Don’t think they were bad genetics, root is strong and healthy, maybe seed was buried too deep and soil above too thick and heavy while being dumped with water. It is a good thing to put horizontally the seed and slightly cover it, it’s a delicate stage and every help you can give it is worth.
I think timer begins when the seed sprouts, that’s why I don’t like autos, you cannot recover them and you lose yield if you fail in some way, time is running out … 