RENTON Quinnen Williams Jersey , Wash. (AP)An unfamiliar situation played out inside the Seattle Seahawks headquarters on Monday with packing boxes being filled and memorabilia getting autographed far earlier than any season in recent memory. For five straight seasons, the Seahawks didn’t just play in January. They won at least one playoff game in each of those seasons. It made Monday’s site of clearing out lockers at the conclusion of the regular season jarring for those who became accustomed of only knowing playoff football during Seattle’s five straight years in the postseason. ”At the end of the day it’s just disappointing. I think everybody is disappointed,” Seattle tight end Luke Willson said. ”The locker room we thought we had was pretty special. But it didn’t work out and I think everyone is at a loss for words.” Only five Seattle players on the active roster from Sunday’s finale were around the previous time the Seahawks didn’t make the postseason in 2011. At that time, Seattle was an ascending franchise. The tweaks and changes made by Pete Carroll and John Schneider were starting to take form by the end of the 2011 season, and the drafting of Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner before the start of the 2012 season was a catalyst in Seattle’s rise to being a mainstay in the postseason. So is this 9-7 season and missing the playoffs the start of a backslide and the first step in a major rebuild? ”We want to obviously get better because the trend that we are on right now is not good,” Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin said. Universally the Seahawks believe they’re not that far away from still being among the elite in the NFC. Three of their losses were by a combined eight points and in part were due to kicking woes from Blair Walsh, including his missed 48-yarder in the final minute on Sunday in the 26-24 loss to Arizona. The 42-7 blowout loss to the division champion Rams was the only game Seattle lost by more than one possession. Seattle also dealt with injuries to critical pieces unlike any season in the past, most notably Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor being lost for the season because of injuries suffered in Week 9. ”This just feels bad because we’re a quality team and we’ve got experienced guys http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/jachai-polite-jersey , we’ve got tons of Pro Bowlers, a great franchise quarterback and so we don’t want to be in this position when you’re team is so talented,” said Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright, one of the few holdovers on that 2011 team. ”It feels much, much worse this time because in 2011 we had no business being in the playoffs.” The occasional struggles on defense this season could be explained in part due to injuries. The offensive inefficiency – especially in the first half of games – was a puzzling issue that clouded Seattle all season. Russell Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes with 34, including 19 in the fourth quarter, but in many games was awful in the first half. Wilson’s first-half passer rating was 78.1 – compared to 111.9 in the second half – and in 10 games this season Seattle scored seven or fewer points in the first half. Much of the blame for the first-half problems has fallen on offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Baldwin launched into an impassioned defense of Bevell on Monday. While not dropping any names, Baldwin made clear the issues with Seattle’s offensive were not on the play caller. ”It’s not play calling. It’s not play calling. We go into a game knowing what the defense is going to give us Chuma Edoga Jersey , situations we’re going to be in. We don’t execute as a team,” Baldwin said. ”Offensively that’s what we’ve seen time and time again is we do not execute the way that we should. That’s on us as players. You guys can blame (Bevell) as much as you want to. Truth is (Bevell) is not the problem. Yeah, (I) probably already said too much.” Schneider and Carroll will be facing difficult choices moving forward because some of Seattle’s older stars are also among the more expensive on the roster. Seattle was open about possibly trading Sherman last offseason. Earl Thomas will be going into the final year of his contract. Michael Bennett signed an extension before the end of last season, but is 32 and played most of this season with a foot injury. ”It’s always tough to play with injuries but I had injuries I could play through. You just do what you can when you can,” Bennett said. ”Every year you have some kind of injury, nobody in the NFL is 100 percent and it’s those who can play with those injuries who can play the longest.” — CINCINNATI (AP) — For the second year in a row, the Bengals lost a backup quarterback in the final preseason game.Matt Barkley’s left knee was injured by a low hit after he threw a pass during Cincinnati’s 27-26 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, giving Jeff Driskel the inside track for the backup spot.“It’s a bummer Matt went down http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/trevon-wesco-jersey ,” said Driskel, who knows how it feels.Last year, Driskel broke the thumb on his passing hand during the final preseason game at Indianapolis, sidelining him for the season. He and Barkley were competing for the No. 2 job heading into the final game. The Bengals (3-1) also have seventh-round pick Logan Woodside.Coach Marvin Lewis had no further information about Barkley’s injury after the game.It was the most high-profile job up for grabs in a game that featured few starters. The Colts’ Andrew Luck and the Bengals’ Andy Dalton watched as reserves competed for roster spots.The No. 2 quarterback job hadn’t been an issue for the Bengals since they drafted AJ McCarron in 2014. He led them to the playoffs the following year when Dalton broke the thumb on his passing hand. The Bengals asserted McCarron was still under contract for 2018 because he was hurt during his rookie season, but McCarron won a grievance and became a free agent, going to Buffalo. The Bengals then signed Barkley.On Cincinnati’s second possession, Kemoko Turay hit Barkley in the legs after he threw a pass, drawing a roughing-the-passer penalty. Barkley came to the sideline to have the knee examined and walked to the locker room. He didn’t return.Driskel finished the first half and went 14 of 20 for 116 yards with a 20-yard touchdown and a passer rating of 101.2.“I felt like I did a good job seeing the field Alexander Mattison Jersey ,” Driskel said. “I know what I was trying to get done. I need to be ready to let it rip, and I think I did that tonight.”Jacoby Brissett — Luck’s backup — was 8 of 12 for 68 yards with a passer rating of 109. He led the Colts (3-1) on an 18-play, 79-yard drive that took 9 minutes, 33 seconds and culminated in his 2-yard touchdown pass.Luck is ready for his first regular-season game in more than 20 months, the result of a long recovery from surgery on this throwing shoulder. He sat out practice on Monday with a sore foot that isn’t a concern.“He’ll practice on Monday,” coach Frank Reich said. “He’s good to go. It’s week one, he’s starting and we feel good where we’re at. We really appreciate his leadership.”Luck said his shoulder felt strong during his preseason appearances, and the Colts are counting on him staying healthy so they can try to break their streak of three straights seasons without a playoff appearance.HAEG’S CHANCEThird-year offensive tackle Joe Haeg got his first start of the preseason as the Colts took a final look at their depth chart.“You never know what’s going to happen http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/dru-samia-jersey ,” Haeg said. “I just kind of roll with it.”WATCHINGThe Bengals gave a four-year contract extension to defensive tackle Geno Atkins and a three-year extension to Carlos Dunlap on Tuesday. Neither played against the Colts.ROUGH PLAYThe roughing-the-passer penalty on the hit against Barkley was one of three in the game. The Colts’ Chris McCain and the Bengals’ Andrew Brown also were flagged.PLAY WHERE?The Bengals had undrafted rookie receiver Jared Murphy play a deep safety spot on the Colts’ final possession, which ended with Phillip Walker’s 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:12 left.NATIONAL ANTHEMThere were no protests during the national anthem, with all players from both teams standing.INJURIESColts: RB Christine Michael was wobbly after a hard hit in the second quarter and the officials sent him to the sideline for evaluation. … DE Tarell Basham hurt his left knee in the second quarter and walked toward the locker room for an exam. He didn’t return.Bengals: Tight end Cethan Carter suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter.EMPTY SEATSThe Bengals announced the crowd at 39,520. Their other preseason game drew 35,633 fans. Paul Brown Stadium seats 65,535.NEXT UPThe Bengals will make the quick trip to Indianapolis to open the season on Sunday Sept. 9. The teams played in the regular season last year as well, with the Bengals winning 24-23 at Paul Brown Stadium on Dunlap’s interception return for a touchdown.