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Realistic expectation: Getting to 10 wins.

The Seahawks were cruising toward at least that many when they were riding a four-game win streak, but they've come back down to earth with back-to-back losses, including a disappointing overtime defeat to the Raiders in Week 12. Ten wins is still a reasonable expectation, though it will require beating at least one good team (either the 49ers, Chiefs or Jets) in addition to taking care of business in the three games in which they'll likely be favored (Rams twice and Panthers). It should help that four of their final six are at Lumen Field. Then again, they just lost to the previously three-win Raiders at home.

It appears that the Seahawks have lost whatever they previously had found on defense. Seattle struggled to get off the field against Tom Brady and the Bucs in Munich before the Week 11 bye, and the 'Hawks came out of the off week with a disheartening 40-34 loss to a sub-.500 Raiders team that rolled up an absurd 576 total yards, capped by Josh Jacobs' 86-yard touchdown run in overtime. (We're still trying to make sense of the angle taken by safety Josh Jones on Jacobs' game-winner.) The loss drops the Seahawks a game behind the 49ers in the NFC West and invites questions about whether Seattle has the balance to seriously contend down the stretch.

The defense really let them down in the loss to the Raiders. That was a problem early this season that came back in a big way.

As much as we like to cite stout defense as an element of coach Pete Carroll's winning formula, Seattle's D will finish outside the league's top 10 for the sixth consecutive season ... and will almost certainly rank worse than 20th overall for the fourth straight year.

The Seahawks' early-season defense showed up in the 40-34 overtime loss to the Raiders that turned Seattle from a presumptive playoff team to on the outside looking in. On offense, despite playing a Raiders defense that ranks 31st in EPA per drive and 32nd in DVOA, Kenneth Walker was held to 26 yards rushing on 14 carries. Seattle was outgained by 204 yards in all, 118 before Josh Jacobs' walk-off touchdown. Left to lick their wounds with a pair of winnable games on tap (at Rams, versus Panthers), Seattle can at least take solace that things could always be worse. At quarterback, specifically.

The Chiefs, Bills, and Eagles are the only teams with more points scored than the Seahawks this season. Geno Smith has done his part as the captain of the offense, as he ranks 11th among starting QBs in EPA per dropback. The problem is the Seattle defense has floundered whenever they play even decent offenses. The Seahawks have allowed 21 or more points to every offense except the Broncos, Cardinals (twice), and Giants—all three of those teams rank outside the top half of the league in offensive points per game.

The Seahawks have lost two in a row and you have to wonder if they're fading a bit after a surprising start. The good news is their next two games are against the Rams and Panthers. If they lose one of those two, then there's a problem.

Introducing the Legion of Room (to Run).