After barely beating the lowly Miami Dolphins 12-10 and losing a pitiful game to the Los Angeles Rams 9-3, the Seattle Seahawks sit at 1-1. Seattle’s offense looks terrible with a combined total of 15 points through two games. They rank 21st in passing yards, 18th in rushing yards and second to last in points scored. Not a very good start for a team that lit up the scoreboard a year ago. Next up they play the 49ers who beat the Rams 28-0 in week one.

On the other hand Seattle’s ranks first in total defense and points against. So what gives when your defense can hold teams to minimal points but doesn’t have enough offense to win games? The offense has to start scoring points.

Seattle has gotten off to slow offensive starts in past years and they seem to improve as the season progresses. Russell Wilson has been hobbled a bit with an ankle injury that does affect his mobility and the effectiveness of the offense. Seattle needs to get the run game going if they are going to turn things around. The offensive line has been terrible to start the season, which has limited the run game.

Coach Pete Carroll talked about the run game after the loss to the Rams, “We had to run the ball better, and we didn’t, we struggled early in the game. We got going a little bit in the second half, but not enough to change it. And that has to come to life. So our focus on the run game really just has to be tuned in and turned up. We’ve got to get that right. Otherwise it makes you too restricted. We can feel that a little bit, so we’ve got to fix that.”

With the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons the next three weeks, the Seahawks have to get wins and the offense performing at a higher level. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with games against super bowl contenders, Arizona (twice), New England, Green Bay, and Carolina later in the season. If the Seahawks are to make another run in the playoffs, the offense certainly needs to play better. Early season struggles are anticipated to some degree but it’s surprising that the offense has gotten off to such a slow start.

With such a staunch defensive unit, Seattle is expected to still win games and with time the offense should continue to get better. However any delayed progress and improvement early in the season could hurt the Seahawks playoff position and ability to clinch any home field advantage. The offensive performance and outcome of Seattle’s games over the next several weeks should tell a lot about how good this team really is this year.