start the game against Green Bay.

The Packers scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives of the night to build a lead the Seahawks were unable to overcome. Jacobs had nine touches for 44 yards on Green Bay's first drive as the Seattle defense was unable to handle the star running back.

"I think it was just the mechanics that we were trying to do," Jones said. "Our feet weren’t set in the ground. We were moving around and not set in the ground. They were ready to go play, and we were trying to do too much up front, trying to change things, and just weren’t set."

Two more touches by Jacobs on Green Bay's second drive accounted for 40 of the Packers' 80 yards before Doubs' 13-yard touchdown extended the lead.

"We came out slow, we put ourselves in a hole. We tried to claw our way out. We can't win games like that, not in this league," cornerback Devon Witherspoon said.

The Packers had 235 yards of total offense and a 20-3 lead at the half. The Seahawks then made some adjustments that paid off as they limited Green Bay to just 134 yards and 10 points in the second half. The lone touchdown came off Howell's interception with the benefit of a short field as well.

"I’d like to start with me," Jone said. "I’ve got to do a better job, coming out, making sure that I’m going so we don’t wait until later on in the game to get going. In any game, those first 15 plays, you’re going to get new stuff from offenses. They came out, tweaked a few things, kind of attacked areas that had given us problems earlier in the year. We just started too late. We just got going too late. When you’re playing a good football team like that, you can’t get down how we were."

While it wasn't Seattle's best defensive performance, the group was able to successfully make in-game adjustments to correct their early struggles and limit the Packers for most of the second half.