Being named after a bird, you would have expected the Seattle Seahawks to play better after a long flight. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
The Seahawks looked jet-lagged and unable to play a decent game of American Football. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers were ready to play, especially running back Rachaad White.
Both teams started with punts, a missed field goal, and another punt before Tampa Bay went down the field for a TD on a 13-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. It was capped off with a 31-yard touchdown bomb to Julio Jones from the seemingly ageless Tom Brady (who has been showing his age a bit this year).
Seattle responded with a punt before the Bucs scored again, this time on a 13-play, 86-yard drive. Leonard Fournette finished off this drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
After the break, the Seattle Seahawks picked it up. A 55-yard field goal by Jason Myers finally got them on the board.
Seattle’s big defensive highlight came when Tariq Woolen picked off a pass from Leonard Fournette intended for Tom Brady. To top it off, Brady was called for a tripping penalty, and the momentum swung drastically in the Seahawks’ favor.
It only took the Seahawks five plays to go 77 yards and get their first TD of the day. They went for two but were unsuccessful. 21-9 Bucs lead
Another interception, this one by Cody Barton, led to the Seattle Seahawks’ second touchdown. A 19-yard Smith to Marquise Goodwin pass and XP closed the gap to 21-16.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, that was the last time they could touch the ball as the Bucs made several runs with White and Brady kneeled three times to run out the clock.
There are many candidates for duds in a week like this, where the Seahawks did not look ready to play.
The second dishonorable mention must go to the Seattle Seahawks run defense. They looked inept and couldn’t get off the field on 3rd down all day long.
Tampa picked up ten rushing 1st downs, 161 yards rushing, led by Rachaad White’s 105. He was an unknown before this game.
That skewed the time of possession 37-23 in the Bucs’ favor.
The first dishonorable mention goes to Kenneth Walker III and the Seahawks run game. He had a total of ten carries for 17 yards.
In addition, it was a lousy rushing game for Geno Smith, as he had four carries for 22 yards. This lack of a run game made them one-dimensional and made it easy for the Buccaneers to defend Geno.
The Dud of the week this week goes to Geno Smith. Specifically, when he fumbled the ball near the goal line and allowed a huge swing of points and momentum to go to the Bucs.
He only got sacked three times throughout the game but add in the 6 QB Hits and their limited time of possession, and you can see why Smith had an off week.
If he didn’t cough up the ball on that play, the Seattle Seahawks would have been practically guaranteed a field goal on that possession and closed the gap to 14-6. Instead, Tampa drove the field for another score and a 21-6 lead.
The dominoes continued to fall after Seattle’s first touchdown when they failed on a two-point conversion. By the time they scored again, it was too late.
Finding candidates for the Stud of the Week is hard in such an ugly game, but we still have a few candidates.
The 2nd honorable mention goes to the unsung hero, Michael Dickson. The Seattle Seahawks punted five times during the game. Dickson averaged over 50 yards per punt and got four out of his five kicks inside the 20-yard line.
The 1st honorable mention goes to Tyler Lockett, who got the Seattle Seahawks into the endzone for their first TD of the day. His other catches were not that impressive, as he finished with three for only 42 yards.
But he seemingly broke the barrier to get into the endzone. Proving Tampa could be scored on, the Seahawks got another touchdown on their next drive.
Stud of the Week honors go to Cody Barton. The Seattle Seahawks linebacker played a good game and finished with nine tackles, and one pass defended.
Barton’s biggest moment came when he picked off a Tom Brady pass intended for Mike Evans halfway through the 4th quarter. His interception allowed the Seahawks a short 45-yard field to score their second TD. The turnover gave them one last gasp of air before finally losing to the Buccaneers.
Who were your Seattle Seahawks Dud and Stud of Week 10?