“It’s frustrating but I think it’s not like we’re playing clean football and losing games. We are not playing well. We have some areas to address,” veteran Seahawks safety Julian Love said after the game. “We had a 3-0 start, but we don’t think about that. We’re trying to take it one game at a time.”

Even though the Seahawks’ defense played well, holding Los Angeles to 68 rushing yards and 3-of-13 on third down conversions, it wasn’t enough. Smith’s three turnovers changed the game and wasted opportunities for Seattle to take control of the contest.

The Rams came out of halftime scoring 17 unanswered points, aided by those turnovers, and Seattle barely did enough to force overtime. Again with scoring opportunities, the ball came back to the Rams and they capitalized.

Now, the Seahawks head into the bye week with plenty of issues to deal with, which are mostly rooted in the team’s inability to avoid self-inflicted mistakes.

The the first half was defined by a slow start for Seattle’s offense that was aided by a strong defense. Then, once the game clock ticked under a minute left in the second quarter, the offense came alive.

Smith threw two touchdown passes 43 seconds apart, first to Tyler Lockett and then to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who finished with a career-high seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns .

“I hate to lose. (It’s) anything, I’d rather win, one hundred percent,” Smith-Njigba said after the match. “My confidence level, it’s always been the same. I knew I could break out and have an amazing game at any time, but it’s the wins that matter.”

The second of two scores was set up by Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen, who dropped his second interception of the season on a jump ball over Rams receiver Puka Nacua. Nacua, playing in his first Week 1 game since returning from injured reserve, was ejected after the game for throwing a punch at Seattle linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who went to block him following the pick .

Seattle went into the locker room leading 13-3, even if it wasn’t pretty.

But the Rams did not roll over. Stafford and the Los Angeles offense put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that burned 6:32 off the clock in the third quarter. Rams running back Kyren Williams had 28 yards rushing on the drive after having 15 in the entire first half.

Stafford, aided by a red-zone pass interference call on Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe, connected with wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for a 1-yard touchdown to end the drive.

Both teams combined for seven penalties in the third quarter, including a massive third down that led to the passer penalty that extended the Rams’ next drive and ultimately allowed Los Angeles to tie at 13-13.

One play after Seahawks wide receiver Cody White made his first reception of the regular season Nov. 28, 2022 Smith rolled to his left and was hit on the arm by Rams linebacker Byron Young while throw – directing the pass to his waiting arms. safety Kamren Kinchens, who returned the ball 103 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception streak in Rams history.

“I was trying to throw it out of bounds in the back of the end zone. A guy hit me on the arm. There’s no excuses to be made,” Smith said of the play after the game. “I can throw that, get it out earlier, be quicker in my decision making. Trying to make a play there, I held it a second too long and it didn’t come out right.

White, who was called up from the practice squad for the game, isn’t done yet. He blocked Ty Zentner’s punt on the Rams’ next possession, setting up the Seahawks’ offense at the Los Angeles 19-yard line.

After advancing 15 yards, Smith threw the third pick of the game while targeting rookie tight end AJ Barner, who was on the move before the snap and got caught in traffic behind the line of scrimmage. Smith still threw it, and Kinchens was waiting again.

Both teams traded points, however, as Seattle’s defense picked up. Then, with less than two minutes to play, Smith flashed the role of the quarterback the Seahawks have acquired over the past three seasons.

The back-to-back completions at the end of the drive, both to Smith-Njigba, were as good of a throw as Smith has made in his Seattle career. He showed pinpoint accuracy on a touchdown toss between two Rams defenders that the former first-round receiver hauled in from 14 yards, and Myers’ kick tied the game at 20-20 with 51 seconds left in regulation .

Seattle got the ball first in overtime. The Seahawks drove from their own 30-yard line to the Rams’ 16 before the offense fizzled again. With two chances to gain a yard and extend the drive, running back Kenneth Walker III was filled with back-to-back snaps.

“That was the play we liked. We liked the look of it,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said of their 4th-and-1 failure. “We’ve got to be able to get a half-yard on two kicks. Great football teams convert third-and-fourth and short, and right now we’re not doing that.”

The Rams, Stafford and Robinson won it on their next trip.

The Seahawks have 11 turnovers in their five losses this season. Four of those losses came at home, and seven of those giveaways were Smith interceptions.

The offensive issues run even deeper for Seattle, however, as rudimentary football operations like switching between center and quarterback have plagued this team over the past two games. The Seahawks can’t live and die until the last minute of every half if they hope to win NFL games.

Seattle has so much inconsistency on that side of the ball that even the defense’s best performances aren’t enough to save the team from its own self-inflicted wounds.

“I want to start by apologizing to my teammates, really, and to the city, to the organization,” Smith said. “They put a lot of trust in me to make decisions and when they put the ball in my hands, when my teammates play like they did today and give us a chance to win the game, you have to make sure we do.. . I will step it up.”

Seattle would have benefited from a bye week in Week 5. Now, the Seahawks need this week to save their season. The team faced injuries, setbacks and schematic problems that could not be alleviated in a week.

Unless a much more calculated and disciplined football team emerges on the other side of the bye week, this will not be a team that plays in mid-January or beyond. Players and coaches understand that.

“At the moment we have an idea of ​​the symptoms, but what’s going on underneath in terms of the process, why aren’t we playing complementary football in 60 minutes. That’s what we’re going to attack this week and come back to. work and move forward,” Macdonald said. “We’ve got the right guys. We’ve just got to make it come alive. But our backs are against the wall and we’ve got to go.”

The Seahawks won’t play again until a Week 11 game against the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 17. Seattle lost to the Niners, 36-24, in Week 6 at home. Their next game will be on the road against their bitter NFC West rivals.

San Francisco (4-4) had the week remaining in Week 9 after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 30-24 on Oct. 27.

Quick Reaction: Turnovers haunt Geno Smith, Seahawks in 26-20 loss to Rams

Halftime Notes: Seahawks take 13-3 lead over Rams in late scoring frenzy

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