The Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers squared off for the NFL's first ever regular season contest in Germany on Sunday morning in Week 10. The Seahawks were looking to further cement their status as the team to beat in the NFC West, but they were sluggish for the first three quarters, and couldn't end up completing a late rally in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers led the entire way and seemed to be well on their way to cruising to victory as they held a 21-3 with under nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Seattle's offense scored two touchdowns to make things interesting, but ultimately never got a chance to get the ball back and score a game-winning touchdown.
Seattle will now fall to 6-4 on the season, which opens the door just a bit in the NFC West for the time being. The Seahawks will remain in control of the division no matter what the other teams in their division do, but they are going to have to play better moving forward if they want to remain on top. With their Week 10 action officially in the books, let's take a look at three Seahawks who are most to blame for the team's most recent loss.
3. Kenneth Walker III
Kenneth Walker III has been a revelation in the backfield for the Seahawks ever since Rashad Penny went down with a season ending injury. Walker's stats in his four most recent starts prior to this outing (88 CAR, 424 YDS, 6 TD) put him among the most productive running backs in the league over that stretch.
Those stats will take a hit now that Walker's Week 10 performance is in the books. Walker had just 17 rushing yards on ten carries, and while he made a solid contribution as a receiver with six catches for 55 yards, Walker's inability to get anything going on the ground was a big reason the Seahawks fell behind so early in this game.
Walker ultimately got out produced by quarterback Geno Smith on the ground, as Smith picked up 22 yards on four carries, which shows how unproductive he was on the day. It wasn't all bad from Walker in this game, but it's clear the Seahawks offense needs him to play better if they want to score points on a consistent basis.
2. Uchenna Nwosu
Uchenna Nwosu has emerged from out of nowhere to be the Seahawks most explosive player in their front seven on defense. Seattle poached Nwosu away from the Los Angeles Rams in free agency this offseason, and early on, he's made the Rams look foolish for letting him walk. Nwosu was particularly explosive in the Seahawks two most recent contests (ten tackles, four sacks, five QB hits, and a forced fumble) and was riding high heading into Week 10.
The Seahawks defense (particularly their run defense) didn't have a great day, and Nwosu was front and center when it came to their struggles. Nwosu failed to make any sort of impact in this game whether it was in run defense or as a pass rusher, and he finished the game with just one measly tackle as his only statistic.
Considering how out of sorts the Buccaneers offense has looked this season, it was fair to expect Nwosu to have a big day. Instead, he turned in an absolute dud, and played a big part in the Seahawks defensive struggles. If Seattle wants to get back into the win column, they are going to need better outings from Nwosu moving forward.
1. Geno Smith
The final line for Smith on the day (23/33, 275 YDS, 2 TD) isn't bad at all, but Smith was not at his best in this one, and was a big reason why the Seahawks needed to pull off a rally to make this game close. Smith got next to nothing done in the first half, and Seattle ended up going into the half trailing 14-0.
This game was there for the taking for Smith and the Seahawks in the second half, and while Smith finally figured things out in the fourth quarter, he committed a costly fumble in the red zone after his defense forced a turnover, taking potential points off the board for Seattle that they desperately could have used. Those types of plays are why the Seahawks could not win this game.
Smith came alive in the fourth quarter, which is why his numbers look as good as they do, but even then, he needed a pair of miraculous throws on fourth down to get Seattle their second touchdown of the day. Overall, Smith's slow start to the game killed the Seahawks from the get go, and he put his team in a hole they ultimately were unable to come back from.
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