Big picture: Monday's 13-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints was another gut-punch for the Seahawks, now 2-5 and 0-3 at Lumen Field this season. Seattle is looking up at the rest of the NFC West, specifically the 7-0 Arizona Cardinals and 6-1 Rams. Of course, playing without the injured Russell Wilson is a big part of the Hawks' predicament.
Especially frustrating on this rainy night in Seattle was wasting a good defensive performance and watching two Jason Myers field goals drift wide in a three-point loss.
Seattle gets Jacksonville (1-5) at home on Sunday, Oct. 31, then a bye week. So the next two weeks offer an opportunity to turn the season around before it's too late.
Storyline: In a game dominated by defense, New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara was the difference maker. Not only did he score the Saints' touchdown on a broken-play catch and run after Jameis Winston fumbled a snap, picked it up and flipped a quick pass to the open Kamara, but he turned a series of dump-off passes into positive yards.
It looked like it might be Seattle's night when Geno Smith and DK Metcalf connected for an 84-yard touchdown on a deep throw to the right sideline on the Hawks' second possession, the longest play of Metcalf's career. But Seattle netted only 135 yards of offense the rest of the night. In a game where yards were so difficult to come by, Myers missing wide right from 44 yards in the third quarter and wide left from 53 in the fourth proved too much to overcome.
After New Orleans took the 13-10 lead on a 33-yard field goal from Brian Johnson (in his first NFL game) with 1:59 left, Smith was sacked twice and threw two incomplete passes to seal Seattle's fate.
Notable numbers: The Seahawks averaged only 3.2 yards per carry, netting 90 yards on 28 carries, led by 35 yards on 16 carries for Alex Collins. … Smith finished 12 of 22 for 167 yards and the one TD. He was sacked five times. … Kamara was the Saints' go-to man. He averaged only 2.6 yards for his 51 rushing yards but caught 10 of 11 targets for 128 yards.
Up next: Jacksonville at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31 (CBS).
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