THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The needs are clear after that loss

Oh, brother.

The Seahawks got a lesson on Sunday night, and taking a beating looks every worse in those lime Jello uniforms.

They’re not yet among the NFL’s elite, as they learned when the Packers stormed into Lumen Field and punched them in the mouth.

The tip-off, really, came when Green Bay won the toss and defied the strategy you see in almost every game.

The Pack did not defer to the second half.

They took the ball to start the game, and we all learned why almost immediately.

They pounded out a crisp drive with Josh Jacobs and the Packer line hammering the Seahawks front seven, allowing QB Jordan Love to slip in the occasional easy completion.

Jacobs blasted in for the touchdown from a yard out and Seahawks fans were reduced to muttering: “Huh?”

What a statement the Packers made, adding another routine score to lead 14-0 in the first quarter.

Seattle has rallied from that kind of deficit before, but honestly, it never felt possible this time.

The Packers owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and honestly, they made it feel like a schoolyard game.

You remember, the tough guys always get picked first, and they always win, right?

GETTING beat up 30-13 (yes, a representative score) and dropping into a tie with the surging Rams in the NFC West was bad enough.

But losing quarterback Geno Smith to an ugly looking knee injury with 6:09 left in the third quarter just piled on the misery.

Backup Sam Howell gets some brownie points for hanging in there despite four sacks and a terrible interception.

Howell did maneuver the Hawks to a TD that cut the deficit to 23-13.

Sam didn’t exactly contribute much to that scoring drive, though.

Zach Charbonnet was mostly responsible for the Hawks’ lone TD, once again delivering some punishing runs and getting the score himself with a terrific 24-yard dash along the sideline.

Charbonnet looked great on the heels of his big performance at Arizona, and he’s become a gem for the Seahawks going forward.

Zach was one of the few bright spots for Seattle in a game that got out of reach immediately.

It’s weird to say that, since NFL teams rally from behind every week, but the Packer lines simply owned the line of scrimmage in the first half — and did what was necessary down the stretch once Mike Macdonald and his staff has made some useful changes.

Macdonald does get credit for moving the defensive chess pieces around to the point that the Seahawks, who gave up points on every Green Bay possession of the first half, forced the Pack to punt four times in second half — along with forcing a fumble from Jacobs and then, late in the game, stuffing him on a fourth-and-2 at the Seattle 39.

Unfortunately, Howell was as rusty as you’d expect.

He threw 14 times and completed five, but not to great effect — as most of his throws were rushed, off balance, or uncatchable.

HOWELL eventually threw a game-clinching interception to Edgerrin Cooper, the Pack’s aggressive young linebacker.

Cooper was also the player who injured Smith with a low tackle that was just barely legal.

So, what do we take from this affair besides counting the bruises?

Well, the defense has the tools to be elite down the road.

The Seahawks will add more depth, and Macdonald clearly has a special touch with that group — which the second half proved.

However, there’s a hard truth on the other side of the ball.

They’re going to need another quarterback sometime soon.

Geno is 34, and his flaws more or less counter his strengths, which isn’t the equation needed for a team hoping to reach a Super Bowl.

There are also couple of spots on the offensive line that need to be upgraded and they’re going to be short of receivers soon — but look, John Schneider’s main challenge in building a true challenger will be finding a quarterback.

There are retreads who can be developed into winners if they have talent, as the Vikings have proven with both Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold.

That brings us back to the big question: Can Schneider and Macdonald find a quarterback somewhere?

The Geno Smith era is coming to an end.

Time for Schneider to create some magic.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

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