The difference is that, in Miami, Wilson looked much more comfortable and in control. The game plan was designed with lots of runs and short passes. These didn’t work so the coaching staff should have adjusted to it and scrapped the conservative crap.
When Seattle did move the ball in the second quarter, they drove down to the Miami 38-yard line. Facing a 4th-and-1 decision, Pete Carroll decided against going for it or kicking a 53-yard field goal. He lost his balls and punted it, gambling on a field position game rather than a shootout. At the time I agreed with him, thinking that eventually the offense would break through. That should have warned me right then that the decision was a bad one.
Passing on points when they would be at a premium turned out to be a very bad idea. I don’t know if Steven Hauschka could have kicked it from there but a couple of years ago Carroll had him try a 61-yarder against Atlanta. That was in Seattle in less than ideal weather conditions. It was short and Seattle lost but the conditions in Miami were pristine for kicking the ball and 53 yards should be well within the modern NFL kicker range.
With the game tied at 21 late, Seattle was moving the ball nicely in what looked to be a game-winning drive. With the ball at the Miami 40-yard line at the two-minute warning, Bevell’s nuts shriveled and the Seahawks went three plays that were a run for -1 yard, a screen pass for -6 yards, and a sack for -2 yards.
At this point, it felt inevitable that the Seahawks were going to lose again. When Tannehill hit Davone Bess, yet again wide open, for 19 yards on the Dolphins' first play, the bottom dropped out of my stomach. Miami ran seven plays on the final drive, in 1:47, and had four 1st downs.
I had to go outside and work in the yard for a bit, to calm down, to get some fresh air, and to work some of the long line of profanities out of my sentence structures. Coming back into the house, my mind a little calmer, I opened my laptop to write a fresh draft. The headline that greeted me was “Seahawks CBs facing suspensions.”
There ain’t enough yard work in the world to work through this knockout shot. I was just thinking that the Seahawks still had the inside track to the wild card if Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and New Orleans lost. All of that happened so sure, yeah, bright side. Woo fucking hoo.
It won’t matter if Seattle has to play four of the last five games without their star cornerbacks. Three of those five games are against division opponents, games the Seahawks have to win to be in the playoffs. Hell, they need to basically win four out of the last five to lock up that wild card.
Article comments
1 - Trakar Shaitanaku
The officiating in that game was horrible, I though it was supposed to improve, not get worse, when league referees were brought back into the game?!