If foes know it’s pass, Russell Wilson has little chance to throw deep... And about Rashaad Penny’s day

Check-down passes. Roll outs and throws to the sideline. Screens.

Just about everything except throwing the ball down the field.

This is the way it apparently has to be for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ passing game this season.

Sunday’s frantic, 36-31 loss to the 9-1 Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum showed again Seattle’s offensive line, while improved, cannot consistently protect Wilson for long enough for the quarterback to make big plays down the field. Not when the defense knows he has to throw it, such as on third downs or while behind by two scores in the fourth quarter.

Wilson had just 61 yards passing on eight completions into the fourth quarter. He didn’t eclipse 100 yards in the air until 5 minutes remained, when he completed a 16-yard pass to David Moore to get Seattle out of its own end.

Only a frantic finish of scrambles, throws and playground football on every down in the final 5 minutes while trying to come back from a 36-24 deficit got Wilson’s numbers to look like something close to 21st Century NFL football instead of the 1925 Canton Bulldogs. He finished 17 for 26 for 176 yards and three touchdowns.

He got sacked four times for the second consecutive weeks. Both time have come when the Chargers and now the Rams knew Wilson was going to throw.

The offensive line didn’t suddenly become fantastic pass blockers from late September through October when Wilson enjoyed the time to throw the ball deep down the field on play-action passes. It was that the Seahawks were running so well and staying ahead in games that they were doing less of what their line is worst at: pass blocking.

Wilson’s perfect quarterback rating of 14-for-17 passing for 248 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the runaway win at Detroit last month is the prime example of that. Seattle was never down by more than one score early in that game, and the Lions never knew when the Seahawks were about to throw.

Sunday’s four sacks by the Rams happened even though the Seahawks were improbably romping without lead back Chris Carson and plowing guard D.J. Fluker for 273 yards on the ground, their most ever in a defeat.

When the Rams knew the Seahawks were going to throw, Wilson had next to no chance at getting the time necessary to throw deep down the field. The only pass he completed in the game’s first 54 minutes longer than 8 yards was the 23-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett in the third quarter.

On the game’s decisive play, Rams edge rusher Dante Fowler’s sack and forced fumble he recovered to set up L.A.’s clinching score, Fowler and the defense knew the Seahawks were going to throw. That was even though it was third and 3 from the Seattle 32, with 6 minutes left and the Seahawks trailing 29-24.

Why? The Seahawks came out in an empty backfield. No running backs. From a team that was en route to almost 300 yards.

Fowler, the speedy outside rusher the Rams acquired in a trade last month from Jacksonville, didn’t need to read whether it was run or pass. He just took off past veteran left tackle Duane Brown and crashed into Wilson before the quarterback could release any pass.

“I got a good jump off the snap,” Fowler said.

No kidding. The ball fell to the turf for a fumble. It got kicked around including by Wilson before Fowler cradled the crucial recovery at the Seahawks 10-yard line.

The Rams scored a touchdown on the next play. They had their first two-score lead of the game with 5:55.

Game and Seahawks’ valiant upset bid over.

Carroll was asked if he (or more specifically play caller Brian Schottenheimer) regretted going no backs on the third-and-3, advertising to the Rams’ defensive front they the Seahawks were going to try to pass there.

“No, no,” Carroll said. “That shows the protection. That shows the pass rush.”

The coach said Wilson needed to step up there to avoid the rush. That coincides with Brown saying he thought he had made a good block and driven Fowler far enough up the field.

“We just needed one more step,” Carroll said. “One little quick step up, to be more coordinated.

“That’s a great pass rush by Fowler.”

Wilson said he was trying to throw the ball down the field when Fowler just made a great play.

The quarterback acknowledged the Rams’ relentless pass rush limited what he and the Seahawks’ offense could even attempt to do down the field.

“Their pass rush is pretty legit, obviously,” Wilson said. “They have four, five first-round draft picks up front.

“They bring a lot of pressure, especially on third downs. They were able to make some plays there, unfortunately.”

No turnovers again

Entering last week’s home game against the Chargers the Seahawks were feasting on takeaways. They were second in the NFL in turnover margin at plus-10, and had forced 16 turnovers. That was a huge reason Seattle had won four of five games.

