3 questions we have about the Seahawks after Sunday’s loss to the Giants

SEATTLE — That was a weird game.

No loss is fun but the Seahawks, despite their flaws against the Giants, still had a chance to force overtime in the final minute.

It was a game that, quite honestly, leaves many fans with more questions than answers. Here’s a few that we have:

Were the first three games a mirage?

I think early-to-mid October is way too early to draw any kind of definitive conclusions about NFL teams.

I also still believe the Seahawks have a good team with its best football in front of them.

That said, it has to at least creep into the back of your mind what were the teams the Seahawks beat on their way to 3-0:

• Denver (3-2, but the first career start for rookie Bo Nix. Denver has now won three in a row since an 0-2 start)
• New England (1-4)
• Miami (2-3)

You could argue that the Seahawks played these teams at their worst time, like Miami without Tua Tagovailoa or Nix’s pro debut for Denver, or just a downright lowly team like New England.

The fact that a team like Miami is only a game out of first place despite their injury woes illustrates that it’s far too soon to jump to any conclusions.

READ MORE |Seahawks lose 29-20 against Giants with last-minute blocked field goal

But think about those three wins for the Seahawks and the way they lost to the Giants who were missing their starting running back (Devin Singletary) and wide receiver (Malik Nabers).

This leads to our next question…

Where will the Seahawks finish in 2024?

I still believe this is a playoff-bound team and I still think the Seahawks can be elite this year.

The reality is that this is a brutal stretch of games with back-to-back short weeks.

The other fact here is the New York Giants are better than most think, losing to quality opponents like the Commanders and undefeated Minnesota Vikings for two of their three losses. Perception isn’t reality sometimes.

The defense definitely has to clean things up and can’t allow New York to move the ball at will, but injuries were a huge factor especially after Riq Woolen left this game.

The NFC West appears wide open, and the Seahawks are in first place despite this two-game skid.

That means the division lead is on the line in Thursday’s showdown with San Francisco. If the Hawks can win that one and defy the difficult schedule, it would go a long way in calming the nerves of 12s everywhere.

But it’s a question that’s fair to wonder if it’s too early to know anything for sure.

“They outplayed us today” said head coach Mike Macdonald. “With that said, we gave ourselves a chance to tie the game and even win it at the end of the fourth, and we came up short.

“The message is we don’t have enough time to sit around and put our heads down,” Macdonald added. “We’ve got to keep our heads up, take it on the chin and move forward. We’ve got a game, (in) three, four days and we need to be ready to go. We need to get better in a hurry. “

What’s going on with the slow starts?

Sure, the Seahawks took a 7-0 lead on the New York Giants, but that was because of a wildly rare 102-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Rayshawn Jenkins.

A closer look shows the Seahawks offense, even when it’s prolific like it was against Detroit, tends to start slow.

“We played bad. That’s the reality,” said quarterback Geno Smith. “I don’t think we executed well. I thought we came out slow.

“That’s not how we want to start,” Smith added. “Turned the ball over, not finishing drives. I mean, all the above. That will get you beat in the NFL on any given Sunday.”

Against the Giants, the Seahawks first offensive touchdown came with 2:09 to play in the game. While that specific score almost led to an epic comeback, taking that long to find the end zone put them in that place to begin with.

The Seahawks opened down 14-0 to Detroit and had to fight back the entire game.

Two untimely fumbles in as many games by a usually sure-handed star in DK Metcalf has not helped a team playing from behind.

It took an impressive third-quarter rally to beat Denver after the Broncos led 13-9 after a couple of safeties and an interception.

The Seahawks have shown how good they can be. We’ve seen it in these stretches that have won them games, or at least put them into position to win.

But not falling behind and being forced to rally could go a long way against San Francisco on Thursday.