Seahawks offense almost a complete failure against Rams

SEATTLE – The Seahawks were beaten down and beaten up in a surprisingly tepid performance Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, losing 23-17 at rainy CenturyLink Field.

It was the first time in 62 games the Seahawks did not have a lead.

Seattle also finished 5-3 at home and now will finish the regular season at Arizona in a game that could have a bearing on Seattle’s playoff positioning.

Seattle’s scenario for clinching the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs went out the window with both its own loss and Arizona’s win over Green Bay.

And Carolina’s loss to Atlanta means that the Cardinals could be playing for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs when hosting the Seahawks next Sunday.

In other words, for the Seahawks, it was a day as dreary as the weather.

Offense

Seattle had averaged 34 points in its last five games, all wins.

But the offense fell with a thud against the Rams, and Seattle got just half that – with one touchdown coming with 17 seconds left.

And while it’s tempting to say that the Rams always give Seattle trouble, St. Louis also came in ranked 22nd in total defense.

That was hard to believe the way the Rams pushed the Seahawks around all over the field, sacking Russell Wilson four times and holding the running game to 60 yards on 22 carries – 39 from Wilson.

Seattle simply could not get a conventional running game going. Those struggles only seemed to underscore how important it will be to get Marshawn Lynch back for the playoffs.

Seattle came into the game having converted 54 percent or better of third downs in each of the last five games and 67 percent or better the last three. But that also went out the window, with the Seahawks going 8 for 17 (47 percent) on third down.

Seattle had to play without left tackle Russell Okung, out with a calf injury. He was replaced by Alvin Bailey, who got his first start of the year at that spot.

But it was hard to blame all of the early struggles on that as the Rams simply manhandled the Seahawks in the first half, holding them to 14 yards rushing and sacking Wilson twice – tying the number of times Wilson had been sacked in any game since Oct. 22.

The Rams brought pressure regularly, forcing Wilson to get rid of the ball quickly or quickly leave the pocket. The Seahawks quarterback had his worst half in two months going 10 of 18 for 92 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. He finished the half with a passer rating of 46.5.

One play typified the early pass-protection issues. Tight end Cooper Helfet was bull-rushed by the Rams’ William Hayes, who easily powered through him to sack Wilson.

The running game was nonexistent early and stayed that way throughout. Christine Michael got the start but was held to minus-3 yards on four carries in the first half and six carries for 6 yards for the game.

Will Tukuafu lost a fumble that was recovered by Akeem Ayers and returned 45 yards for a touchdown.

The Seahawks used Wilson’s quick passing and a few scrambles to move 67 yards for a touchdown to open the second half.

But Seattle had trouble getting out of its own way much of the rest of the way. Center Patrick Lewis struggled with his snaps throughout and dribbled one to Wilson on a third-and-one play in the fourth quarter that killed a drive.

A late Wilson-to-Kearse TD helped Seattle keep alive a streak of not having lost a game by more than 10 points that dates to 2011.

GRADE: D-minus

Defense

While there were a few defensive failings, this was a game more about the ineptitude of the offense than the defense.

For three quarters, the defense couldn’t be blamed other than for one play – a 28-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from Case Keenum to Kenny Britt. Richard Sherman was uncharacteristically beaten on the play by Britt.

Seattle wanted to hold down standout rookie running back Todd Gurley and did that well for three quarters. He had 28 yards on nine carries entering the fourth quarter. But Gurley got going in the fourth quarter, with a 20-yard run on which he fumbled (with center Tim Barnes recovering) helping set up his own 2-yard TD that made it 23-10.

Gurley finished with 88 yards on 18 carries.

Seattle also had trouble getting off the field on third down, allowing the Rams to convert three straight third downs on the drive that led to Gurley’s touchdown.

Seattle’s pass rush disappeared most of the day. Keenum was not sacked, just the second time this season the Seahawks did not get a sack (the other was against Detroit).

GRADE: C

Special teams

The Seahawks kept their defense on the field against a few Rams punts, obviously wary of fakes from a team known for its trickery against Seattle.

But this was a surprisingly quiet day on special teams, other than the back-and-forth between Seattle’s Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett and Rams punter Johnny Hekker after Hekker hit Avril late on an early punt.

Seattle benefitted from a missed extra point by the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein following St. Louis’ second touchdown.

Tyler Lockett had some decent returns but nothing that changed the game.

GRADE: B-minus.