SEATTLE -- No sooner had Pete Carroll arrived at the podium for a virtual news conference on Monday than a PR staffer prompted a reporter to ask the first question. In no mood to wait, Carroll followed with an immediate prompt of his own:
“Go.”
The sense of urgency is obvious as the Seattle Seahawks, on a short week, try to fix an inept run defense before it drags them down any further out of the NFC playoff standings. With the division-leading San Francisco 49ers and their resurgent run game coming to Lumen Field on Thursday night, it has to happen now.
Or as safety Ryan Neal put it …
“We’ve got to find a solution. We’ve got to find it yesterday.”
Neal used the words “frustrated” or “frustrating” 15 times in five and a half minutes during a spirited postgame news conference Sunday. The Seahawks (7-6) had just allowed 223 rushing yards in a 30-24 home loss to the Carolina Panthers, who entered the game with only four wins and the NFL’s 27th-ranked scoring offense. It marked the Seahawks’ third loss in their last four games -- all to teams under .500, and all because their defense got overpowered on the ground.
Neal was particularly galled by the Panthers’ second-to-last scoring drive. They ran on eight of 10 plays and gained 68 yards on the ground, including an 8-yard touchdown that gave them a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
“It was super frustrating,” Neal said. “I mean, just f---ing unbelievable. It makes you sick to your stomach … When you come into the game knowing that that’s how they’re going to play, you’ve got to strap up and just be ready to go four quarters.”
Some of Neal’s comments sounded like a recording of what he said after the Seahawks were gashed on the ground in a loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5. Their defense had already been reeling. It pulled off another turnaround beginning in Week 6 but has since regressed to its early season form, especially against the run.
They’ve allowed at least 150 rushing yards in four straight games, the franchise’s longest single-season streak since 1981. That includes a 229-yard effort by Josh Jacobs -- the most Seattle has ever allowed to a single player -- and 283 team rushing yards in an overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The only thing that’s been as bad as the results in that stretch has been the timing. That was supposed to be the part of the Seahawks’ schedule when they could make hay against inferior teams and position themselves to overtake the 49ers with a win this week. Instead, they lost to the 4-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 3-7 Raiders and the 4-8 Panthers. They needed Geno Smith to lead a late touchdown drive to beat the 3-8 Los Angeles Rams, who put up 23 points without Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp.
“You’re supposed to win them,” defensive end Quinton Jefferson said. “Gotta win them, especially at home. Not saying that they’re a gimme team, but we’re supposed to win this game. C’mon now. Just keeping it a hundred. We’re making it a lot harder on ourselves … We’ve got to get this s--- together because we’re supposed to be playing better, not regressing.”
Like Jefferson, Carroll admitted that losing to teams the Seahawks feel like they should have beat adds to the frustration. So does getting run over repeatedly.
“Really it's the manner, too,” Carroll said. “This really happened on the ground. I'm really disappointed in that because I pride myself in thinking we can scheme our way into all kinds of good things to offset that, and I've got to do better.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Panthers gained 118 rushing yards after contact, their most in a game since 2009. They ran 39 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns in between the tackles. Seattle has now allowed three of the NFL’s six highest between-the-tackles rushing performances this season, the other two coming against the Raiders (253) and Saints (204).
“They kept running the same play over and over,” Jefferson said. “We’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to stop it. It’s a copycat league, so we can expect the same thing on Thursday. I know the 49ers are going to have some s--- schemed up, so we’re going to go to work, figure this s--- out and come ready to roll on Thursday.”
The Seahawks could be short-handed with defensive tackle Al Woods’ status uncertain because of an Achilles injury that sidelined him for the second half against Carolina. Defensive end Shelby Harris is also a question mark after missing the Panthers game with an illness.
The 49ers lead the Seahawks by two games in the NFC West and have beaten them once already, meaning Seattle needs to win Thursday to have any chance at a division title. They caught a big break via the ankle and knee injuries that will sideline star receiver Deebo Samuel, and they might catch another one if third-stringer-turned-starting-quarterback Brock Purdy (oblique) is unable to play. But whether it’s Purdy or No. 4 option Josh Johnson under center, there’s little mystery as to how the 49ers will attack Seattle’s defense.
Carroll has long considered San Francisco’s run game the toughest to defend because of the variety of runs they can call with fullback Kyle Juszczyk on the field, and now it has another versatile weapon in Christian McCaffrey. He combined for 153 yards on only 16 touches Sunday, scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown in a blowout win over the Bucs.
“They’re balancing out the targets and runs with him to really make you have to defend him all over the field,” Carroll said. “He’s a fantastic football player, and he really makes the most of his opportunities.”
The Seahawks didn’t shy away from the harsh reality that they weren’t physical enough to beat Carolina. They know it has to change against the 49ers, but it’s easier said than done to flip that switch on a short week in December.
“Just bow up,” Neal said. “Guys just got to bring it, man. You’ve got to be willing to do it down after down, play after play, for four quarters straight, because that’s just what it’s turning into right now. We got to bow up.”