Hawks Eye View Week 9: On Diwali, Seahawks Must Find the Light After a Dark Loss

"I don't even recognize us."

Pete Carroll said this in regard to the Seahawks deflating 34-44 loss to the Bills after his defense put up its best - and worst - numbers this season. While the pass rush devoured Josh Allen for the most sacks they've had in seven years, the secondary gave the third-year signal caller the best stats a quarterback has had against the Seahawks in a single game... ever.

Sunday was a confusing day for the Seahawks, perhaps most of all for the head coach who, from a game-planning perspective, wasn't fully sure how that game turned out the way it did.

"We gave them some stuff with some misplay," Carroll said. "We expected to play the stuff that we did play much better than we did, and it seemed like we were real loose on run-after-catch stuff as well. We did not plan to be off them as much as it wound up looking like. Got to see why that happened."

As they face off against the Rams this Sunday, the team will be tasked with figuring out why the secondary dropped the ball in this matchup. Was it a matter of game-planning or execution? Or was it the result of Russell Wilson's four turnovers, which ultimately turned the tide in Buffalo's favor? More importantly, the team will be pressed to answer this: was Sunday's loss an anomaly in a Super Bowl-bound season, or an omen for a team that won't make it past the first round of playoffs?

The Seahawks aren't the only NFC team in the midst of soul-searching. The Buccaneers just had a humiliating 38-3 loss to the Saints. It was, in fact, the worst loss Tom Brady has ever experienced, and it made it much more difficult for the Bucs to win the NFC South. Week 9 proved that even Hall of Fame quarterbacks have off days - Brady threw three interceptions and Russell Wilson was responsible for two interceptions and two fumbles. These games illustrate that the power of momentum can't be ignored in football. The attitude shift after one turnover can decide a game, and multiple turnovers make the deficit that much harder to overcome.

However, the momentum of this Seahawks season is likely more powerful than one bad game.

If Bill Belichick is to be listened to, then the Seahawks still have a few weeks to sort things out. Belichick famously believes that "football season doesn't start until after Thanksgiving," meaning that teams finally find themselves and fix their mistakes in that December stretch before playoffs. In a season marred by injury, finding a team identity can be difficult when the on-field lineups keep changing, but it's not impossible.

For now, the Seahawks can lean on their strongest defensive assets at every level in Carlos Dunlap, Bobby Wagner, and Jamal Adams, all three of which secured sacks on Sunday. With this many guys capable of pressuring the quarterback, it spells a promising future for Seattle's linemen as they sack for losses, prevent plays and shut down drives. In the Bills game, the Seahawks had the most sacks they've had in seven years, a shining statistic in a dark day defensively. What that means is that if the front seven can rely on the secondary's zone match coverage, the Seahawks will stay atop football's most competitive division.

In the Bills game, the most noticeable gaffes in coverage were made by cornerback Quinton Dunbar. Assigned to Stefon Diggs, Dunbar let the Bills receiver have a field day. According to PFF, "Diggs was open on seemingly every snap, using his elite route-running ability to haul in all eight of his catchable targets, three of which went for 15 or more yards." However, Dunbar was responsible for multiple 20-plus yard plays allowed, including a 39-yard pass to Gabriel Davis that would have been a touchdown if Quandre Diggs hadn't swooped in and tackled him at the one.

The optics were not good for Dunbar in this game, and his season stats look even worse: his coverage rating is -23.0, his catch rate allowed is 71.2 percent, and his passer rating allowed is 117.3. Not to pick on Dunbar, who's been dealing with a chronic knee injury and is ruled out of Sunday's game, but this is what offenses are currently doing - if the Seahawks continue to allow the most passing yards week after week, opposing quarterbacks will pick on Seattle's cornerbacks play after play. Not only does this gas the passing defense, but quick passing drives make it difficult for anyone to come back from - even for the quarterback who threw a perfect 55-yard bomb to David Moore for a 10-second touchdown.

Carroll may not recognize his team, but if he listens to his friend Belichick, he'll focus on the silver lining here - the Seahawks still have time to come together before Thanksgiving.

Speaking of holidays, today happens to fall on Diwali, a South Asian holiday that celebrates light triumphing over dark as good conquers evil. South Asians around the world clean their homes, light candles, and clear the way for an illuminating year on the horizon. In the Kali Yuga that has been 2020, and after a dark defensive season, here is to the Seahawks "channeling their inner desi" and finding the light this Diwali.