Seahawks credit Bobby Wagner U-turning team minds to upset Lions; Riq Woolen injury update
Two games into this season, the Seahawks’ decision to sign back Bobby Wagner this spring is looking as grand as their choice to cut him last year looks bad, eh?
Sunday, as they boarded the team bus for their flight home following Seattle’s reviving overtime victory at the Detroit Lions, players on defense and offense plus coach Pete Carroll were crediting their captain and six-time All-Pro middle linebacker for U-turning their attitudes.
And perhaps their season.
Wednesday, the 33-year-old Wagner did what he later said he’d never done before in his 12-season NFL career. He demanded every Seahawks player surround him on the field before the start of practice. He lit into them with a fiery talk of re-dedication. Of remembering why they play. And of getting past the team’s dreary loss to the rebuilding Los Angeles Rams 30-13 last weekend in the season opener at Lumen Field.
“It got our screws in the ground,” outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu said outside the Seahawks’ locker room beneath Ford Field.
The fumble Nwosu forced on a run by Detroit’s David Montgomery deep in the Lions’ end on the first play of the third quarter immediately got Seattle tied at 14 coming out of halftime. That was after a first half in which at times it appeared the Seahawks’ defense couldn’t and wouldn’t stop Jared Goff and the Lions’ offense.
“Bobby is that safety blanket when guys get out of whack. He reels everybody back into the team,” Nwosu said. “Bobby gets everybody back on their job, their assignment, having fun out there. He reminded everyone what this about.
“He brings that calmness — and that level-headed toughness, too.”
Carroll said Wagner’s talk made up for what the coach said was his failure to effectively get the Seahawks past the loss to the Rams.
“I’ll have to tell you, until Bobby said something, I had not had the impact that I wanted to Monday, Tuesday, to get to Wednesday,” Carroll said. “And then Bobby called them up on Wednesday and hit them right between the eyes. We just flipped instantly.
“That was a pivotal moment for us, for sure. It was. And they all heard him and listened, did exactly what he asked them to do. That’s leadership.”
Tyler Lockett, who caught the winning touchdown pass from Geno Smith in overtime Sunday, said the message he took from Wagner’s talk and this past week was simple.
“Forget expectations. Just go out and ball ... at a high level,” Lockett said.
Conservative Pete Carroll?
In the third quarter with his team trailing 21-14, usually conservative, pin-’em-back-with-a-punt Pete Carroll decided to go for it on fourth and a yard from his own 41. Kenneth Walker ran for 3 yards to extend the drive.
A pass from Smith to DK Metcalf set up the Seahawks’ march inside the 10. On third and goal from the 7 facing a double blitz by the Lions and a roaring (again) crowd, Seattle had rookie running back Zach Charbonnet next to Smith in shotgun formation.
Two plays to get 7 yards and the tie?
No.
Play caller Shane Waldron chose to throw. Under duress, Smith threw outside right incomplete to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a short out route that was almost intercepted. On fourth down this time, from the 7, Carroll sent out Jason Myers for a field goal. He made it, for the first time in three tries Sunday. Seattle trailed 21-17.
Tied, in a flash
The crowd that had been roaring all afternoon like Motown was back in the 1970s came to a screeching silence three plays into the second half.
On the first snap, Nwosu knocked the ball from Montgomery’s hands. Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed recovered the fumble at the Lions 23-yard line.
Seattle converted that golden chance with a pass by Smith to tight end Colby Parkinson to the 3, and then Kenneth Walker’s patient, bounce-out run around left end for a Seattle touchdown.
Suddenly, it was a 14-14 game.
“I was very determined ... We knew we had to get the ball back for the offense,” Nwosu said. “We didn’t get any takeaways the last game. We wanted to make sure we got [some] this game. We practiced that all week.
“We made it a point of emphasis to get it done. I take a lot of pride. However I can get the ball out, it’s important to the team.”
Then cornerback Tre Brown got Seattle’s second takeaway of the season. The cornerback’s 40-yard interception return for a touchdown put Seattle ahead 31-21 with 8 minutes left.
“Oh, to me, it’s everything to us to get this thing (the loss to the Rams) put behind us and get going,” Carroll said. “Unfortunately, we have to drag the loss with us. But this was such an extraordinary opportunity with a team that we hold in such high regard that this can jump us and jump start us and get us rolling.
