A sampling of national media reaction after the Seahawks blew yet another fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Panthers, 27-23.
The Seahawks didn’t lose their fourth game last season until Week 11.
And in 2013, well, the Seahawks only lost three games all year, including the preseason.
Not that any more reminders are needed that this year isn’t 2013 or 2014. The results on the field have done that for Seattle, with the latest fourth-quarter collapse seemingly more stunning than the previous one.
The Seahawks were less than five minutes away from closing out a win over the Panthers on Sunday at CenturyLink Field. But a 23-14 lead turned into a 27-23 loss as Carolina went on two 80-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-0.
Seattle is 2-4, with a road game against the 49ers coming up on Thursday and plenty of questions.
Are they just not as good anymore? Is it the offense, and more specifically the offensive line? Do the defensive issues run deeper than one defensive breakdown at the end?
The national media had plenty to say about all of this and more. Here’s a sampling:
Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback called this one of the biggest wins in Newton’s career:
“The Panthers had never won in Seattle, and Cam Newton had never beaten the Seahawks, and it sure didn’t look like that was going to change with eight minutes left in the Pacific Northwest and Carolina trailing by nine on Sunday. But Seattle isn’t Seattle anymore. And Cam Newton is better than you think.”
Sports Illustrated’s Doug Farrar said the Seahawks are in trouble:
“And if anybody doubted that the Seahawks were in trouble before this loss … those doubts are right out the window now. The two-time defending NFC champions are sucking wind at 2–4, and coach Pete Carroll had little in the way of answers after his team’s Week 6 loss. His defense, so stout until it ran into the Patriots’ offensive rebirth in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX, has been outmanned and outdone in the fourth quarters of the 2015 season. They’ve been outscored 55–27 in the final frame, and the repeated blunders as the games wind down are certainly a different look for a defense used to imposing its will.”
Don Banks of Sports Illustrated said the Seahawks are looking very un-Seahawk like:
“This season is getting almost ridiculously repetitive in Seattle. The two-time defending NFC champions have now blown fourth-quarter leads in all four of their losses, and the meltdown at home Sunday might be the defeat that sends the Seahawks spinning out of control. How many more team meetings can Pete Carroll call to talk about the importance of finishing? How many blows to the psyche of a team still dealing with the specter of the Super Bowl loss can Seattle endure?”
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal said the defense has issues, but there’s stuff to build on:
“At 2-4, the Seahawks have some serious ground to make up, but they have a lot to build off offensively from this game. Marshawn Lynch looked like his old despite only rushing for 54 yards, and Jimmy Graham easily had his best day in Seattle, showing off all his athleticism for 140 yards and a score. Note to Panthers: Stop trying to cover Graham with Roman Harper.”
Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com wrote about how the search for answers continues as the season appears to be slipping away:
“The Seahawks insist the sky is not falling. They could beat the 49ers and Cowboys, enter the bye 4-4 and still be in the mix for a playoff spot. But it’s just as possible this defense is not as good as it has been the previous two seasons and the offense’s search for identity will continue into December.”
Grantland’s Bill Barnwell wrote about Newton and the Panthers finally beating Russell Wilson, but also had this to say about the Seahawks’ final defensive sequence:
“It spoiled what had been an incredible game from (Earl) Thomas, who broke up four passes and had an interception in the first quarter. It also raises more questions about a struggling Seahawks defense that is the miraculous Kam Chancellor forced fumble (and subsequent uncalled illegal batting) away from having blown three fourth-quarter leads in three weeks. It’s one thing for miscommunication to happen when Chancellor is holding out, or another for Williams to get beat. To see these sort of miscommunication issues occur late in games and have it bring down players like Sherman and Thomas? That has to be disheartening if you’re a Seahawks fan. As much as this team missed Chancellor in September and missed Wagner on Sunday, it feels like it also misses departed defensive coordinator Dan Quinn right about now.”
Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer said the sound of silence in CenturyLink Field was particularly sweet for the Panthers and their fans:
“We anticipated the noise. Coaches did, players did and everybody else did, too. But the sound we didn’t anticipate was the one we heard after the Carolina Panthers scored the winning touchdown with 32 seconds remaining. We heard silence. … Suddenly, (the record crowd of 69,020) had nothing to say. If you had been in CenturyLink Field Sunday, you would have heard the silence, too.”