Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals certainly could have gone better for the Seattle Seahawks. We take a few minutes to pick apart some of the key numbers and stats from the 34-12 loss. Maybe we can figure out what the Seahawks can improve on from here. Keep in mind, though: they're in second place!
The first bit of good news is that Seattle scored a whopping four times as many points as they scored in last week's game. The sky is the limit from here, everyone.
Seattle had 20 first downs compared to Cincinnati's 18 first downs. The Seahawks also managed to rack up more total yards and more passing yards than their opponents, but the key difference in this one came down to the two Bengals touchdowns that came from defense or special teams. Brandon Tate ran back a punt for a 56 yard touchdown, and Reggie Nelson managed a 75 yard pick-six with 0:36 left in the game after the game was already out of reach.
Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson had a decent showing in his return from a pectoral injury, going 21-for-40 with over 300 passing yards, but with no touchdowns and an interception.
Ben Obomanu led all Seattle receivers with 107 yards on four catches.
Seattle's offensive woes, of course, lie in the simple fact that the team cannot reliably find the end zone. Kicker Steven Hauschka was the only Seahawks player to score more than once, on field goals in the second and third periods.
If you feel like mulling this one over with your fellow Seahawks fans, you can find them at Field Gulls.