Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett twice late rallies Seahawks past 49ers. Onto the playoffs
Back before the leaves turned and you needed an ark again to get around Seattle—back when Russell Wilson was cookin’ up an MVP candidacy for an offense ranked atop the NFL—their defense appeared to be the Seahawks’ fatal flaw.
Now that defense is the most encouraging thing going for Seattle entering the playoffs.
The offense was inept for three-fourths of the final game before the postseason.
Then Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes to the relentless, reliable, record-setting Tyler Lockett in the final 14 minutes. That’s how Seattle rallied with 20 points in the final quarter to beat the displaced, going-home San Francisco 49ers 26-23 on Sunday in front of 62 fans, counting an infant on a mother’s arm.
Those folks were spread out, socially distant in the lower level behind the 49ers’ bench area.
The Seahawks’ offense was socially distant for a disturbing stretch of this supposed tune-up.
Yet Seattle (12-4) heads into the playoffs with four consecutive wins—the hard way.
“It was a difficult day for us,” coach Pete Carroll said.
The veteran coach said “it’s a little frustrating” to keep watching his once league-leading offense slog through games, “but I’m not concerned.”
“I’m not worried,” Carroll said, acknowledging most of the Pacific Northwest is.
“They’ve got to stop Russ in the fourth quarter. And he’s been pretty dynamic then. ...
“Here we go, it’s playoff time. The start to this finish begins.”
The Seahawks added a late score after Benson Mayowa forced San Francisco third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard to fumble and Rasheem Green recovered. Alex Collins’ touchdown run and Irish-dance celebration in the end zone ended the regular season.
Seattle had already clinched the NFC West title the previous week. With the Green Bay Packers winning at Chicago to keep the conference’s top seed and New Orleans beating Carolina to remain number two, Seattle is the third seed in the playoffs.
The Seahawks will host the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-6) on Saturday at 1:40 p.m. inside Lumen Field in the first round. The Rams beat Arizona 18-7 Sunday to get in, led by fill-in quarterback John Wolford.
L.A. said last week the team thinks $100 million Super Bowl quarterback Jared Goff can get back from surgery he had last week for a broken thumb he received in Seattle two games ago in time to start the playoff-game rematch. After Sunday’s game, Rams coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t sure who will start at quarterback against Seattle next weekend.
All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said he and the Seahawks will be facing “a new quarterback” next week. So at least Wagner’s expecting Wolford and not Goff.
If they beat the Rams again, the Seahawks would either play at New Orleans in round two, if the Saints beat seventh seed Chicago next weekend, or Seattle would host the winner of fifth-seeded Tampa Bay at the fourth-seeded winner of the NFC East. If Washington wins at Philadelphia Sunday night the fourth seed will be Washington. Otherwise it will be the New York Giants.
Rescued from themselves
The Seahawks saved themselves from a thudding loss entering the playoffs with a play and 2:26 left. It completed their rally from being down 16-6 in the fourth quarter to the decimated 49ers.
On fourth and goal from the 5-yard line, lead running back Chris Carson showed his total value to the team.
Forget Carson’s 44 yards on 11 carries; the Seahawks continued to largely preserve him for the playoffs. Late in the final regular-season game of his contract, Carson moved from the right of Wilson in shotgun formation to alertly slam into a free-blitzing linebacker Fred Warner, San Francisco’s best defensive player. Instead of a game-ending sack by Wagner Wilson had time, thanks to Carson, to drop back further and wait for Lockett to run across the end zone from right to left for a 5-yard, throwback touchdown pass.
“Chris Carson did a great job stepping up and blocking Fred, and, you know, he’s been great blitzer all year,” Wilson said. “Chris Carson stoned him in the backfield. That was key.
“I just kept retreating and then next you know Tyler scooted across the field and made another great catch.”
It was Seattle’s first lead of the day over a team that’s been living out of a hotel for more than a month. San Francisco (6-10) played its final “home” games in Arizona because the 49ers’ home Santa Clara County kicked them here due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Lockett had 12 catches in 14 targets for 90 yards and the two late touchdowns. He finished the regular season as the first Seahawk ever with 100 receptions in a year.
“The 100th one being a touchdown, that was really cool, to help us win the game,” Wilson said.
