Final, Seahawks win 34-7
More to come after the game on a thoroughly impressive performance by Seattle.
OK, now this is just getting silly
Sometimes when it’s your day, I guess it’s just your day, right? In case you’re not watching, the Seahawks just went up 34-7 on a touchdown pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Kellen Davis, and right to fullback Derrick Coleman, who dove into the end zone for a score.
Halftime. Seahawk lead 27-7
So that was exactly how we were expecting this game to go, right? It’s not that the Seahawks winning at home is at all surprising, but they way they’re dominating the 9-2 Saints is pretty staggering.
The Seahawks have outgained the Saints 315-91, or to put it another way, Seattle had 17 points before the Saints had 17 yards.
It’s clear the Saints made stopping Marshawn Lynch a priority, and they’ve done a decent job of that, holding running back to 40 yards on 11 carries, but the tradeoff has been a huge day for Seattle in the passing game. Russell Wilson is currently 14 of 19 for 226 yards and two scores, including the 4-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin that made this a 20-point game just before halftime.
Seahawks extend lead to 13 points
Another impressive drive by the Seahawks, who went from their own 16-yard line to New Orleans’ 2, but Seattle ultimately had to settle for a short field goal—despite Russell Wilson trying to convince Pete Carroll to go for it on fourth down—which gave Seattle a 20-7 lead.
Saints TD makes it 17-7
After going nowhere on their first three possessions, the Saints put together a nice 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that made this a 10-point game.
Jimmy Graham, New Orleans’ tight end who leads them in receiving, had two big plays on the drive, a 20-yarder to keep the chains moving, then a 2-yard touchdown catch in traffic.
Seahawks lead 17-0 after 1st quarter
The good news for the Saints? They just got their first first down on the last play of the first quarter. The Bad news? Just about everything else.
Following Seattle’s defensive touchdown, the Saints went three and out again, this time thanks in large part to a huge hit by Bruce Irvin on Jimmy Graham that forced an incomplete pass.
Not long after, Russell Wilson hit Zach Miller for a 60-yard gain when everybody on New Orleans’ D bit on play-action, leaving Miller wide open. Three plays later, Wilson found an open Miller on a slant on third-and-goal for the touchdown.
Defensive score makes it 10-0
Well, Bennettquake doesn’t have quite the same ring as Beastquake, but Michael Bennett’s first-career touchdown just had CenturyLink Field shaking.
Facing third down, Drew Brees was sacked by Cliff Avril and fumbled, and Bennett caught the ball and rumbled 22 yards to give the Seahawks a 10-0 lead.
There’s a ton of football left to be played, but it’s clear the Seahawks’ defense came to play.
Seahawks take 3-0 lead early
The Seahawks forced a three-and-out on New Orleans’ opening possession, thanks in large part to Brandon Mebane coming up with a tackle for a 4-yard loss on the first play of the game. The Saints tried to test Richard Sherman deep on third down, but the All-Pro corner was in position to break up the pass, leading to a punt.
Seattle’s ensuing drive was off to a promising start, but stalled out in the red zone, with the Seahawks settling for a 26-yard Steven Hauschka field goal. Russell Wilson picked up two first downs with his legs on the drive, keeping on zone-read plays both times. Max Unger deserves credit too for keeping three points in play when he recovered a Marshawn Lynch fumble on the play before the field goal.
Pregame and inactives
We’re about an hour away from kickoff of a game that could decide home field advantage in the NFC, and as expected the Seahawks will play this game without Percy Harvin, who is inactive with a hip injury. The weather, which was talked about all week as a potential factor, so far isn’t all that bad. It’s chilly, yes, but only a light wind and no rain/snow for now. There are, however, some very dark clouds nearby, so maybe we’ll get some of that wild weather at some point.
Also of note, cornerback Brandon Browner, who is out with a groin injury, did some light running on the field during pregame warmups. Carroll said Browner was 4-6 weeks out prior to the Minnesota game, and he is reportedly facing a suspension that might make injury concerns a non-issue, but if Browner does get that suspension overturned or reduced, the fact that he’s running has to be encouraging for his chances of getting back at some point this season.
Seahawks inactives: WR Percy Harvin, RB Christine Michael, CB Brandon Browner, T Michael Bowie, T Caylin Hauptman, DE Benson Mayowa, DT Jordan Hill.
Saints inactives: QB Ryan Griffin, RB Khiry Robinson, CB Trevin Wade, OLB Keyunta Dawson, T Terron Armstead, WR Nick Toon, DE Glenn Foster.
Meanwhile, if you’re getting impatient waiting for the game to start, watch this again. “It’s just a little baby stiff-arm.”
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