Dave Boling: For the first time under Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks lacked energy and they paid the price

SEATTLE – Oh, the nightmare flashbacks. Make them stop.

Can’t tackle. Can’t block. Can’t win.

The Seahawks’ 29-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday displayed the kind of fundamental failures that got the last staff fired.

Perhaps most damning, except for a couple brief spasms of competence, the Hawks failed to compete at the level of NFL expectations.

They got pushed around on both lines of scrimmage. In an assessment that would be most embarrassing for them to have to admit, they were manhandled.

How do you come out, in front of a full stadium of shrieking fans, and seem so lifeless?

That inconsistency of effort has been a stubborn pathogen for the past couple seasons, but this was the first obvious outbreak this year under the staff of new head coach Mike Macdonald.

It seemed like a different team that took on a talented Detroit Lions team and fought to a tough road loss last week. That effort bred hope even in defeat.

But they came home and failed to launch against a Giants team that was 1-3 entering the game.

Sound familiar?

“Shoot, we played bad,” said quarterback Geno Smith, who was sacked seven times and hit a total of 10 times. “They played harder, they wanted it more, they fought harder.”

Thank you, Geno, you just captured the unvarnished essence of the Seahawks’ problems Sunday.

Smith was one of the few standouts, passing for 284 yards while under constant pressure, and rushing for another 72. He stepped up to provide late inspiration, piloting a 95-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that brought them within three points.

It seemed amazing they could still be in contention, when so many things had gone wrong.

A late blocked field goal and touchdown return for the Giants brought end to the Seahawks’ hopes. It seemed over long before then, though.

Their lack of pass-rush pressure allowed Giant Daniel Jones (the 24th rated passer in the NFL) to look like vintage John Elway. And their lack of tackling allowed the Giants (30th in the NFL in rushing), to pound the ball for 175 yards.

Fans better hope the Hawks were saving themselves for Thursday night’s conference showdown at Lumen Field against the San Francisco 49ers, otherwise they’re set up for the fatal Sunday-Sunday-Thursday trifecta of losses in just 11 days.

A consolation is that the 49ers lost Sunday, too, leaving the Seahawks with a one-game advantage on the Niners (2-3) and Cardinals (2-3).

Linebacker Jerome Baker was another who performed well enough to speak with authority on the game. “We just didn’t play together,” he said. “They played together better than us.”

Baker had missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, but finished with 14 tackles and a sack, forcing the fumble that provided the only real spark for the Hawks early.

Baker nailed Giants back Eric Gray at the Seahawks goal line, forcing a fumble that safety Rayshawn Jenkins scooped up and returned 102 yards for a touchdown.

Jenkins skipped the final 20 yards into the end zone. The fans seemed to savor it, a good thing, since that was about all the joy they would get.

“Take it on the chin and move forward,” Macdonald said afterward. “We need to get better in a hurry.”

No kidding, coach.

Rebounding from back-to-back losses against their biggest divisional rival will be a serious challenge for Macdonald and his staff.

To lose three straight after winning the first three would be a guaranteed way to put an end to the new-coach honeymoon Macdonald had enjoyed in September.

This new defense under Macdonald was supposed to be scheme-solid and adaptable enough to meet the weekly challenges of NFL offenses. It gave up 420 yards to the Giants.

And the offense, marshaled by new coordinator Ryan Grubb, was expected to be multidimensional and explosive. They compiled two (2) yards rushing in the first half.

In the end, this loss was as disheartening as so many of the stinkers of recent seasons.

So many things look bad about having to buckle up again in just four days against their prime rival.

The lone good thing is it leaves very little time for bemoaning this shabby effort.