“And we’re really excited about that.”
Devon Witherspoon’s debut
Rookie Devon Witherspoon started at left cornerback Sunday. General manager John Schneider said on the Seahawks radio network’s pregame show Witherspoon was so excited to play for the first time after a hamstring injury Aug. 7 his defensive secondary coach Karl Scott had to calm him down before the game.
Witherspoon was flying all over the field early on from left cornerback. He stuck his helmet into the pile at the end of a run way inside him, over the center.
He deftly broke up a fourth-down pass at the Seattle 32-yard line early in the second quarter, leaping over Detroit’s Sam LaPorta’s shoulder and batting the pass with his arm without contacting the rookie tight end as the pass arrived.
The Seahawks failed to convert that turnover on downs into points, because Jason Myers missed a 45-yard field goal. That kept the score tied at 7.
Later in the second quarter, Witherspoon got too aggressive on a third-and-5 pass by Goff. He banged into Detroit’s Marvin Jones Jr. before the ball arrived for an 11-yard penalty for pass interference.
On the next play, the Lions exploited Witherspoon’s aggression with a play-action fake and deep ball well behind the rookie cornerback. Wide receiver Kalif Raymond was more than 5 yards behind the chasing Witherspoon when Goff’s pass arrived for a 36-yard touchdown.
Detroit took that 14-7 lead into halftime, because Myers missed again on a field goal with 2 seconds remaining in the half. That miss was from 56 yards was wide left.
“I’m just glad he played,” Carroll said. “He said it was his idea of looking at it was, ‘This is easy.’ And so, he had a great time playing today.
“He’s going to have some bumps along the way. But he’s a fine football player and he’s just...getting started.”
Injuries on top of hurt
The game began with a Seahawks trainer looking at the leg of rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Seattle’s bench after the team’s opening drive to a touchdown. He had one catch on it. He went inside the medical observation tent behind the bench but returned to the game for the Seahawks’ next offensive possession.
The first-round draft choice who had wrist surgery last month finished with five catches for 34 yards.
Then Metcalf and Riq Woolen got hurt.
Metcalf bulled towards the goal line following an 18-yard catch of a pass from Geno Smith at the end of Seattle’s opening possession. Officials ruled Metcalf down just short of the touchdown Kenneth Walker got a few plays later. Metcalf got crunched from both sides by Lions defenders.
He returned to the game for Seattle’s second possession, which ended in a punt. The Seahawks then announced Metcalf as questionable to return to the game because of a rib injury.
He returned with 4-1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, with the Seahawks trailing 14-7.
Metcalf finished the game with six receptions for 75 yards, including a key 16-yard catch on third down in overtime.
Undrafted rookie Jake Bobo immediately got more time with wide receivers Lockett and Smith-Njigba while Metcalf was out. Bobo had his first NFL catch, for 3 yards.
Riq Woolen update
Woolen, the Pro Bowl cornerback as a rookie last season, appeared to injure his upper body early in the second quarter.
He stayed on one knee and rotated his neck as if trying to loosen it or his shoulder area while trainers attended to him on the field.
Carroll said Woolen has a shoulder injury, that it was sore, but that he’ll “be OK.” That didn’t reveal much about whether Woolen will be able to play next weekend against Carolina.
“I don’t know anything. I just know it’s sore right there,” Carroll said. “He’ll be OK. We’ll figure it out.”
Brown replaced him at right cornerback. Brown started the opening game last week at left cornerback. Witherspoon was at left corner Sunday.
Center Evan Brown left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury. That forced the NFL debut of rookie Olu OIuwatimi, from nearby Michigan. He was on the field beginning with 4-1/2 left in the second quarter. He played for about 2 1/2 minutes of game time before Brown returned to finish that drive.
Brown had an ice bag on his right knee walking to the team bus after the game, but he said he was fine.
Seahawks favored next
Early odds on next weekend’s game favor the Seahawks by 4-1/2 points at home against the Panthers (0-1, hosting New Orleans Monday night). That’s per betoline.ag.
That’s also for what it’s worth. Seattle was a five-point favorite at home last week and lost. The Seahawks were 5 1/2-point underdogs Sunday at Detroit and won.
This story was originally published September 17, 2023 at 5:22 PM.
