New year same team, says Vorel. I'm sure this won't be well received.

[Michael K.]

On Sunday, the Seahawks had so much new to debut.

A new offensive coordinator (Klint Kubiak). A new reliance on a run-first scheme. A new quarterback (Sam Darnold), wide receiver (Cooper Kupp) and left guard (Grey Zabel). A new look at Lumen Field, where green poms were spread throughout the stadium, the 12s’ own terrible towels.

A new season, with all its hope and hype.

The same fatal flaws.

So, are the Seahawks new and improved … or just new?

For fans, the most disappointing part of the 17-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers may have been how hauntingly familiar everything felt.

Again, the Seahawks were betrayed by an inconsistent running game, which managed 84 rushing yards and 3.2 yards per carry against a supposedly susceptible defense. Again, Seattle corner Riq Woolen’s lapses proved lethal, as he allowed a 45-yard completion and an incomprehensible 4-yard touchdown on San Francisco’s final drive. Again, a red-zone turnover sank Seattle’s offense.

Again, the new-look Seahawks lost at Lumen Field. While the stadium abruptly emptied Sunday afternoon, a legion of red-clad fans in the east stands stayed and celebrated.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed, who finished with five tackles and two quarterback hits. “I don’t like nothing about the 49ers. I just want to win so bad, especially at home. We want to protect home field.”

Easier said — and read — than done.

Seahawks fans, of course, have seen and heard it all before. The Seahawks were 3-6 at Lumen Field last season and are 16-19 at home since 2021. Their 95.7 rushing yards per game sat 28th in the NFL in 2024, due in part to since-axed offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s stubborn predilection for the passing game.

Yeah, because Kubiak's stubborn predilection for the ground game was so much better yesterday?

On Sunday, a new rushing resolve didn’t deliver results. Though they ran on 26 of 50 offensive plays, both Zach Charbonnet (47 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per carry, 1 TD) and Kenneth Walker III (20, 2.0, 0) never got going.

When asked if the Seahawks’ struggles were byproducts of a stout San Francisco defense or excusable early hiccups, right tackle Abraham Lucas instead accepted responsibility.

“I could say that, if I want to take the pressure off,” he said. “But for us as an O-line, it’s just on us to be more consistent down the stretch. We had great flashes and pockets of what we came to do and what we can do. We just have to do that more consistently, drive after drive after drive.”

Of course, flashes and pockets don’t win divisions.

Speaking of which: Woolen’s inconsistency continues to haunt the Seahawks cornerback.

After Woolen surrendered a personal passer rating of 136.7 in last season’s home loss to the Packers, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said: “When he’s locked in, I think he’s as good as it gets. Then when he’s not as locked in, that’s when some technique errors show up. But it has nothing to do with his ability.”

On Sunday, Woolen’s ability was evident, as the 6-foot-4 speedster accelerated to deny San Francisco wide receiver Ricky Pearsall a second-half touchdown. But his errors were equally inexplicable, as Woolen misjudged a 45-yard completion to Pearsall down the sideline and later lost a jump ball to backup tight end Jake Tonges for the go-ahead score.

Woolen’s flashes and pockets are superhuman. His lapses lose games.

The Seahawks didn’t deserve to win anyway. Even without standout tight end George Kittle for much of the game, San Francisco outgained Seattle 384 to 230 in total yards and dominated time of possession 37:58 to 22:02.

Flashes and pockets are all the Seahawks had. They had a blocked field-goal attempt by Julian Love and leaping interceptions by linebacker Ernest Jones IV and cornerback Josh Jobe. They had a flicker of Lumen Field luck, as a 27-yard Jake Moody field-goal attempt rocketed off the left upright. They had a 40-yard rainbow from Darnold to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that provided the fleeting whisper of a comeback win.

They had new names and numbers … with similar struggles. After former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith led the NFL with four red-zone interceptions in 2024, Darnold lost a fumble at San Francisco’s 16-yard line with less than a minute left to diffuse the drama.

The point here is not to draw concrete conclusions from a disappointing debut.

Maybe new is better, and chemistry takes time. Maybe the running game will grow, Darnold will do his part and Kupp will contribute more than two catches for 15 yards. Maybe Woolen’s flashes and pockets will outlast his lapses. Maybe the Seahawks will get back to beating good teams at Lumen Field.

Maybe these really aren’t the same Seahawks.

But that’s not for me or you or any Seahawk to say.

“It sucks. There’s not much you can say,” Seahawks tight end AJ Barner offered Sunday. “But it’s got to get better. It will get better. If we are who we say we are, then we’re going to make it right.”

Mike Vorel: mvorel@seattletimes.com. Mike Vorel is a sports columnist at The Seattle Times.

Wait, I thought Kubiak would cure all ills? Only Green Bay in week 14 last year was a lower offensive output than Kubiak's opening act. I wonder what he'll do for an encore?

[Michael K.]

I guess not everyone is making excuses. Calkins trying to be an actual reporter, at least somewhat.

In Sunday’s 17-13 loss to the 49ers, the Seahawks had their flashes of spectacular on offense, defense and special teams. They got some help from one of the NFL’s most erratic place-kickers, too.

But none of that was enough to overcome a harsh truth that the scoreboard did its best to conceal: The Seahawks were clearly outplayed at Lumen Field. And after those four quarters, it’s fair to question whether they’ve actually improved from last season.

The casual fan might see a four-point defeat in a game in which Seattle came within 9 yards of winning. The more critical one saw a contest in which the Seahawks were outgained 384 yards to 230.

What seemed particularly concerning was how much trouble the Seahawks had moving downfield before that final drive. Darnold finished with a mere 150 yards on 16-of-23 passing, looking more like the mediocrity he was through his first six seasons than the standout he was in his seventh in Minnesota last year. And though Smith-Njigba shined with 124 yards on nine receptions, Kupp had just two catches for 15 yards. Doubtful Metcalf would have been that limited.

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I guess just another guy that didn't get the memo that the NFL is unfair and Seattle somehow is hurt more by losing practice and Pre-Season games than every other team in the NFL not named Miami, Tennessee and the Bungals.

[Donn Beach]

Again, in terms of it looking the same, I'm curious why so much shotgun. I can pull up where that was supposed to be key to the thing as I understood it, going under center. I honesty don't understand much about it to begin with. Seems to me its something someone could begin to explain. And it really isn't about how often you run the ball

Like here...I guess you need to look at the actual splits.

If you watched just the first half of the Seattle Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, there was a marked difference in how Klint Kubiak’s offense looked compared to the lone season under Ryan Grubb. I’m not talking about performance, efficiency, or run-pass splits, but style.

When Drew Lock was in the game, the Seahawks ran 26 plays from under center and just 14 from shotgun. No NFL offense dares run UC at a 65% clip so we are not going to be witnessing that type of split in the regular season, but it hammers home the point that we’ll be seeing a vastly different offense in 2025.