“It’s frustrating, but I think it’s not like we’re playing clean football and losing games. We’re not playing well. We have some areas to address,” veteran Julian Love said after the game of Seahawks security. “We’re off to a 3-0 start, but we’re not dwelling on that. We’re trying to take it game by game.”

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

The Rams came out of halftime and scored 17 unanswered points, helped by those turnovers, and Seattle barely did enough to force an extra period of play. Once again, with opportunities to win, the ball bounced to the Rams, and they took advantage.

Now the Seahawks enter their bye week with plenty of issues to resolve that mostly have to do with the team’s inability to avoid self-inflicted mistakes.

THE the first half was defined by a slow start for Seattle’s offense which was aided by a solid defense. Then, once the game clock ticked down with less than a minute remaining 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 losing. It doesn’t matter, I’d rather win a hundred percent,” Smith-Njigba said after the match. “My confidence level has always been the same. I knew I could thrive and have an incredible match at any time, but it’s the wins that count.”

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

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

But the Rams didn’t look back. Stafford and the Los Angeles offense put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that torched 6:32 of the third quarter. Rams running back Kyren Williams had 28 rushing yards 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 cap the drive.

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

One play after Seahawks receiver Cody White made his first regular-season reception since Nov. 28, 2022, Smith moved to his left and had his arm touched by Rams linebacker Byron Young as he threw — directing the pass to the waiting arms of safety Kamren Kinchens, who returned the ball 103 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return score in Rams history.

“I was trying to throw it out of bounds in the end zone. A guy hit my arm. There’s no excuse for it,” Smith said of the postgame play. “I can throw that away, 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 go well.

White, who was recalled from the practice squad for the game, wasn’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 his 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 was still throwing it and Kinchens was waiting for him again.

Still, the two teams traded punts as Seattle’s defense stood tall. Then, with less than two minutes to play, Smith looked like the quarterback the Seahawks have been shopping for the last three seasons.

The back-to-back late hits, both against Smith-Njigba, were as good of a throw as Smith has during his career in Seattle. He showed pinpoint accuracy on a touchdown between two Rams defenders that the former first-round wide receiver fired from 14 yards, and Myers’ kick tied the game at 20-20 with 51 seconds left. to play in regulation time.

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

“That’s the play call we liked. We liked the look,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said of their 4th-and-1 miss. “We have to be able to get a half yard in two shots. 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 drive.

The Seahawks have recorded 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 problems run even deeper than Seattle’s, as rudimentary football operations such as the center-quarterback swap have plagued this team over the past two games. The Seahawks can’t live and die until the final minute of each half if they hope to win NFL games.

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

“I want to start by apologizing to my teammates, the city and the organization,” Smith said. “They trusted me a lot in my decision-making, and when they put the ball in my hands, when my teammates play like they did today and to give us a chance to win the game, I Gotta make sure we do… I’m going to step things up.

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

If a much more calculated and disciplined football team doesn’t emerge on the other side of the bye week, it won’t be a team playing in mid-January or beyond. The players and the technical staff understand this.

“Right now we have an idea of ​​the symptoms, but what’s going on in terms of the process and why we’re not playing complementary football in 60 Minutes. That’s what we’re going to tackle this week and we’ll get back to it and move forward,” Macdonald said. “We’ve got the right guys. We just need to bring it to life. But our backs are against the wall and we have to go.”

The Seahawks will not play again until a Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on November 17. Seattle lost to the Niners, 36-24, in Week 6 at home. The next game is on the road against their bitter NFC West rivals.

San Francisco (4-4) had its bye week in Week 9 after beating the Dallas Cowboys 30-24 on October 27.

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