Lockett called it all: “a humbling experience.”
Wilson finished with 20 completions in 36 throws for 181 yards and the two late scoring passes. The 49ers sacked him twice and hit him four times against a Seattle offensive line that was missing injured left guard Mike Iupati and right tackle Brandon Shell. Shell is on the reserve/COVID-19 list for a contact-tracing issue.
Collins’ touchdown meant the Seahawks set a team record for most point in a season, with 459.
How they got there Sunday was another matter.
Injuries late
All-Pro safety Jamal Adams left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury when San Francisco running back Jerick McKinnon slammed his shoulder into Adams on a blitz pickup. Adams went in and out of the blue observation tent behind Seattle’s bench in lightning-quick time. But he threw his helmet aside when apparently told his day was done, which turned out to be a precaution for the playoffs.
Ryan Neal replaced Adams.
Running back Rashaad Penny limped off with what appeared to be cramps in his right leg on the drive to Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. That’s why Collins was in to run for his touchdown late.
The fact the team doctor walked away quickly from Penny after he got to the sideline, leaving the running back three games into his return from reconstructive knee surgery to do testing air squats. It was a good sign for Seattle.
Sputtering on details
The Seahawks accomplished their first objective by playing all their veteran regulars with the division title already clinched: They maintained the performance and momentum of the defense since November that changed the season and made Seattle a viable championship contender.
The offense? That remains another, far more worrying matter. One that threatens to end the season earlier than later.
The defense turned away San Francisco three times on drives inside the 25-yard line. It finally snapped early in the fourth quarter. Tight end Ross Dwelley got outside rookie linebacker Jordyn Brooks and in front of Adams for a catch to the Seattle 12-yard line. Adams looked at Brooks after the play, then to the sky and clapped his hands.
Two runs later, San Francisco had the game’s first touchdown, a 7-yard run by Jeff Wilson Jr., and a 16-6 lead.
At that point with 14 minutes left in the game, the offense had sputtered. Wilson had completed 11 of 23 passes for 101 yards. The Seahawks were 3 for 10 on third downs, continuing a season-long problem they barely corrected in the second half of their previous game against the Rams to clinch the NFC West title.
Seattle had 109 yards of offense with 14 minutes left. That is why the Seahawks were down by 10 points.
For much of Sunday, the details were lacking with the Seahawks’ offense that was ranked number one in the NFL in September and October.
On Seattle’s first two third downs, tight end Jacob Hollister didn’t run the route Wilson wanted him to. The first time, Wilson wanted Hollister to break off his option route to the outside, away from tight coverage by San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner. Hollister stayed inside. Wilson’s pass got knocked down by 49ers’ pass rusher Arik Armstead.
The second time, on a third and 7, Hollister ran only a 6-yard out route. That allowed an immediate, drive-stopping tackle by San Francisco’s Jimmie Ward. Instead of a Seahawks first down, Michael Dickson punted for the second of five times.
In the third quarter, after the Seahawks’ defense again denied the 49ers in the red zone and forced a field goal and a 9-6 lead for San Francisco, Wilson scrambled into a sack. Left tackle Duane Brown had crunched his man to the grass. But Wilson ran outside into the fallen defender. That fouled up the quarterback’s balance for a rushed throw that sailed way wide of DK Metcalf and out of bounds.
Dickson punted again. The game remained 9-6.
Record setters
Metcalf and Lockett replaced legends in the Seahawks’ record book Sunday.
Metcalf had catches on consecutive plays early in the second quarter. Those first two receptions of the game for Metcalf were for 9 yards, the second for 4 yards and a first down. That latter catch was enough for Metcalf to pass Hall of Famer Steve Largent for the franchise record for most yards receiving in a season.
Largent had 1,287 yards in 16 games for Seattle in 1985. That was in his 10th NFL season.
The 23-year-old Metcalf is in his second year in the league.
Minutes after Metcalf set his record, Lockett set his. He caught his seventh pass in eight targets within the game’s first 19 1/2 minutes. That gave him 95 receptions this season, one more than the previous franchise record previous shared by Bobby Engram and Doug Baldwin.
Lockett and Metcalf became the second pair in Seahawks history with 1,000 yards each in a season. Brian Blades and Joey Galloway in 1995.
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 4:31 PM.
