How can Seahawks rookie Travis Homer get involved? How about fake punts and fumble recoveries
The play call was gutsy, but Seattle Seahawks rookie Travis Homer was prepared. He’d practiced this exact situation all week, he said.
So when the Seahawks, holding a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter, were looking to close the door on Minnesota on Monday night at CenturyLink Field, Homer felt ready for the assignment.
“We were just waiting for the opportunity,” Homer said. “When it was finally (there), everyone was excited.”
Facing a fourth-and-3 from their own 32 with 11:18 to play, the Seahawks predictably sent out their punting unit. What happened next was much less predictable.
Instead of snapping the ball to punter Michael Dickson, the Seahawks opted to try for the first down behind their young, third-string running back. Homer snagged the ball just behind the line of scrimmage and scampered around the right end for 29 yards.
He wasn’t nervous when the play was called, he said, and was even more confident when he saw the defense shift the opposite direction. When the ball was snapped, Lano Hill and Jacob Hollister secured the edge, and fellow rookie Marquise Blair threw a block downfield as Homer easily picked up the first down.
“When the opportunity came up in the game, we just went for it,” Homer said. “We ran it like probably two, three times in a row sometimes (during the week). So we had a lot of practice. I’m just glad that everyone was able to do their job, and I appreciate them for that.”
It was an intriguing way to get Homer more involved. General manager John Schneider noted on his pregame radio show Monday the Seahawks have been looking for more ways to get the 21-year-old, sixth-round pick out of Miami more touches.
Against the Vikings that meant his first career rushing attempt at a key moment.
“See him get a carry is always good,” Seahawks running back Chris Carson said. “He’s a physical runner.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t go into detail on what led to the call, but was impressed with what Homer was able to produce.
“I sure liked the way it was executed,” Carroll said. “The guys did it beautifully, and the timing was exactly right. Great job by (special teams coordinator) Brian Schneider and (special teams assistant) Larry Izzo to come up with the idea and the thought of it, and for the guys to execute.
“That’s a lot of people involved in getting that done and a lot of communication.”
“We’re ready whenever,” Homer said. “We’ve got a relentless style. We’re going to keep hitting.”
The drive eventually ended in a turnover, but Homer’s fake punt conversion did help the Seahawks burn a bit more time off the clock, and he made one more big play in the finally moments that sealed Seattle’s win.
After a field goal gave the Seahawks a 37-30 lead with 25 seconds to play, Malik Turner forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Homer hopped on the ball.
“I just saw it, jumped on it and everyone just protected me,” Homer said. “I was just chilling. I was down there like, ‘Just hold onto the ball.’ ... Getting up, hearing everyone cheering, it was definitely a good feeling.”
“We just take great pride on special teams,” Carroll said. “That was just a fantastic play to end the ball game. We’re hawking the ball, and it’s coming out, and we’re getting some shots at it. We need to keep riding that.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 10:26 PM.
