The Seahawks saw their 12-game winning streak come to an end last weekend in Washington, and will now look to bounce back in a Week 4 home game against the Chargers. But before we turn our attention to that game, it's time once again to open up the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans.

As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

From Instagram:

@unko_kamu asks, "After a tough loss, what are the main things the Seahawks will be focusing on?"

A: As Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald points out, after wins and losses, the process doesn't change from week to week based on wins and losses. Had the Seahawks gotten one more stop and driven down for a dramatic, game-winning score, they'd still come out of that game feeling like there are things to improve and things they did well, just as was the case after that loss.

So while there are specific things, in any given week, that a team might be focused on, either things to clean up or things that are matchup specific, nothing really changes based off the final result when it comes to moving onto the next week.

@ethan_ags10 asks, "Moving forward, what do we need to clean up?"

A: Turnovers are the most obvious one, though the hope is that was just a one-off compared to the start of a bigger issue. While the Seahawks did struggle at times with turnovers last season, they cleaned that up late in the season, were turnover free during their playoff run, then again in their opener before losing a fumble in Week 2.

The run game can obviously be better, especially in the deep red zone, and there have been a few too many costly penalties in two of three games, but overall, this is hardly a team with a ton of concerns after suffering its first loss in more than 10 months.

@kortez106 asks, "How did we lose?"

A: Turned the ball over three times and got no turnovers. That's the simple answer. Sure there were other factors, but when it comes down to it, those turnovers, and the 21 points the Commanders got out of them, made all the difference.

@luvzeezie asks, "What does JSN smell like?"

A: Even more strange than this question is that we have a relevant answer to give you, thanks to his Old Spice ad campaign, and that answer is cashmere and catches.

@bodheazy says, "Just saying hello."

A: Hello back at you.

@adam_w_14 asks, "JSN Offensive Player of the Year?"

A: Repeating as offensive player of the year isn't easy. Since that award started in 1972, only two players have repeated, Earl Campbell, who won three straight from 1978-1980, and Marshall Faulk, who also won three straight, doing so from 1999-2001. That being said, if Smith-Njigba, who currently leads the NFL with 405 yards and six touchdowns in just three games, can somehow eclipse last year's impressive numbers, he would have a very strong chance at a repeat. Heck, if he keeps scoring touchdowns at anything close to this rate, there might even be MVP talk, but that's probably a long ways off.

@avkavk213 asks, "How is Julian Love doing?"

A: We'll have more clarity on Love's calf injury after the team returns to practice on Wednesday, but Macdonald did say Monday that Love got a good workout in and that it went well, so regardless of whether or not he can play this week, it seems Love's injury is not a long-term concern.

@jmartin4tf asks, "When is Charbonnet coming back?"

A: Charbonnet, who is on the physically unable to perform list, has to miss one more game before he is eligible to return, but he is already eligible to begin practicing, and Macdonald said Monday that is a possibility for this week, though as of Monday that decision had not been made. It's too soon to know if Charbonnet will be game ready as soon as he's eligible, but from everything we've heard from Macdonald, it certainly sounds like the fourth-year back will be back relatively soon.

From BlueSky

@segdeha.com asks, "What's the mood in the building this week?"

A: Not a lot different than any other week. The Seahawks know they let one get away on Sunday thanks to some costly mistakes, most notably the turnovers, but they also know they're a darn good team and that, over the course of a 17-game season, weird stuff can happen. Nobody is happy about that loss, but they're also not letting it affect how they move forward to their next game.

@ililly31.bsky.social asks, "Special teams hasn't seemed as special this season as it was last season despite Shaheed remaining with the team. What does the team attribute that to?"

A: The Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season in no small part due to their play on special teams, and while they've hardly been bad in that phase of the game this year, they haven't been as good as a year ago and lived up to their own standards. Kick coverage hasn't been quite as sharp, and there has not yet been a game-changing big return—though that's not fair to pin just on Rashid Shaheed, successful returns are a team effort—and Macdonald wants to see his team improve in that phase of the game.

"To put it plainly, it's not good enough," Macdonald said when asked about his team's special teams play. "There're things process-wise that we can improve on. We've talked about this throughout training camp, and really since we got here, but a Seahawk play needs to look like a Seahawk play. There are plays on tape that we're not doing that.

"The standard is higher on special teams here. We've proven that, and the guys will get it right, but there's definitely a sense of urgency to make it look like us and play our style of ball on."

From Twitter

@MrEd315 asks, "In your opinion, was the loss to the Commanders a plain old fashioned letdown or was it something else?"

