Another road game, another loss. It's starting to become an ugly theme for the Seahawks this season. Following Sunday's 24-21 last-second loss to the Dolphins, Seattle is 1-5 on the road.
And when the Seahawks lose on the road, they don't just lose -- they do it in the most excruciating fashion possible.
All five road losses this year have been by one score or less, with a 4.8 point average margin of defeat. Three of the Seahawks' five losses have come when their opponent scores with five or less minutes left in the game. Two of the losses, including Sunday's game against Miami, have come when the opponent scores with 20 seconds or less left.
Enough dissecting the Seahawks' road woes though, let's get to something more positive, like this week's report card -- which actually isn't that much more positive at all.
Offense: B-
The grade should really be broken down into two grades: a run grade and a pass grade. The running game would get a D+ after only totaling 96 yards against the Dolphins. Marshawn Lynch -- who entered Sunday's game averaging 100.5 yards per game -- was limited to 46 yards and only 2.6 yards per carry. The Dolphins swarmed Lynch whenever he touched the ball and didn't let him go into Beast Mode. The only thing that kept the offense from being a total failure was Wilson's phenomenal passing performance. Russell Wilson overcame his road woes -- all eight of his interceptions this season have been thrown on the road -- to throw for 224 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks. At one point, Wilson, who finished 21 of 27, completed 16 consecutive passes, falling just shy of Warren Moon's franchise record of 17. Previous game's grade: B+
Defense: D
Like the offense, the defense's grade could really be broken down into two grades: one for the first three quarters and one for the fourth quarter. The Seahawks played stingy defense for the better part of three quarters before falling apart in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins scored 17 of their 24 points in the quarter and totaled 222 of their 435 offensive yards in the quarter. The most devastating drive had to be the Dolphins' game-winning drive. Punter Jon Ryan pinned the Dolphins at their own 11, then watched as Ryan Tannehill and the Miami offense marched down the field into field goal range in the game's final minute. It's the second time in five weeks the defense has surrendered a game-winning drive. In Week 8, the Lions drove 80 yards and scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left to beat the Seahawks 28-24. Previous game's grade: A+
Special teams: A
Special teams have been the one unit the Seahawks have been able to count on almost all season and that was the case against the Dolphins. KR Leon Washington tied an NFL record with his eighth career kickoff return for a touchdown. Washington's 98-yard return in the fourth quarter tied him with Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs. Ryan continued his fantastic season, pinning the Jets inside their own 20 six times on seven punts. Thanks to Ryan's weapon of a right leg, Miami started drives at their own 17, 9, 10, 6, 18 and 10-yard lines. Previous game's grade: A
Coaching: B-
It's hard to say where the game plan went wrong -- the Seahawks looked sharp on both sides of the ball at times, but lethargic during other periods. After the game, coach Pete Carroll took full responsibility for the loss. "We didn't do the things we needed to in the week off to get prepared. I screwed it up," Carroll said. One of the more interesting calls in the game by Carroll came in the second quarter, when he decided to punt it on fourth-and-1 from Miami's 38-yard line. It almost seemed as if instead of playing to win, the Seahawks were playing not to lose. Previous game's grade: A
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Seahawks blogger John Breech follow @JohnBreech and @CBSSeahawks.