The last two weeks, Seattle’s defense has produced zero turnovers. The Seahawks have lost both games to put their season at a tipping point at 4-5 entering Thursday night’s home game against Green Bay.

“That’s as big a factor as anything,” Carroll said. “If we had been plus-1 (Sunday), we would have won. Look at our numbers. They bear that out. They have for 20 years, or something.

“That’s the No. 1 thing. We’ve got to get on the positive side of turnover ratio.”

The Seahawks almost had a huge turnover defending the red zone in the fourth quarter. The defensive line crashed in on Rams quarterback Jared Goff and forced him to throw early an inside, almost shovel pass to running back Todd Gurley. Gurley wasn’t ready for the pass, and the ball went off his hands into the air at about the Seahawks’ 10-yard line. Big defensive tackle Jarran Reed, for whom receiving passes is not exactly a specialty, just missed grabbing the deflection; the ball landed a foot or so beyond his reach incomplete.

The Rams kicked a field goal two plays later to extend its lead to 29-24 with 7:34 remaining.

“We just have to get the ball,” Carroll said.

Penny romps—then vanishes

Rashaad Penny zoomed off left end for 38 yards on the Seahawks’ second possession of the game, behind a crunching block by wide receiver David Moore outside. Then on the next snap the rookie bounced an inside-zone play outside from left around right end and outran all the Rams to the end zone for an 18-yard TD. Just like that, the rookie frustrated for months by not getting chances had arrived.

Then, he vanished.

Penny had only one other carry in the first half, for no gain on a fruitless 2-minute drive past midfield late in the second quarter. Mike Davis got nine rushes in the half, for 50 yards.

Penny said he inactivity after finally producing that got in his head a little bit.

“Definitely. When you don’t get that many opportunities, you know, you look going in like, ‘Man, I can’t do any of these things because I just need the opportunity to,’” Penny said.

“That’s just me being young. I feel like I’ve grown up the last two to three weeks. I have to say, once my opportunity comes, just go out and ball.”

Penny finished with 108 yards—on just 12 carries.

Carroll admitted afterward: “We’ve been on him, hard.

“He looked great today.”

Wright wrong

K.J. Wright started the game, his third straight start since making his season debut following knee surgery in August. But the 29-year-old Pro Bowl outside linebacker had to leave the game. Barkevious Mingo played most of the game as Seattle went with five defensive backs and two linebackers, Mingo and Bobby Wagner.

“He just didn’t feel great once he got going,” Carroll said.

The Seahawks have just three days of preparation before playing again, Thursday at home against Green Bay.

Carroll said Carson and Fluker were close to playing Sunday, an indication both will be back.

Strong safety Bradley McDougald (sore knee for weeks) had been questionable to play along with Wright, Carson and Fluker. McDougald started but left in the first half. Second-year man Delano Hill replaced him, then Hill went off the field slowly with a doctor after a hard hit in the second half. McDougald came back in, and eventually finished the game.

Carroll said McDougald came out of Sunday’s game OK. McDougald said on his way to the team bus out of the Coliseum that he was fine.

Dickson booms again

Rookie Michael Dickson continues to wow teammates, his coaches, opponents, even opposing fans with his punting.

Seattle’s fifth-round draft choice rocketed a 68-yard punt in the air on his first attempt Sunday, in the second quarter. He let it go from about his own 15-yard line, and it soared to the Rams 10. I heard the “BOOM!” sound the ball made coming off his foot from the Coliseum press box.

It was the second-longest punt of Dickson’s brief career. The only longer was 69 yards in his first NFL game Sept. 9—at an elevation of 5,200 feet at mile-high Denver.

Dickson also had a 57-yard punt the Seahawks’ coverage team downed at the Rams 13-yard line. He finished with a 47.7-yard net average.

The league-best net average last season was 45.9, by Tennessee.

Dickson continues to be an all-purpose weapon the likes the Seahawks have never had before him. Last month of course he daringly—foolishly—took off running for a first down out of his own end zone late to preserve a two-score win at Detroit. That earned him the unforgettable nickname “Big Balls Dickson.”

Sunday, Carroll also used Dickson to skip a drop-kicked kickoff with 1:56 remaining. The ball skipped at the Los Angeles 20-yard line to the 13 before the Rams returned it 12 yards.

This story was originally published November 11, 2018 at 8:03 PM.