SEATTLE — Frustration hung like fog in the Seattle Seahawks locker room.
Players talked in hushed tones, their words obscured unless you were within a few feet.
Amid the emotional murk, receiver Doug Baldwin smoldered. His fiery temper burned through the pea soup.
Minutes earlier as the clock ticked down on Seattle’s 30-23 loss to Dallas, he and quarterback Russell Wilson were in a heated exchange on the Seahawks sideline.
When asked about that, Baldwin showed he hadn’t yet vented all his anger about Sunday’s sluggish offensive showing, where the Seahawks gained just 206 yards.
“What do you think man? We’re frustrated,” he said. “The offense can’t (expletive) move the ball.”
Baldwin went on to say Seattle has to “get real” about their issues of offense, which ranks 30th out of 32 NFL teams in passing yards per game.
Baldwin was thrown to three times Sunday, making two catches for 32 yards. Wilson completed 14 of 27 passes for 126 yards.
“I think everybody is a little frustrated,” said Wilson. “It’s not one guy or two guys, we’re all so competitive.”
Usually opponents leave CenturyLink Field sullen or steaming. Wilson always seems to find a way. The Seahawks defense beats rivals up physically and emotionally.
Sunday, Dallas didn’t just escape one of the NFL’s toughest home fields with a win. The Cowboys pushed the Seahawks around.
Dallas rushed for 162 yards against a Seattle defense that entered Sunday allowing a league-best 63.2 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys outgained Seattle 401-206 and held the ball for 15 more minutes.
Wilson, normally so elusive, had just two scrambles for 12 yards. Both Seahawks touchdowns were directly tied to Dallas blunders on special teams.
“When you play the way we played, you’re going to get beat,” defensive end Michael Bennett said.
Last season, the Seahawks never faced this level of adversity as they led the NFC wire to wire. Now 3-2, Seattle didn’t suffer its second loss last season until Week 14 at San Francisco.
This season never promised to be a cakewalk. Now the Seahawks are battered, with key players injured. Byron Maxwell left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Kam Chancellor wasn’t his normal explosive self after injuring his hip last week against Washington. Center Max Unger also didn’t play with a foot injury.
We will learn a lot about these Seahawks in the next few weeks. How tough are they? How resilient are they?
“I’m frustrated that we didn’t play our best game because we worked so hard,” Wilson said. “That’s when leadership shows us, when there’s some adversity. … Who’s going to bring the boxing gloves and be ready to go for next week?”
Will frustration fester? Not if the Seahawks follow the lead of safety Earl Thomas.
“I’m not frustrated,” Thomas said. “We got beat straight-up. You’ve got to take these lessons and go. Adverse situations always make you stronger. … It ain’t always gonna pan out like you want it to pan out. I’ll be back next time.”
