Carlos Dunlap thanks Seahawks for saving his year. They are thanking his game-saving sacks
Carlos Dunlap was wearing a huge smile—and a blue-and-green, Seahawks Christmas Santa hat.
Sacka Claus.
“’Tis the season,” Seattle’s game-winning defensive end said, smiling again.
Dunlap spent the week on the sidelines at practices in Renton, resting his sprained foot and wearing a Seahawks bucket hat. Then he gets the second game-ending, game-saving sack in a month and a half. This one clinched the Seahawks’ eighth playoff berth in nine years.
After that, all of the Pacific Northwest will say Dunlap can wear whatever he wants.
On third down with 68 seconds left and Washington 28 yards from beating the Seahawks, Dunlap stormed in on Dwayne Haskins and dumped the quarterback for a 9-yard loss that effectively ended the game. Haskins’ final, Hail Mary heave on fourth and the Pentagon was incomplete.
Seattle 20, Washington 15—and Dunlap again making his trade from Cincinnati in midseason a heist for Seahawks general manager John Schneider.
After Russell Wilson told him to “we need a play,” Dunlap sent the Seahawks to their 10th win in 14 games. Teammates mobbed him on the field and again on the sideline, jumping on him like he was Amazon stock.
The two-time Pro Bowl defensive end wants to know what all the fuss over him is about.
“This is what I came here to do,” he said.
He threw his hands in the air at his side as if to say, “what’s the big deal?”
Asked about closing out two Seahawks win with sacks in his six games for Seattle, Dunlap referred to the late Kobe Bryant.
“That Mamba mentality,” he said.
“Game’s on the line, I want to be in to take that shot.”
Still, Dunlap is like Jamal Adams, the new teammate and former Jet who was shouting with joy over qualifying for the playoffs for his first time in the NFL. Dunlap hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016. He’s never won a playoff game.
The last postseason game Dunlap won was the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 2010, for Florida over Cincinnati. The University of Cincinnati.
“The Seahawks saved my season,” he said, shrugging under his team Santa hat. “I mean, I’d be preparing to go home for an offseason at this moment.
“The universe just wants me to win.”
At least the part of the universe that loves fun hats. And sacks that win games.
Sunday was the second time in his six games with Seattle Dunlap has effectively won a game with a walk-off sack. The first was Nov. 19, when he got Kyler Murray on fourth and 10 in Seahawks territory to end his team’s 28-21 win over then-first-place Arizona that then turned the NFC West in Seattle’s favor.
“I was healthy enough to go, and do what I’m here to do. Simple as that,” he said.
His latest heroics came after defensive line coach Clint Hurtt challenged Dunlap to be better than he was in the first half.
This was the first time since he sprained his foot Nov. 30 in Seattle’s win at Philadelphia that the coaches gave him more than cameo, situational work as a third-down pass rusher. He started that way at Washington, then late in the first quarter began staying on the field for every down, like he did before his injury.
He coaches were not pleased with what Dunlap was giving early on Sunday.
“He had mistakes and stuff like that.” Carroll said. “I thought Clint did a great job challenging him on the sidelines to go ahead and bring it.”
How was the foot?
“Adrenaline is one heck of a drug,” he said.
With the playoff berth at stake, with the Seahawks 28 yards from blowing a 20-3, third-quarter lead, Dunlap brought it.
“When we needed him most he really came through,” Carroll said, “in a big way.”
He’s been doing it since he got to Seattle.
In the first seven games, before acquiring Dunlap, the Seahawks had 12 sacks. That was among the fewest in the league, after finishing next to last in the NFL in sacks in 2019.
In the last seven games, since Dunlap’s Seattle debut, the Seahawks have 24 sacks. That’s 36 on the season. Before Sunday’s game all the talk was about Washington’s defense having 40 sacks, fourth-most in the league. Suddenly, thanks to Dunlap’s arrival, Seattle is only four sacks behind Washington.
The Seahawks have eight sacks more than they had all last season.
Dunlap has five sacks in six games for Seattle, including the two game winners.
General manager John Schneider’s trade for Dunlap at the end of October has changed how Seattle uses All-Pro safety Jamal Adams. That, in turn, has changed the defense.
Dunlap has made fellow end L.J. Collier better. The team’s first-round pick in 2019 had one sack in two seasons before Dunlap arrived. He’s doubled that in the last month and a half. Collier’s sack of Haskins on Washington’s next-to-last play Sunday set up Dunlap’s final, fourth-down sack.
Dunlap’s arrival has also made tackles Jarran Reed and Poona Ford better. Really, he’s revitalized the entire pass rush.
“He’s a powerful man, and his factor helps the other guys,” Carroll said. “It’s one those of cases where a good player helps the other players play better.
“He’s a real good factor for us.”
Real good? He’s transformed them.
Before, the Seahawks’ only consistent pressure on quarterbacks came on high-risk blitzes by Adams. That often left the back door of the defense open, with beaten-up cornerbacks vulnerable for big plays. Then, after all the huge pass plays early in the season, Seattle dropped farther off receivers to not get beaten deep. The coverage behind Adams’ constant blitzes was then often far off receivers. That resulted in huge gains from runs after catches on shorter routes.
Without a pass rush from their front four, the Seahawks were damned if they blitzed, damned if they didn’t. Through the first seven games Seattle was on pace to allow the most yards passing in NFL history. The defense overall was ranked last in the league.
Now? They have become almost damn good.
The Seahawks had been giving up 30 and 40 points per game in September and October. The last six games, Seattle has allowed the Rams to score just 23 points, Arizona 21, Philadelphia 16, the Giants 17, the Jets three points and Washington 15.
It was 20-3, then Washington rallied with two touchdowns.
Then Dunlap and the defense reawakened to put the Seahawks a win from the division title and being home to start the playoffs.
“We just let the guys (go), cut them loose and it just all of a sudden took life right out of them,” Carroll said. “It was a marvelous energy about them in the finish of the game. Gosh, just all we could have hope for.
“So, we’ve had a bunch of interesting finishes this season. That was one of them.
“Why would that all of a sudden happen? Well, those guys just stepped into that next level of going for it. And it was a beautiful thing.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 8:44 PM.