A: I really think it was just the case of football being an unpredictable sport and of every team in the NFL being good enough to win, as the saying goes, on any given Sunday. If there was noticeable lethargy or lack of effort, that'd be one thing, but the Seahawks played hard, and did a lot of things really well, but they also committed three turnovers while failing to generate any. That's tough for any team to overcome, no matter how talented.

A: @Eaguilar_14 asks, "Why do we suck in goal-to-go situations this season?"

A: The Seahawks haven't been as bad as people might think in the red zone this season. They haven't been great, but they're middle of the pack, scoring touchdowns on 58.3 percent of red zone trips, which ranks 18th in the league, and they were 4 for 5 on Sunday. The one they didn't get, however, points to what has been a problem, and that is the ability to run the ball near the goal line. The Seahawks have had empty red zone trips in each of their past two games in large part because they haven't been able to punch it in from near the end zone. Macdonald and offensive coordinator Brian Fleury both know that's an issue and it will no doubt be something they look at this week and beyond. Getting Charbonnet back, whenever that happens, will no doubt help given how successful he has been as a red-zone finisher for the Seahawks in the past.

@garry_viles asks, "Why do Seahawks fans on social media panic at the first sign of adversity?"

A: Because it's social media, Garry. Because it's social media.

But also, it's OK for fans to be upset. Being invested in your favorite team is part of what makes sports so important to so many people, so losses hurt, falling short of expectations hurts. That being said, it's also helpful to keep things in perspective and avoid letting wins and losses have too big of an effect on one's happiness. And, by the way, it was the Seahawks' first loss in 10 months after a 12-game winning streak that included WINNING THE FREAKIN' SUPER BOWL. So yeah, let's maybe not panic just yet.

@SeanO_PNW asks, "Best Pearl Jam album of the last 20 years?"

A: I thought this question looked familiar, and it turns out Sean asked a very similar one last year, asking me to rank Pearl Jam's four most recent albums, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton and Dark Matter, which are also their albums that have come out in the last 20 years. The challenge, of course, is that this leaves off Pearl Jam's earlier and more popular albums like Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, Yield and No Code. A year ago, I went with Dark Matter, followed by Backspacer, Lightning Bolt then Gigaton, so I'll stick with that list. And if you want a WAY too thorough breakdown, including polling a few of the biggest Pearl Jam fans I know, check out last year’s mailbag that addressed this topic.

@BIGEFATS asks, "Have we learned our lesson on not kicking field goals yet?" And @wenfot asks, "Why do we keep going for it on fourth down instead of taking the field goal?"

A: I'm old enough to remember when fans were upset with Pete Carroll about being too conservative on fourth down, and now we want more kicking?

Kidding aside, I understand where fans are coming from, especially in a two-point loss, but it's not as simple as saying the Seahawks would have won had they kicked that field goal. One reason coaches, Macdonald included, are willing to go for it more often deep in the red zone is that, quite often, if the team doesn't convert, good defenses can get quick stops, especially because offenses tend to be more conservative when backed up near their own end zone, resulting in a punt and great field position.

That's what happened on Sunday, with the Commanders going three-and-out, and the Seahawks using that field position to get a field goal. Now, the defense unfortunately couldn't get a stop after that, resulting in a swap of late-half field goals, but had the Seahawks kicked the field goal on fourth down earlier, they likely aren't getting the ball back again that half, Washington would have better field position after the kickoff, and with more time would have had a better shot at a field goal or even a touchdown to end the half. So at best, it was probably a wash, and at worst, the Commanders use the two minutes they would have had to go score a touchdown and build a bigger lead.

I almost always love going for it deep in the red zone with a great defense, the Seahawks just need to find ways to finish better when they do.

@RajeshP741877015 asks for clarity on what the 21-day practice window means for a player coming back from the physically unable to perform list or injured reserve?

A: This question is in reference to mentions of the 21-day window for Zach Charbonnet when he returns to practice. Understandably, a player coming back from a long time off might not be game ready immediately after returning to practice, so the rules allow for a player to practice for up to three weeks without counting towards the 53-man roster, but of course that player has to be added to the roster before he can play in a game. Once those 21 days are up, however, that player must be added to the roster or remain on the PUP list or IR for the rest of the season. Because of that, teams want to time up the return to practice window right so as to avoid having a player run out of time before he's game ready. So in the case of Charbonnet, if they think he'll need a longer ramp up period, they might want to wait a bit longer before starting that window, but, as Macdonald noted Monday, they could still decide to have Charbonnet return this week, which would be a good sign for him returning soon.