Seahawks must rely on leaders Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, K.J. Wright
The Seahawks are up against it. Again.
The team that must run to give their iffy offensive line a fair chance to protect Russell Wilson throwing the ball has lost its top three running backs. Chris Carson (fractured hip) and C.J. Prosise (broken arm) got season-ending injuries in Seattle’s woeful, 27-13 home loss to eliminated Arizona.
No. 2 back Rashaad Penny is already on injured reserve. And Pro Bowl veteran left tackle Duane Brown is having knee surgery Monday.
The Seahawks (11-4) lost their prime chance at home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as the conference’s top seed next month. A wild card and first-round playoff game at Philadelphia look more likely than it has all season. In fact, they are home underdogs to San Francisco (12-3) in Sunday night’s NFC West title game at CenturyLink Field.
Yet Bobby Wagner says he, linebacker K.J. Wright and Wilson are relying upon their seniority and shared experiences to lead their seemingly debilitated team against the 49ers. And in the playoffs Seattle has already clinched.
“I’ve been in—me, myself, K.J., you know, Russ—we’ve been in a lot of situations, good and bad at the end of the season,” Wagner said.
“In 2013, it was a similar situation. And it turned out pretty well for us.
“So, at the end of the day it’s your mindset. You take in this loss. You let it feel the way you are going to feel from it. But after that you move forward, because that team that’s coming in next week don’t care what happened (Sunday). They are just coming in wanting to get a win and wanting to get a bye.
“So you let this game sink in for a second, move on—and then you come ready next week.”
In 2013 Wagner referenced, Arizona came into Seattle and upset the 12-2 Seahawks. That Seahawks team rebounded the following week to blowout the Rams at home. Then Seattle beat New Orleans, San Francisco and Denver to win Super Bowl 48.
That team, of course, had Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Bruce Irvin, Marshawn Lynch, Doug Baldwin, Max Unger and other veteran stars.
These Seahawks are not nearly as talented nor accomplished over multiple seasons. It has three younger-than-those-guys starters injured, their statuses in question for Sunday night’s showdown with the 49ers: cornerback Shaquill Griffin (hamstring), top pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney (core) and key free safety Quandre Diggs (hamstring).
Seattle has no running game, other than rookie back Travis Homer. He got his first carries in the offense of his NFL career just last week in the win at Carolina.
The Seahawks are shopping for back-fills behind Homer, but veterans available at Christmas of any NFL season are either old, broken or old and broken.
The lack of the running game to support him left Wilson exposed to the Cardinals’ pass rush.
Once Carson went out injured, Chandler Jones had four of Arizona’s five sacks Sunday. It was the first time in Wilson’s eight-year career one player had four sacks of him in any game. Jones had six of the Cardinals’ seven hits on Wilson. Wilson had just 16 completions for 169 yards passing, both seasons lows. The Seahawks’ 224 total yards of offense were another season low.
The Cardinals’ constant pressure on Wilson prevented him from throwing the ball down the field; only three of his completions Sunday went to wide receivers. Top rookie pass catcher DK Metcalf had no receptions.
So, yes, the Seahawks are relying on the leadership of Wagner, Wilson and Wright having been here before to get them through Sunday night against the 49ers, a division title and a home playoff game.
Though maybe not quite this short-handed as their team is right now.
“Before this game everybody was talking about how we were one of the best teams in the NFC,” Wilson said after the fourth loss in five years to the Cardinals in Seattle. “Now things are probably going to change. It’s part of just the media process, right? You can’t go with the waves.
“We didn’t play great. It’s like going to the gym. Sometimes you go up to bat and sometimes you go 0 for 4. Sometimes you go to the gym and try to shoot and the ball is not going in. But if you believe in yourself and you believe in who we are and what we have been able to do all year and to even get to this point where we are to be fighting for the NFC West, there’s a reason why we have been there all year.
“And we do have to get some guys healthier and everything else. That’s a factor. But I think that ultimately we play a little cleaner, play a little sharper, get rid of it, and in terms of this game, it’s one of those things that you have to move on.
“That’s the only option. That’s what we have always done and nothing else is going to change. So we’ll make sure of that.
“And I think that adversity is temporary. That’s the reality. Adversity is temporary. And you just have to answer back and respond.”
Wilson is 31-7 following an in-season loss in his career. That’s the NFL’s best such record since the 1970 merger with the AFL.
He’s the winningest quarterback in the league in regular-season games in November, December and January since 2012, with 49 victories and 19 losses.
Wilson is 7-0 at home against the 49ers in his career.
With what they don’t have on offense right now, it may be Wilson or bust for the Seahawks from here on out this season.
“Everything comes down to the final week of the season,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re fortunate that we have a chance to play for the division this late in the year.
“What’s important for us is to be disciplined about this so that we can turn our focus to that week, and not be affected by what just happened. We do that really well. It’s already started, and the mentality has to go to getting on.
“We are going to figure out a way. We are going to use all of the same tools that we use all the time, mentally, to make sure we can be disciplined about it and turn our focus on the challenge. Our guys do a remarkable job of doing that.
“So, people who question their ability to do it can’t believe when we do it. We’ll try to show you and prove it.”
Then Carroll hinted at why Las Vegas oddsmakers have the 49ers as a three-point favorite in Seattle for Sunday night. The Niners beat the Rams Saturday night at home on the final play. San Francisco is playing for the possible No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
“The 49ers look awesome. They’re playing great football. They had a great win last week,” Carroll said. “It will be as great a test as we could play.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t go into it with momentum. But we’re going to recreate it here during the week.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 6:54 AM.
