By james art 
SEATTLE (AP) — The story of the Seattle Seahawks’ 2024 season so far can be told in two separate chapters.
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There was an encouraging 3-0 start in which Seattle beat Denver, New England and Miami, each playing either a rookie or a backup quarterback.
Chapter Two is a 1-5 stretch since then, in which the Seahawks defense has struggled to stop the run and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has been unable to make Seattle’s game work.
With league-leading quarterback Geno Smith, all is not bad in Seahawks-land. But coach Mike McDonald — hired for his defensive experience — leads a team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in total defense, pass defense, rushing defense and runs allowed.
NFL standings
The Seahawks have a lot of work to do in their final eight games.
• What works
The passing game exceeded expectations, with Smith leading the NFL in passing yards and passing yards per game.
Smith has a 68.1 percent completion percentage, has topped 360 yards in two games and topped 300 in two more. He put up those numbers while being sacked 28 times, fourth most in the NFL.
He threw some costly interceptions, but overall, Smith gave the Seahawks chances to win games that would otherwise have been tight ends.
• What needs help
The offensive line has been hampered by injuries, penalties and silly mistakes. The right tackle has been a revolving door, with Abraham Lucas missing the first nine games after knee surgery and George Fant out in Week 1 with a knee injury. That forced rookie Michael Jerrell into a starting role.
Center Connor Williams struggled to reliably snap the ball, with a high snap leading to a fumble that put the Seahawks out of reach for a touchdown against Buffalo. Smith also had to resort to a few inaccurate shots Sunday’s 26-20 overtime loss to the Rams.
• Stock up
Second-year WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba came through with two big performances, giving the Seahawks a third dynamic pass-catcher along with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Smith-Njigba had 12 catches for 117 yards in Seattle’s Week 2 win over New England. He set a career high with 180 yards on seven catches against the Rams.
“He was everywhere,” Smith said. “He played with extreme fire. Hell, he was just doing his thing. That’s who he is. We need to keep building on that. He’s a guy who’s only going to get better and (I) really appreciate playing with him.”
Through nine games, Smith-Njigba is just 60 yards shy of tying his rookie year total of 628 receiving yards.
• Stocks are down
Last season with McDonald as coordinator, the Baltimore Ravens’ defense led the league in points allowed, points allowed and points scored, the first team to ever lead the league in all three categories. But he couldn’t come close to that level of success with Seattle.
The Seahawks defense ranks 23rd in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 27th in rushing yards allowed at 139.4 per game.
“We’ve got guys that have struggled, but we’ve got to get to work and fix that because right now we’re doing too many things that aren’t winning the football, aren’t complementary,” McDonald said. “And the same mentality we’ve had every week, we’ve got to keep it and we’ll find the solution at some point.”
• Key number
28 — The Seahawks are 28th in the NFL in rushing, averaging 91.2 yards per game. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet have combined for 611 yards.
Despite Grubb and McDonald’s repeated attempts to improve the running game, the struggles continue. Walker has 398 yards on 99 carries and is averaging a career-low 56.9 yards per game.
The Seahawks also finished 28th in the NFL in rushing last season.
• Next up
The schedule continues to be tough after the bye as Seattle plays San Francisco in the first of three road games over the next four.
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