Seattle Seahawks 2021 NFL Season Analysis

The 2021 NFL Season for the Seattle Seahawks can simply be classified as a real disappointment. Neither their own nor strangers had budgeted that they would end up being the worst team in the NFC West, however, in part thanks to an injury to their star quarterback, Seattle’s campaign went into a tailspin and they could never recover. And now, so disappointing was the year, that there is even talk of a transition from both QB and HC.

The 2021 Seahawks Season

As in practically the entire last decade, this year was expected to be a big one for the Seahawks, even more so considering that in 2020 they were NFC West champions. However, it turned out to be the opposite. With a 7-10 record, they registered their first losing campaign in the era of QB Russell Wilson, who came to the team in the already distant 2012, but how did they get to this?

The season in Seattle started on a regular basis. Wins against Indianapolis and San Francisco, but losses to Tennessee and Minnesota, had this team sitting at 2-2 through the first four weeks of the schedule. However, the torment would begin, because that was the last time of the year that the Seahawks enjoyed a .500 record.

In Week 5 came the first nail in the coffin. In a home loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Wilson was injured with a serious injury to the finger of his throwing hand, resulting in him landing on Injured Reserve and, therefore, in Week 6 against Pittsburgh he missed his first game as a pro, snapping a streak of 149 consecutive games played that equates to the sixth-longest streak in NFL history.

Without Wilson on the field, and at the hands of QB2 Geno Smith, Seattle lost three games in a row to later get a more than obligatory victory in Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With a 3-5 mark, good news would come. For Week 10, fresh off the break, Wilson returned to the field to face the Packers, but the result was adverse and the performance left much to be desired.

Coming off another short but painful three-game losing streak, and with a poor 3-8 record, Wilson and the Seahawks finally found their rhythm and closed out the year with four wins in six possible games. However, by then they were already eliminated from any opportunity to get to the postseason, and it seemed that this team, without Wilson, does not aspire to anything really serious.

Due to the above, countless criticisms rained down on HC Pete Carroll, who showed that, without his starting quarterback, he cannot bring this franchise to fruition; The Seahawks looked lost for practically all of 2021 and the rumors that this was the last year for both Wilson and Carroll in Seattle continue. Therefore, just maybe, fans of the team should keep in mind that the time to enter a reconstruction process is approaching.

Seattle’s 2021 Season MVP

Michael Dickson–P

Yes, maybe putting a punter as the team’s MVP is not the most attractive decision, but Dickson’s in 2021 was outstanding. The fourth-year punter made a total of 83 kicks throughout the season, and placed 40 of them inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, leading the league in the category. In addition, with a net 3,895 yards on punts, he was third in the NFL in the field.

Now, honorable mention goes to WR Tyler Lockett, who finished the season with 73 receptions, 8 TDs and a career-high 1,175 receiving yards. It is the third season in a row in which he breaks the 1000+ yards barrier and, without a doubt, given the rumors that Wilson will leave the team, Lockett is the fundamental piece that they must keep on the roster to still have a competent offense in the immediate future.

The best moment of the 2021 Seahawks season

Simple. The Week 18 victory over Arizona in the last game of the year. The Seahawks entered State Farm Stadium to defeat the Cardinals 38-30 and deprive them of the possibility of being crowned NFC West champions. Seattle came into this matchup finished, but depriving your direct rival of the division title and sending them to the Wild Card round should have some value.

In addition, it was in this game that the franchise probably found its new running back for the 2022 NFL Season. After the neck injury suffered by RB1 Chris Carson in Week 4, the Seahawks’ rushing attack failed to carburete. until later in the year, when RB Rashaad Penny racked up 671 rushing yards in the last 5 games of the season, including 190 yards and 1 TD in this splendid win at Arizona.

The worst moment of Seattle’s 2021 season

The Week 12 loss on the road to the WFT could be mentioned here as it was the one that almost eliminated the Seahawks from the postseason. But even more disastrous was their performance in Week 16 when they were defeated 24-25 at Lumen Field by the Chicago Bears led by QB3 Nick Foles in the only game of the season in which the latter started. Yeah, losing at home to Foles and Matt Nagy has to be Seattle’s disgrace of the year.

What is expected of the Seahawks in the 2022 Season?

The question at hand is not that easy to answer and will very much depend on what the top management of the team decides to do. If they keep Russell Wilson at quarterback and Pete Carroll as their head coach, the franchise is bound to seek at least one wild card next season. Fighting for the Super Bowl would be a bonus, but at least they need to get back to the playoffs.

However, the problem transcends the fact that they will not have as much help via the Draft because their first-round pick belongs to the New York Jets thanks to a trade performed by the S Jamal Adams. However, to his fortune, via Over The CapSeattle will have a $52.56 million cap space this offseason, the sixth-largest in the NFL, so if used wisely in free agency, we could once again see them contend for the top of the NFC next anus.

Read the rest of our 2021 Season NFL team reviews here: