Seahawks Blowing Every Opportunity to Find Winning Recipe, Reclaim NFC West

An early tailspin last season made way for a run at the Super Bowl. This time, turning things around midseason is proving impossibly difficult for the Seattle Seahawks—who have blown countless chances to get back on track in 2015.

The latest speed bump came on Sunday Night Football, dropping a 39-32 decision to the Arizona Cardinals that marked an official changing of the guard in the NFC West. 

Just as has been the case in every one of the Seahawks' five losses so far this season, they were seemingly in control of the game heading down the stretch. They did so in runaway fashion, with two sack-fumbles deep in Arizona territory on consecutive possessions that helped turn an eight-point lead into a four-point advantage.

Yet, a defense that has been head-scratching and maligned all season couldn't batten down the hatches like they've become known to do. It allowed 363 passing yards and three touchdowns from Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer—constantly getting gashed deep down the field in worrisome fashion.

Struggling on defense early in the season would be a mere footnote if Seattle could get it together against its divisional rival, which it dominated last season. Instead, the Arizona offense kept clicking and marked a franchise-high for points against the Seahawks, per SportsCenter:

As if their dominance of Arizona last season wasn't enough to believe the Seahawks could pull themselves together on defense, a slew of injuries on the Cardinals offense paved the way as well. Receiver John Brown missed the game with a hamstring injury, and stalwart offensive lineman Mike Iupati left the game early with a scary neck injury—leaving the Arizona offensive line in shambles for much of Sunday's game.

Aside from some pressure on Palmer, you couldn't tell by the way the Seahawks played up front. They allowed 117 rushing yards, including Andre Ellington's 48-yard score just after the two-minute warning that essentially sealed the win.

Nothing on defense was more worrisome, however, than the secondary's vast struggles. The Legion of Boom secondary might be soon losing its moniker after getting humiliated by the Cardinals' receiving corps, as 710 ESPN Seattle's Brock Huard noted:

The defense also shot itself in the foot with a ton of penalties, racking up a vast majority of the 14 team flags. Ill-timed penalties extended Arizona drives and directly put points on the board.

Head coach Pete Carroll bemoaned his team's inability to stay away from costly penalties (h/t Seattle Seahawks):

As Week 10 winds to a close, it's becoming more and more apparent that the midseason turnaround just might not be coming for the Seahawks. Last season's run began in Week 8, which started a run that included 10 wins in their last 11 regular-season games—and most importantly, it included two convincing wins over Arizona to reclaim the NFC West.

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With the defense practically producing two touchdowns by its lonesome, questions need to be asked of a Seattle offense that is far from the yardage-churning machine it's been in recent years. Russell Wilson completed less than half of his 32 attempts, while Marshawn Lynch (42 yards) was held below 55 yards for the fourth time this season. 

Now at 4-5 on the season and looking up at the Cardinals' 7-2 record, it feels all but guaranteed that the Seahawks will be fortunate to be able to find its way into a wild-card playoff spot—and that hope appears to be fleeting as well.

Opportunities have been presented on a silver platter for the Seahawks to get over the hump and notch a big win to turn their season around. None of them were as apparent or as valuable as the one on Sunday night.

But still, Seattle found a way to throw it away. And that's a narrative that is quickly defining the 2015 season for a team not far removed from the NFL's elite.