THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The rundown on Seahawks getting run over

Let’s say the NFL playoffs are an exclusive club, and entrance requires an engraved invitation.

The Seahawks apparently tried to get in with some fake credentials — but then were dragged out to the parking lot for a beating handed out by a mob of goons dressed as Raiders and Panthers.

I dare you to say that isn’t how it looks.

Or even more relevant to the issue today …

It’s looked like that through four games now, as the Bucs (6-7), Raiders (5-8), Rams (4-9) and Panthers (5-8) all have pounded Seattle at the line of scrimmage, simply slapping them around with running games that the Seahawks absolutely could not stop.

And by the way, the Hawks weren’t exactly facing the ghosts of Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith.

Scrolling through the rosters of those four teams, you can perhaps make the case that Vegas brute Josh Jacobs is one of the league’s premier running backs.

Everyone else?

Well, we basically saw some everyday runners race through gaping holes, escape several defenders who couldn’t get off blocks and evade a few more who simply missed tackles.

It was as ugly as a New York sewer.

YEAH, THE Seahawks somehow managed to win a game in the midst of that murderer’s row, beating the crippled Rams courtesy of Geno Smith’s last-minute heroics.

The others were all richly deserved defeats, and have left Seattle at 7-6 — out of the current playoff picture.

If you’re thinking it’s time to rally, good luck.

The brass-knuckles 49ers (9-4) come to Lumen Field on Thursday night, fresh off a 35-7 battering of Tampa Bay behind their third-string quarterback.

Wow, that ought to be fun.

After that, the Seahawks breeze over to Kansas City for a dance with the 10-3 Chiefs.

In the immortal words of Jim Mora …

“Playoffs? PLAYOFFS???”

Believe it or not, there is some good news here.

No, it’s not the Seahawks’ running game, which (as a separate problem) has ceased to function entirely.

Seattle is now down to Geno Smith trying to produce miracles when he isn’t running for his life.

Oh, but that good news …

Denver remains totally helpless, and now has tumbled to 3-10 — meaning those draft picks the Seahawks stole in the Russell Wilson trade are getting better and better.

But, brother, they’ll be needed.

Big time.

A few months ago, there was an assumption that Seattle would use the Broncos’ first pick for a quarterback.

Hah!

That seems like a light years ago.

Right now, quarterback is pretty much one of the few positions that will NOT be on the draft board.

Nope, Seattle must use choice after choice after choice on huge, fast, angry young gentlemen who can uproot mountains, and …

People.

Defensive linemen aren’t sexy picks, but imagine a 335-pound bruiser with quick feet and good hands who can OWN the line of scrimmage.

Even this past Sunday, Seattle seriously missed the injured Al Woods in the middle of the defensive line — where the Panthers kept running with wild abandon.

Eventually, the Hawks must find a whole platoon of earth-movers to stop getting gang-stomped by every running game that comes to town.

THE ODD thing about this total capitulation over the past four games is that the Seahawks had played sound, tough, physical football in the four games prior to that.

So, what’s happened?

Naturally they’re biased, but several members of this now-scarred defensive unit believe the talent is there to do the job — and, yes, they proved it during that four-game winning streak.

There’s always the possibility teams back then didn’t realize how weak Seattle could be against a determined running attack, and just let the Hawks off the hook.

But, just in case that’s not true …

Why can’t they stop anybody now?

“We’ve just got to get off blocks,” linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. “We’ve got to make tackles when we have the opportunity to wrap somebody up, myself included, and get guys down on the ground.”

Yep, that would help.

The Seahawks certainly seem to CARE about this ongoing disaster.

“They ran the same play over and over and over again,” safety Quandre Diggs said of Carolina.

“At some point, you’ve just got to take a stand and go, ‘I’m gonna take my shot right here.’ That’s what it’s got to be.

“It’s tough to see. It’s not that guys don’t want to. We’ve just got to do it consistently.”

Safety Ryan Neal was more direct.

“It was super frustrating — f---king unbelievable,” Neal said of Carolina’s game-sealing 68-yard drive — all but 5 yards on the ground.

“It makes you sick in the stomach. Stuff like that, I’m not going to sleep on that tonight, because that just irritates my soul.”

These hammerings no doubt irritate the hell out of the Seahawks coaching staff, as well.

For what it’s worth, game tapes don’t lie.

Coaches surely know by now if the problem is talent, or schemes, or …

Possibly …

Both.

Meantime, expect another punch in the mouth from the 49ers.

Will there be a response?

Let’s see.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday – with an occasional Sunday offering when the stars are properly aligned.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”