SEATTLE- That was a strange game.

No loss is fun, but the Seahawks still had a chance to force overtime despite their shortcomings against the Giants in the final minute.

It was a game that, quite honestly, left many fans with more questions than answers. Here are some we have:

Were the first three games a mirage?

I think early to mid October Away It's still too early to draw definitive conclusions about NFL teams.

I still believe that the Seahawks have a good team with the best football in front of them.

However, you have to at least keep in mind which teams the Seahawks defeated on the way to 3-0:

• Denver (3-2, but the first career start for rookie Bo Nix. Denver has now won three straight since an 0-2 start)
• New England (1-4)
• Miami (2-3)

One could argue that the Seahawks have played against these teams at their worst, like Miami without Tua Tagovailoa or Nix's pro debut for Denver, or just a decidedly underwhelming team like New England.

The fact that a team like Miami is just one game away from first place despite their injury woes shows that it's far too early to jump to conclusions.

READ MORE |Seahawks lose 29-20 to Giants on last-minute blocked field goal

But consider the Seahawks' three wins and the way they lost to the Giants, who were missing their starting running back (Devin Singletary) and wide receiver (Malik Nabers).

This leads to our next question…

Where will the Seahawks end up in 2024?

I still believe this is a playoff team and I still believe the Seahawks can be among the elite this year.

The reality is that this is a brutal stretch of games with back-to-back short weeks.

The other fact here is that the New York Giants are better than most people think, and two of their three losses have come against quality opponents like the Commanders and the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Sometimes perception is not reality.

The defense definitely needs to clean up and not allow New York to move the ball at will, but injuries were a big factor, especially after Riq Woolen left this game.

The NFC West appears wide open and the Seahawks are in first place despite this two-game slide.

That means the league lead is at stake in Thursday's showdown against San Francisco. If the Hawks can win this game and overcome the difficult schedule, it would calm the nerves of 12s everywhere.

But it's a fair question whether it's too early to know anything for sure.

“They outplayed us today,” head coach Mike Macdonald said. “Nevertheless, we gave ourselves the chance to tie the game and even win it at the end of the fourth period, but we came up short.”

“The message is that we don’t have enough time to sit around and keep our heads down,” Macdonald added. “We have to keep our heads up, stay in control and move forward. We have a game (in) three, four days and we have to be ready to go. We have to do better in a year.” hurry up. “

What's up with the slow starts?

Sure, the Seahawks took a 7-0 lead against the New York Giants, but that was thanks to an extremely rare 102-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Rayshawn Jenkins.

A closer look shows that the Seahawks' offense, even when it's as productive as it was against Detroit, tends to start slow.

“We played badly. That’s the reality,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “I don’t think we performed well. I thought we got out slowly.”

“That’s not how we want to start,” Smith added. “Turned the ball over, didn’t finish any drives. I mean, all of the above. That’s what you get beat every Sunday in the NFL.”

Against the Giants, the Seahawks' first offensive touchdown came with 2:09 minutes left in the game. While that specific score almost led to an epic comeback, the length of time it took to find the end zone put them in that position in the first place.

The Seahawks lost 14-0 to Detroit and had to fight back throughout the game.

Two untimely fumbles in as many games by a normally confident star in DK Metcalf haven't helped a team that's fallen behind.

It took an impressive third-quarter rally to beat Denver after the Broncos led 13-9 after a pair of safeties and an interception.

The Seahawks have shown how good they can be. We've seen it in these periods where they've won games or at least put them in a position to win.

But not falling behind and being forced to recover could go a long way against San Francisco on Thursday.