SEATTLE — Reality smelled like cheese.

It looked like Geno Smith staring in disbelief at the south video board, his left shoulder pad popping out, and raising both arms as his end-zone interception was relentlessly replayed. It looked like Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs catching a slant at the 6-yard line, and hauling Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen and safety Julian Love into the end zone. It looked like 223-pound tailback Josh Jacobs running ... and running ... and running.

It sounded like a chorus of "Go! Pack! Go!," chanted by the emboldened cheese heads at Lumen Field several times on Sunday. It sounded, too, like Smith spiking his helmet into the turf after a second-half knee injury.

It sounded like Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, in the aftermath, concluding that the Green Bay Packers "out-coached us. We didn't have a good enough plan in all three phases. I'm responsible for that. And frankly, we didn't play good enough. The things we've been doing that won us games, we didn't do those things."

Whatever the Seahawks' sobering 30-13 loss looked, sounded or smelled like to you, the reality is this:

The Seahawks have yet to beat the upper echelon of the NFC.

The question is if they can.

The answer may settle their fate, as the 8-6 Seahawks enter the homestretch in a tie with the Los Angeles Rams for the lead in the NFC West. Dates with the Minnesota Vikings (11-2), Chicago Bears (4-9) and Rams (8-6) stand between Seattle and its first division title since 2020.

To this point, the Seahawks have largely feasted on inferior competition. Only one of their eight wins (a 26-20 dispatching of 9-5 Denver in their season opener) came against a team that currently owns a winning record, and on Sunday the Seahawks fell to 0-3 in prime time. Their four-game winning streak — which the Packers emphatically extinguished — featured victories over the imploding 49ers (6-8), the dysfunctional New York Jets (4-10) and the inconsistent Arizona Cardinals (7-7).

None of which cancels what Macdonald and Co. have accomplished since sitting at 4-5 entering their bye week. Credit the Seahawks for unleashing defensive lineman Leonard Williams, finding an effective linebacker pair in Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight, forcing opportunistic turnovers and hastening the emergence of wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Credit Seattle, too, for clawing back into the playoff picture when it could have been pulled apart.

But are the Seahawks capable of more than, at most, a fleeting playoff cameo?

It didn't look (or sound, or smell) like it on Sunday. Instead, a previously improved defense was quickly overwhelmed, as Jacobs amassed 136 total yards and a touchdown. That included 46 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards in Green Bay's first two drives, both of which ended in the end zone.

"They had a good plan," said Seahawks safety Julian Love, who finished with six tackles and a fumble recovery. "We've been doing such a good job the past I would say six weeks of stopping the run, and we just didn't early on. So it allowed them to open up their game and get everything going. We let a pretty good running back get started early, which defensively you can't do."

Meanwhile, Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed 12 of 13 passes in the first half and finished with 74.1% completions, 229 passing yards and two touchdowns. In Seattle's losses against Green Bay and Detroit — the two best teams on its schedule — Love and Jared Goff combined to complete 38 of 45 passes (84.4%) for 521 yards and four touchdowns.

Oh, and speaking of quarterbacks: The Seahawks can't sniff an NFC West title without Smith, whose status is uncertain after Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper rolled over his right knee. Backup Sam Howell mightily struggled in relief, completing 5 of 14 passes for 24 yards and an unacceptable interception, while being sacked four times.

Granted, it's never easy to be handed a 17-point second-half deficit. But Howell, who led the NFL with 21 interceptions as a Washington Commander in 2023, said: "At the end of the day, it's what I get paid to do, and I've got to be better."

That assertion also applies to Smith, who completed his first 11 passes ... before plunging into a familiar pothole. Trailing 17-3 with 3:07 left in the second quarter, Smith took a shotgun snap from the Packers' 12-yard line. On third-and-9, he lofted a prayer toward tight end Noah Fant, allowing Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine to peel off Tyler Lockett and pull down the easy pick.

It was Smith's fourth red-zone interception and 13th overall, a worrying wart for an otherwise clutch quarterback.

Of course, without Smith, the Seahawks' worries become a whole lot worse.

But this loss can't be pinned on a specific play or player. The pass protection — which surrendered seven sacks, hindered by a first-half injury to starting center Olu Oluwatimi — wasn't good enough. The run defense wasn't good enough. The pass defense wasn't good enough. The pass rush, which failed to secure a single sack, wasn't good enough. The plan, Macdonald insisted, wasn't good enough. The reality was resounding.

The Seahawks have made obvious strides in recent weeks.

But to beat the Packers or Lions or Vikings or Rams, in the regular season and beyond, are they good enough?

For now, the answer is obvious. We'll see if it can change.

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