Seahawks start fast, hold on with injuries in 30-24 win at Carolina, back in NFC lead
Tyler Lockett flashed a look at his questioner that said, “Are you kidding me?”
His return to the Seahawks’ offense with eight catches on nine targets for 120 yards and a touchdown Sunday was a strong indication he was all the way back from his severely bruised shin that had him in a Bay Area hospital for two nights in mid-November and then playing with a nasty flu for two more weeks.
“I mean, I still feel sick,” Lockett said, sniffling at his locker. “I mean, I’m still taking medicine ... I feel better. I’m just ready to get this sickness out the way.”
And the shin?
“Still lingering,” he said.
It didn’t show. He and Russell Wilson stunned the sinking Carolina Panthers early. They buried them late.
Lockett’s theft of a catch, ripping the ball away from a defender for a 44-yard gain, set up Wilson’s first score, a touchdown pass to DK Metcalf that put Seattle ahead 13-0. Then it was another episode of Wilson to Lockett at the Improv, off a scramble and altered route for the clinching first down late. That ensured the Seahawks endured injuries and illness to six defensive starters, plus the offense vanishing for the middle two quarters, to win 30-24 and stay on track to win the NFC West.
The Seahawks (11-3) clinched a playoff berth in the conference when Dallas beat the Los Angeles Rams 37-7 later Sunday.
Then San Francisco (11-3) lost in the final 2 seconds at home to Atlanta. That means the Seahawks are back in first place in the NFC West, by virtue of beating the Niners last month. Seattle could lose to Arizona (4-9-1) at home next Sunday and still win the division by beating the 49ers at home Dec. 29.
“We can control our own destiny,” Wilson said.
Indeed, if the Seahawks win their final two regular-season games, both at CenturyLink Field, Seattle will not only win the division and a first-round bye, they will be the NFC’s top seed and have home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
The only three times Seattle has reached the Super Bowl in franchise history it has been after having home-field advantage in the NFC.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Wilson said. “We have two tough division games. We’re going to need all the 12s there ready to roll, and we know they will.
“It’s an exciting time.”
Wilson completed 20 of 26 passes for 286 yards, two scores and a sterling passer rating of 137.7. Chris Carson rushed 24 times for a career-high 133 yards as the Seahawks finished a team-record 7-1 on the road this regular season.
The bigger development was Lockett being back central to the offense. That meant a return to big plays for the Seahawks after getting next to none the previous week in losing to the Rams.
“I was really excited to see Tyler Lockett get back in action and really be a factor,” coach Pete Carroll said. “You can see how Russ maneuvers and makes stuff happen because he and Tyler are just phenomenal together. And, really, it’s been a while. Tyler’s been working his way back, and you could see it ...
“So, it’s great to have him back because we are going to need him to finish up.”
Lockett’s re-emergence after a month of being hurt, hospitalized then sick was one key development from Sunday’s first half when the Seahawks scored touchdowns on their first three drives for the first time since Nov. 22, 2015, against San Francisco.
The other: Josh Gordon still has his deep game.
Catching the ball, that is. Definitely not throwing it.
Early in the second quarter, after the Panthers responded to Seattle’s quick start to cut the lead to 13-7, Gordon ran a deep post route. It was his first chance down the field after four games and six catches off short slant and out routes. The 2013 All-Pro wide receiver showed that Carroll and the Seahawks might have been right when they were the only one of 27 NFL teams to claim him off waivers from New England Nov. 1.
Gordon leaped and stretched himself parallel to the grass to catch Wilson heave for a wowing, 58-yard gain.
“You see that catch?” Lockett said, marveling. “That was big time.”
Carroll called it “as good a catch as you could ever see.”
It set up Wilson’s 19-yard touchdown flip to Lockett when the Panthers did not cover Seattle’s leading receiver down the right sideline on a simple out-and-up move.
It was one of four touchdowns on which the Panthers (5-9, losers of six straight games) did not seem to be invested much.
Carson ran for two touchdowns, bulling through Panthers for scores because he simply wanted it more. Metcalf’s touchdown in the first quarter? Same thing. Just wanted the ball in the air more than cornerback Donte Jackson.
After the 20 quick points on three drives early, the offense vanished: three punts, a halftime kneel-down and Gordon’s baffling interception on a pass the 2013 All-Pro wide receiver woefully underthrew to Metcalf.
The Seahawks tried to trick the Panthers with a reverse to Gordon, who then cocked back and chucked the second pass of his career.
It should be his last.
“His pick sucked,” Carroll said, bluntly.
Defense resumes takeaways
The reason the Seahawks won despite the offense disappearing for half the game?
