Chris Carson rewards Pete Carroll’s trust with reassuring day in Seahawks rout of Arizona
Chris Carson had a LeBron James-era Cleveland Cavaliers cap pulled low down over his eyes on his way out of the desert.
That fit. Carson has become The King of the Seahawks’ running game again.
Not that he ever relinquished that crown. Not as long as Pete Carroll is his coach.
Doubted across the Northwest from Bend to British Columbia after four lost fumbles in three games, Carson gave the most reassuring performance of his three seasons as Seattle’s lead running back Sunday at Arizona.
He hunched over the ball as he ran, with two arms and hands securing it as if it was sacred, and only his. The careful, yet not cautious, Carson romped through the Cardinals for 104 yards on 22 carries, plus 41 more yards on four receptions.
Passes. Hand-offs. His lead job. Carson held onto everything in the Seahawks’ 27-10 victory.
Including Carroll’s trust.
“I’m just lucky to have a coach, and coaching staff, and teammates like this,” Carson said.
“They’ve always supported me, worked with me in practice, to make sure I am getting ready holding onto the ball. Never shying away from (having) me on the field.
“It’s just great to have guys like that.”
Carson had lost another fumble the previous weekend that the Saints returned for a touchdown to put the Seahawks behind for good in their home loss. That was one week after his fumble missing a hand-off exchange with Russell Wilson let the Steelers back into what should have been an easier Seattle win in Pittsburgh. And that was after Carson lost the ball early in the second half Sept. 8 to get the Bengals back in the opening game, a one-point Seahawks win.
Through it all, Carroll professed his unwavering belief in his seventh-round draft choice from 2017, whom the coach has loved for his punishing running since his first practices in the NFL. He didn’t bench Carson so much as he gave him a three-play timeout last week against New Orleans. C.J. Prosise had three rushes while Carson stood on the sidelines.
Carson finished that game. Then all last week, Carroll answered questions about his top back’s fumbling issues.
Carroll had a final answer to that following Sunday’s redemption; Carson’s 145 yards rushing and receiving were the second-most combined yards of his career (he had 148 last Dec. 16 at the 49ers, 119 on the ground and 29 receiving).
“I think the guy I am most excited for is Chris,” Carroll said. “I thought Chris Carson had a great game. Sent a message about his style of play. And our style of play riding on his shoulders was really obvious today.
“It was really more about what he brings to us.”
Asked how Carson, Seattle’s 1,100-yard runner last season for the NFL’s top rushing offense, responded all last week to the focus on his fumbles the coach said: “He responded just like you’d think he would. He’s a stud of a player. He’s a great competitor. He’s got style and toughness and all that.
“Really, I’d like to think it’s emblematic of the way we want to play. He just came through and did what he’s capable of doing.”
Carroll wasn’t the only Seahawk supporting Carson this past week.
“I told him earlier this week, on Monday, I said: ‘You know, Walter Payton’s fumbled before, too,’” Wilson said.
“We didn’t have to say much,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “He knows how big a part he is of our team and our offense. He knows that we have all the faith in the world in him.
“He’s a competitor. And today he displayed what he’s capable of. ...He might have a couple rough patches with the fumbles, but we never lost faith in him. And he knows that.
“When he goes like that, our offense is a lot more explosive and dangerous.”
Exactly.
Beyond just plain liking the guy, Carroll’s faith in Carson is rooted in necessity. For Seattle’s offense and thus its season to go the way it wants, for the offensive line to mitigate its pass-protection issues, Carson must be the champion of Carroll’s run-based philosophy.
Yes, the Seahawks drafted running back Rashaad Penny in the first round last year; that was because Carson has yet to stay injury-free for an entire season since junior college. But Penny was unavailable for the second consecutive game Sunday because of a hamstring injury. Carroll hopes to have him Thursday night for the NFC West showdown with the defending champion Los Angeles Rams (3-1) at CenturyLink Field.
C.J. Prosise is a third-down back suitable for third-down catches, not bell-cow running. The former Notre Dame wide receiver had 4 yards on three rushes Sunday against the same Cardinals Carson shredded. And the other running back active for the Arizona game, rookie Travis Homer, is nowhere near ready to run in the offense on more than an emergency basis.
Carson is Seattle’s guy. As if Sunday didn’t make that even more obvious.
“There were some freaky things that happened,” Carroll said of Carson’s fumbles this month. “If you look at the plays that happened before, there were some freaky things with how they got the ball away from him. And that’s just not going to happen (regularly).
“I was convinced Chris was going to just put it away.
“And he did.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 8:14 PM.
