SEATTLE — There is no official halfway point in a 17-game NFL season, but this is about as close as it gets for the Seahawks.

Nine games in. A bye week in front of them. If there’s a time for a midseason evaluation, this is it.

And though there is an array of areas to criticize — from quarterback play, to offensive-line shortcomings, to a near-invisible run game or run defense — six words can sum up the situation: This is not a playoff team.

Don’t mistake that observation for an obituary. I’m not penning this column with a permanent marker. The NFL is capricious, 14 teams make the postseason, the NFC West is gridlocked and the Seahawks are 4-5. But when I watched receiver Demarcus Robinson haul in a one-handed touchdown catch to give the Rams a 26-20 overtime win Sunday over Seattle, my first thought was, “These guys aren’t getting an 18th game.” There is just too little room for error.

We’ll start with the macro view. The Seahawks started the season 3-0 almost exclusively due to a schedule with a “Celebrity Jeopardy” degree of difficulty. In Week 1 they hosted the Broncos, who debuted quarterback Bo Nix to the tune of 3.3 yards per attempt and two interceptions. He has improved drastically since but didn’t look NFL ready in that game.

In Week 2 they pulled out an overtime win against the 2-7 Patriots, who A) have a record that is tied for the worst in the NFL, and B) likely would have defeated Seattle if they had made a 48-yard field-goal attempt late in the fourth quarter. And in Week 3 they toppled a Miami team missing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

It was quite the welcoming gift for first-year coach Mike Macdonald. Then reality made a Stone Cold Steve Austin-like entrance.

The Seahawks lost their next three games by 13 points (the Lions), nine points (the Giants) and 12 points (the 49ers), respectively. They secured a quality win against Atlanta on the road in Week 7 but fell to the Bills by 21 in Week 8. So Sunday’s game vs. the Rams (4-4) felt critical if the Seahawks wanted to position themselves for a playoff push in the second half of the season. Now the only thing critical is their condition, as a 10-point lead turned into a six-point loss that featured all the familiar follies and foibles.

Exhibit A: Quarterback Geno Smith, who has had his share of triumphant moments, again made costly mistakes. He threw three interceptions — and though the first was due to a dropped pass, the next two were ill-advised throws that came on snaps within six yards of L.A.’s end zone. Smith still leads the NFL in passing yards by a considerable margin, but his 10 picks are tied for the most as well.

The Seahawks simply can’t afford such inconsistency from their quarterback. Not when they entered the game 29th in the league in rushing before posting 3.2 yards per carry vs. the Rams. Not when they have an offensive line that allowed seven sacks Sunday and 28 on the season. Not when they entered Sunday with the fourth-worst run defense. And though the “D” was solid for most of the game, pass-interference penalties, dropped interceptions and other blunders allowed the Rams to make the double-digit comeback.

The Seahawks could afford the occasional mishap during most of the Pete Carroll era. The rosters were deeper, the playmakers more abundant. But this group can’t afford the mistakes … and yet it keeps on making them.

On Saturday night, I wrote how the Huskies escaped full on free-fall mode by beating USC and getting to 5-4. The Seahawks, on the other hand, are in a true tailspin after losing five of their past six — four of which have come by more than a touchdown.

After the game, Smith, who apologized to his teammates and the city for his performance, remained optimistic about the future.

“We’ve got our season right in front of us. Everything’s ahead of us,” he said.

It’s just that “everything” includes road games vs. the Cardinals (5-4), Niners (4-4) and Rams (4-4) — the first team being top in the division and the other two having already defeated Seattle at Lumen Field. It includes home games against the 6-2 Vikings, the 6-3 Packers and the Cardinals once more. The Seahawks also play Aaron Rodgers’ Jets in New Jersey and the 4-4 Bears in Chicago.

There are no “layups” in front of this team. Fans just have to hope there is no “give up” within them.

It’s dangerous to make too bold of a prediction in a league ruled by parity. This season isn’t over for the Seahawks.

But they are going to spend the bye week thinking about that giveaway of a loss to L.A. And given how it likely changed their playoff trajectory, they may spend their whole offseason thinking about it, too.

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