SEATTLE— That was a strange game.

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

It was a game that, quite frankly, leaves many fans with more questions than answers. Here are a few we have:

Were the first three games a mirage?

I think it’s early to mid-October way it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions about NFL teams.

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

That said, it should at least creep into the back of your mind what the teams were that the Seahawks beat on their way to 3-0:

• Denver (3-2, but 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)

You could argue that the Seahawks were playing these teams at their worst, like Miami without Tua Tagovailoa or Nix’s pro debut for Denver, or just a downright basic team like New England.

The fact that a team like Miami is just one game out of first place despite their injury problems illustrates that it’s far too early to jump to conclusions.

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

But think about those three wins for the Seahawks 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 finish in 2024?

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

The reality is that this is a brutal stretch of games with short weeks at a time.

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

The defense certainly needs to clean things up and can’t allow New York to move the ball as they see fit, but injuries played a huge role, especially after Riq Woolen left this game.

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

That means the division lead is on the line in Thursday’s showdown with San Francisco. If the Hawks can win that one and brave the tough schedule, it would go a long way to calming the nerves of the 12s everywhere.

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

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

“The message is that we don’t have enough time to sit around and hang our heads down,” Macdonald added. “We have to keep our heads high, take it on the chin and move forward. We have a game, (in) three, four days and we have to be ready to go. We have to get better in a hurry.

What’s up with the slow start?

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

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

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

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

Against the Giants, the Seahawks’ first offensive touchdown came with 2:09 to play in the game. While that particular score almost led to an epic comeback, taking so long to find the end zone put them in that spot.

The Seahawks opened 14-0 to Detroit and had to fight back all game.

Two untimely fumbles in as many games by a usually confident star in DK Metcalf haven’t helped a team playing from 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 that has won them games, or at least put them in a position to win.

But not falling behind and being forced to rally could be a big step forward against San Francisco on Thursday.