The defense resumed getting turnovers, despite missing five injured starters and eventually a sixth when All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner left with a sprained ankle with 7 minutes to go.
The Seahawks forced erractic Kyle Allen, making his 12th start since Carolina lost Cam Newton to a season-ending foot injury, into three interceptions.
Thing is: Seattle won’t be facing Allen and his fallen Panthers in the upcoming playoffs.
Wagner and Quandre Diggs became the latest defensive starters hurt.
The All-Pro linebacker slipped and landed awkwardly onto his bent, lower right leg in the fourth quarter. Wagner went to the medical tent behind Seattle’s bench for observation.
He emerged to watch his defense that looked more worthy of a preseason game — missing six injured starters at that point — allow two touchdowns by the Panthers in 1:39 during extended garbage time.
He said following the game he was “fine.”
Carroll said Diggs’ sprained ankle is potentially more serious.
The battered defense began the day with four starters inactive because of injuries and illness.
The defense at the unnecessarily dramatic end included Ugo Amadi, felllow rookies Cody Barton (who took over Wagner’s play calling after the star’s injury) and Ben Burr-Kirven, plus Shaquem Griffin and Akeem King.
K.J. Wright got two interceptions in the third quarter. He had three in his first nine seasons entering Sunday.
“That’s a good stat,” the longest-tenured Seahawk said. “I actually had a dream (Saturday night) that I would get two interceptions.”
Allen’s third interception was when defensive tackle Jarran Reed wasn’t fooled on a bootleg fake handoff and pressured Allen into a poor throw Wright intercepted deep in Panthers’ territory.
Yet the offense managed only a field goal by Jason Myers off that, after Carroll changed his mind from going for the first down during a time out.
Those were the only three points Seattle scored off Allen’s three interceptions.
Two calls help Seattle
The game should have been 41-10 Seahawks but was only 23-10 entering the fourth quarter. The offense kept squandering chances.
Then again, two fortunate rulings in Seattle’s favor, correct by letter of the law though nevertheless lucky for the Seahawks, kept them comfortably ahead into the second half.
The Seahawks’ defense overran gaps laterally and looked chaotic while out of positions on a drive by the Panthers that got them back in the game down 13-7 in the second quarter. Carolina used wide-receiver fly sweeps and direct snaps to them in motion to stretch Seattle’s defense across, then used McCaffrey running vertically in those gaps, including on his 1-yard touchdown run.
Then the Seahawks’ offense had a third and 4 at the Carolina 19. Wilson got swarmed and sacked by former Seahawk Bruce Irvin. Panthers teammate Stacy McGee knocked the ball away from Wilson and Carolina’s Mario Addison recovered the fumble. But officials flagged Panthers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy for lining up offside at the snap. Seattle kept possession and even got a first down with the gift penalty.
Two plays later, Lockett ran down the right sideline alone to the goal line. Wilson lofted an easy pass for the touchdown and a 20-7 lead for the Seahawks.
Then late in the second quarter, the Seahawks had a third and long at its own 2-yard line. Play caller Brian Schottenheimer went with a white-flag choice: run C.J. Prosise off tackle to punt and play defense with a two-score lead. But Prosise, the new number-two running back behind Carson with Rashaad Penny now on injured reserve with a severe knee injury, tripped over his own feet at the end of his short gain. He lost the ball, too, and the Panthers recovered at the Seattle 15. The one thing the Seahawks were trying to avoid with the play call, a turnover deep in its own end to get Carolina back in the game, happened anyway with Prosise’s trip and fumble.
But upon a splitting-hairs replay review, NFL officiating supervisor Al Riveron in New York ruled Carolina’s Irvin barely touched perhaps a spike of Prosise’s cleat on the running back’s way to the turf after he tripped. By rule, Prosise was down by contact, and the Seahawks kept possession and punted instead.
In the fourth quarter, in the red zone, Seahawks coaches showed what they thought of Prosise’s misplay: rookie Travis Homer got his first carries for the offense in his career.
After Prosise’s near giveaway, Wagner made an All-Pro play. The middle linebacker ran down field deeper off of his intended coverage and stole the arriving pass from Allen to wide receiver Chris Hogan. The interception at the Seahawks 26-yard line kept Seattle ahead 20-7 at halftime.
Ford tough
Poona Ford continued his second season of doing far more than just stopping runs, as he did as an undrafted rookie last year.
Ford stormed in on Allen in the third quarter and tipped a pass that Wright caught for his first interception.
Coaches have been using Ford more in pass-rush situations this season, a reward for his standout play as a gap-controlling defensive tackle on early downs in 2018.
He added a tackle for loss Sunday on a second surge into the Panthers’ backfield.
This story was originally published December 15, 2019 at 1:15 PM.
