An otherwise thrilling Seattle Seahawks game in Week 5 quickly left the 12th Man feeling more deflated than a football (allegedly) in Foxboro. Seattle dropped a shootout at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 38-35 loss to drop to 3-2 on the season. Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense were firing on all cylinders… until they weren’t. The Seattle faithful were roaring loudly… until they weren’t. The Seahawks appeared to be on the verge of a four-game winning streak… until. they. weren’t. That’s what happens when a back-breaking interception is thrown in the final seconds to set up a walk-off field goal for the road team.
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom in the Emerald City. The Seahawks just went toe-to-toe with one of the top contenders in the NFC, a Tampa Team that’s been in the playoffs each of the last five years and has won their division for the last four. Seattle was a late interception away from potentially knocking off a Bucs squad some have picked as a Super Bowl darkhorse. So here we are, 12’s, time to talk about the top takeaways from the Seahawks game this week.
No. 1 – The defense needs to get healthy… fast
Seattle has been dealing with injuries in their secondary to two of their best players: Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love. Despite both returning to action in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, they were re-injured during the time off after Thursday Night Football. The Seahawks weathered the storm without them against the likes of Pittsburgh and New Orleans… but against an NFC heavyweight like Tampa, their absences were felt. Even Riq Woolen, who has been the subject of the 12th Man’s ire this season, was missed dearly. Woolen left the game with a concussion, and even his harshest critics became aware of why he remains a starter despite his struggles. Blame Sam Darnold for his interception all you want, it’s certainly fair to do so, but Seattle scored touchdowns on four-straight second half possessions. The fact the defense was unable to protect any tie/lead Darnold and the offense gave them to defend was a larger contributing factor to this defeat.
No. 2 – Where’d the pass rush go?
Baker Mayfield had all the time in the world on Sunday to do whatever he wanted. He could throw, he could run, he could get a head start on his taxes for 2026… you get the idea. Seattle’s ferocious defensive line, that has been an absolute terror to start the season, was unable to get home to Mayfield. The Seahawks only sacked him one time, a combo from safety D’Anthony Bell and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. They also failed to record even a single quarterback hit on him outside of the one total sack. Yikes. At least you could rationalize the secondary’s struggles with poor health… what was the defensive front’s excuse? With the secondary depleted, the inability for the pass rush to get home to Mayfield spelled disaster for the Seahawks defense overall.
No. 3 – AJ Barner is officially the top tight end in Seattle
The Seahawks spent a second round draft pick on Elijah Arroyo from Miami, a receiving tight end. There may come a day when Arroyo lives up to his top billing, but for now, second year tight end AJ Barner is the difference maker at this position in Seattle. Barner hauled in all seven passes thrown his way for 53 yards and a career-best two touchdowns. He now has three touchdowns in his last two games, and four in his last four. Barner is becoming a top option for Sam Darnold, especially in the red zone.
No. 4 – Sam Darnold is still living up to the hype, despite the interception
Sam Darnold just had his best game as a Seahawk, don’t let the late pick fool you. Yes, that was a catastrophic error, but it shouldn’t overshadow the fact he completed 82% of his passes (on 34 attempts, mind you) for 341 yards and four touchdown passes. Darnold was playing at an exceptionally high level for 99% of the game. Obviously, the 1% he didn’t happened to be the one that mattered the most. But still, Darnold carved up the Buccaneers’ secondary and had the Seahawks in position to win multiple times in Week 5. The 12th Man should remain confident in their starting quarterback.
No. 5 – Seattle is not quite a top NFC contender… but they aren’t far off
Like I said earlier, the Seahawks just went toe-to-toe with one of the most experienced teams in the NFC. Tampa Bay is a veteran squad with plenty of playoff experience. They are battle tested, and know exactly what to do in the biggest moments of tight games. Seattle is…. not quite there. Not yet, at least. This is still one of the youngest teams in the league and they are still building something new under Mike Macdonald. In many ways, they may be ahead of schedule. In others, well, let’s just say there’s still room for growth. The Seahawks had a test today against a legitimate NFC contender, and while they didn’t pass, I wouldn’t say they failed either.
No. 6 – Yet another home loss for Mike Macdonald
Under Mike Macdonald’s short regime so far in Seattle, he has turned the Seahawks into bonafide road warriors. Unfortunately, all the success on the road has seemingly come at the expense of the team at home. Macdonald’s team is now 4-8 at Lumen Field, compared to his lofty 9-1 mark away from the Emerald City. There have been times when Seattle’s lost its homefield advantage, as opposing fans stormed the gates of the castle – such as 49ers, Bills and Packers fans. This was not the case today, as the 12th Man was as loud as their reputation. The only two losses for the Seahawks this year have both come at home. Once again I am left saying if the Seahawks want to take the next step forward as a team, they simply must find a way to start winning games at Lumen Field again… regardless of who they are playing.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks vs Buccaneers: Top takeaways for Seattle in Week 5 loss
