The Seattle Seahawks dug a 19-0 hole Sunday night before storming back to take a fourth-quarter lead. They eventually lost that lead and the game, as Carson Palmerdiced up the home team's defense.
"We put out such a miserable first half of football," coach Pete Carroll said, via The News Tribune. "To be that far behind in the sticks with the penalties ... it's really hard to play ball."
The huge hole is a microcosm of the Seahawks' season. At 4-5, the defending NFC champs currently find themselves positioned at the 10th seed in the playoff picture. Now three games back of the Arizona Cardinals in the division, the NFC West looks lost to them.
Seahawks players are aware their playoff odds are slipping.
"It's shrinking for us," Seahawks safety Earl Thomas said. "We understand that."
Added Russell Wilson: "We have a tough road. Is it the end of the world? No. We have five losses. ... We believe."
There is always a sense of belief that the Seahawks will turn it around -- it's the reason we kept them so high in our midseason power poll, despite their record. But this is a team that hasn't been able to close, losing fourth-quarter leads in all five of their losses this season.
After Sunday night's dismal performance, the Seahawks can't afford any more slip-ups.
On the plus side, four of their final seven games are against teams currently under .500.
On the other hand, Seattle currently sits with just one more win than the San Francisco 49ers, who have been a dumpster fire the past calendar year.
