Dave Boling: Where has the Seahawks home field advantage gone?

SEATTLE – The Seattle Chamber of Commerce might consider inviting opposing NFL teams to offer endorsements for visiting their fine city.

Come for the scenic vistas and quality seafood, and stay for a win over the accommodating home team.

Once a house of horrors for visitors, Lumen Field is now a commodious weekend getaway for opponents, who have now won six of the last seven games against the homestanding Seahawks.

The hard-fought 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday dropped the Hawks to 3-6 at home, while having won five of six away games this season.

Since the National Football League gives no credit for rallying to make games interesting, the Seahawks season now feels seriously imperiled.

At 8-7, with two road games remaining, including a season-finale match against the division-leading Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks have reached the “need help” stage in the playoff calculus.

“Win next week and the week after … that’s the best bounce back,” Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said afterward of the Hawks’ chances.

Actually, the bounce back is going to have to come quicker than that, as the Seahawks travel to Chicago to take on the Bears in a Thursday night game. Even winning out might not be enough.

Teams with new coaches, such as Seattle’s Mike Macdonald, sometimes need a season or more to get the pieces in place and discover their identities.

Yes, the Hawks sometimes get some quality veteran leadership and execution, along with flashes of talent from younger players. But they too often make one mistake here and another penalty there – the kind of costly errors that well-prepared clubs keep to a limit.

This season has had that tell-tale unpredictability, with both winning and losing streaks keeping fans on the edge.

Much more evidence will be needed to shape a consensus on the prospects of Macdonald and his staff. These things take time. Pete Carroll’s record with the Seahawks stood at 14-18 after two full seasons.

But in the big picture, the greatest concern for the franchise is ferreting out some reason why the home field has become such a disadvantage.

The 3-6 home record is the worst since 2008, when Mike Holmgren’s last season unraveled at 4-12 overall.

Sunday was the 180th consecutive sellout at Lumen Field, a streak starting in 2003. The fans were here, obviously into it, and vocally engaged until the final moments. So, the home/away disparity needs further consideration.

For the second straight game at home, the Hawks’ defense gave up a long scoring drive on the first possession. Green Bay, last week, actually went up 20-3 over the Hawks at halftime.

To their credit, facing the 12-2 Vikings, the Hawks rallied quickly, trailing just 17-14 at halftime.

With the Hawks down 20-17 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Geno Smith led them on an 11-play, 68-yard drive, passing to tight end AJ Barner for a short score.

Smith had taken a beating from the Packers last week, limping off the field with a knee injury. On this drive, though, Smith looked sharp, completing all five passes and once picking up 8 important yards with a scramble.

Going ahead on such a crucial, time-consuming march, to take a 24-20 lead, seemed like the Drive that Saved the Season.

OK, defense, come up with a stop and this would be Seattle’s best win of the year, and would put a nice polish on their playoff credentials.

It took the Vikings only 30 seconds to retake the lead, though. A sack of Viking quarterback Sam Darnold seemed like the decisive play for the Hawks, except when the flag fell for a facemask penalty on Seattle rookie Byron Murphy II.

On the next play, Darnold hit receiver Justin Jefferson for a 39-yard touchdown.

Remarkably, the Hawks had two more possessions but missed a 60-yard field-goal attempt and then threw an interception on their last gasp.

“Destiny is not in our hands right now,” Macdonald said.

Chances for the postseason are now remote. All they can focus on, Macdonald said, was just doing their best to stack a couple wins.

Actually, the best thing they have going for them, now, is that the last two are on the road.