For only the second time in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks will miss the playoffs despite winning at least 10 games in a season. They secured a 30-25 victory over the Los Angeles Rams to close the season.
The Seahawks were eliminated from playoff contention the previous weekend when they lost out on a tiebreaker following the results of Week 17. With their playoff hopes gone, they played for pride and to give head coach Mike Macdonald his 10th win in his first season as coach.
“I thought our guys did a tremendous job of staying focused on what our new goal was, finishing the year the right way, and it was a great team win,” Macdonald said.
Geno Smith threw a career-high four touchdown passes and led his 12th game-winning drive in three seasons with the Seahawks. He also set new career-highs and franchise records for attempts (578), completions (407), yards (4,320), and completion percentage (70.42).
This is the first time since 1986 that the Seahawks have missed the playoffs with 10 wins. Fifteen teams in the NFL have won 10 games this season, and the Seahawks are the only team not in the postseason due to losing a strength-of-victory tiebreaker to the Rams.
“I’m telling you, man, this team is heading in the right direction. This team is on its way and that’s with or without me. These guys in this locker room, these coaches, this organization, outstanding organization, and I believe in it,” Smith said.
Whether the season is seen as a success or disappointment depends on your expectations for the team. A rookie head coach with a mostly new coaching staff winning 10 games in their first season together can be seen as a success. But with the team’s strong performance, it’s understandable to feel that more could have been done.
If the offensive line had been stronger, if free-agent signings had been more effective, and if Smith had thrown fewer interceptions, the Seahawks might have had a chance for a deep playoff run. A single bad loss to the New York Giants was the reason the Seahawks didn’t have a chance to win the NFC West this weekend.
Here are the key points from the end of the Seahawks’ regular season:
– Geno Smith sets career highs, and earns $6 million in incentives.
Smith wrapped up a solid season as the Seahawks’ quarterback by setting multiple career-highs, earning an additional $6 million in contract incentives.
He completed 20 of 27 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Rams. He led an eight-play, 70-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Smith threw the winning touchdown to Noah Fant while playing through a hip injury on the final drive.
“Talk about one of the guys that fought all the way to the very end for us,” Macdonald said. “Putting a drive…par for the course for Geno coming after another fourth-quarter comeback.”
Smith needed 185 passing yards, a 10th win, and a completion percentage over 69.755 to earn three separate incentives worth $2 million each.
Smith said his only motivation was to win, not the extra money.
“Winning games, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “We got 10 wins this season. Should have been more. I believe we’ve got the right guys in this locker room. Personal stats aren’t a big deal for me. I’m not out here chasing accolades.
I want to win, and I want to win for the guys in that locker room. I want to win for our coaching staff. I want win for our front office and all the people that work, our kitchen staff, our strength staff, all the people that work so hard, man. They deserve to have the best of the best. For me personally, I expect to do well, but again, it’s a team game and I just want to be there for my teammates.”
Smith ended the season with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, the most in his three years as a starter for the Seahawks, and third-most in the NFL this season.
However, the Seahawks’ struggles with their offensive line and the lack of a steady running game forced Smith to carry too much of the offense on his own. He was sacked 50 times this season, the third-most in the league, behind Chicago’s Caleb Williams (68) and Houston’s C.J. Stroud (52). The Seahawks also finished 28th in rushing, averaging only 95.7 yards per game.
Smith has one year left on his contract, which could lead to extension talks this offseason. Although he wouldn’t comment on his interest in a new contract, Smith is confident the Seahawks are moving forward.
“I’m telling you man, this team is heading in the right direction. This team is on its way. That’s with or without me,” Smith said. “These guys in this locker room, these coaches, this organization, outstanding organization, and I believe in it. I believe the best of the best is going to happen for this team. I just want to continue to fight with these guys.”
– Tyler Lockett hints at goodbye to Seahawks.
Tyler Lockett has been with the Seattle Seahawks for 10 seasons and is the second-most productive receiver in the team’s history. He knows that this could have been his final game with the Seahawks.
At the start of his post-game press conference, Lockett took time to thank the equipment and training staff of the team, speaking as if it could be his last time with Seattle.
“It just speaks volumes the people that we have in this building and been blessed to be able to know them, some of them for 10 years, some of them for six some of them for one. But definitely got to get them a shout-out.”
Lockett has a cap hit of almost $31 million for next season. The Seahawks could save $17 million against the cap by releasing or trading Lockett this offseason. His production dropped this season, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba emerging as a key player. Smith-Njigba even matched Lockett’s single-season reception record on Sunday, which may make Lockett’s contract hard for the team to keep.
“Obviously, you never know when it’s going to be the end,” Lockett said. “Because I kind of plan on playing again. I know it’s not the very, very end. It would be different if I was retiring, but yeah, I mean, I think it’s always going to be somewhat sensitive, just because that could have been the last time you put on a jersey, so I’m glad I ended with a catch, you know, just in case. Glad we ended up with a win.”
Smith-Njigba reached 100 catches this season with his four receptions against the Rams on Sunday, tying Lockett’s 100-catch season from 2020, although Lockett did it in one fewer game.
“I mean, shout out to Jax for wanting me to still be right there beside him. … But I mean, I think that’s dope, man. Like, at least I’m able to share it with somebody,” Lockett said.
Lockett also shared that he felt his biggest contribution this year was sacrificing his own role to allow others to shine. He did it willingly to help the team, but his own numbers were affected. After 10 years with the Seahawks, their relationship may be coming to an end.
“I think the city is amazing. I always view Seattle as a college town. And yeah, maybe this isn’t the end. Maybe it is the end, but you know, I always will be a Seahawk through and through,” Lockett said.
– Leonard Williams completes a standout season for Seahawks.
It’s a mistake that Leonard Williams isn’t a Pro Bowler this season.
Williams added two more sacks to his total on Sunday, reaching 11 sacks for the season. This is the second-most sacks in his career and just the fourth time in Seahawks history that an interior defensive lineman has reached double-digit sacks. He joins Cortez Kennedy (14.0 sacks, 1992), John Randle (11.0 sacks, 2001), and Jarran Reed (10.5 sacks, 2018).
“He didn’t need a punctuation (or) exclamation point, but he sure added one today with all the work that he’s done,” said Macdonald.
Williams also didn’t make the Pro Bowl in 2020, even though he had a career-high 11.5 sacks with the New York Giants that season. He also had a memorable 92-yard interception return for a touchdown against the New York Jets, which helped the team win a comeback victory.
Williams’ presence has also helped other players on the defensive line improve. Reed has been strong again for Seattle, and Derick Hall and Boye Mafe have shown more consistency as edge rushers this season alongside Williams.
“I think our front, in order for ‘Leo’ to come alive, you have to rush as one,” Macdonald said. “We’ve talked about this the whole season, but he’s doing it within the lens of playing with each other, playing off one another.
The defensive front has just done a great job of playing together, playing off one another, growing together. That’s the type of football team we want to create, guys that are a connected group that play for one another.”
The additions of Ernest Jones IV and Roy Robertson-Harris midseason were also important, but Williams set the tone for Macdonald’s defense on the front line.
Williams will likely make the Pro Bowl as an alternate in the coming weeks, but he should have been named a starter from the beginning.
