SEATTLE — Though it ended up being only a footnote in Seattle’s eventual 27-23 loss to Carolina, Ricardo Lockette made one of the top touchdown catches for a Seahawks receiver in recent seasons in the third quarter of Sunday’s game.
On their first offensive possession after halftime, the Seahawks began at their own 37-yard line following a Carolina punt. Seattle needed three plays to reach the Panther 40, and on first down offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell opted for a bit of trickery.
The play began with a pitch to running back Marshawn Lynch, who started to his right. Lynch then stopped and threw a backward lateral to Wilson, who spotted Lockette running a deep crossing route with a single defender.
Wilson’s pass to the end zone was underthrown, and Carolina safety Kurt Coleman actually had inside position to the ball. But Lockette, a tremendous athlete, leaped from behind and reached around Coleman with both hands to take the ball away. He then landed with two feet in the back of the end zone.
It was “a big-time catch by Ricardo,” Wilson said. “He attacked the football and that’s what you want. I trusted him to throw it up there, and he went up and got it. He snagged it over the other guy. That was an unbelievable play by him.”
The touchdown, which gave the Seahawks a 17-7 lead, “felt great,” Lockette said. “I’m usually in for a lot of run-blocking plays, so the defense sleeps on that sometimes. So we took advantage of it. It was a great call by Coach Bevell and the offensive staff.”
Wagner sits out
As expected, the Seahawks were without middle linebacker Bobby Wagner for Sunday’s game. Wagner, who has a pectoral muscle injury, was on the inactive list.
Getting the start at Wagner’s middle linebacker position was K.J. Wright, with Kevin Pierre-Lewis starting at Wright’s usual outside linebacker position.
“Obviously we miss (Wagner),” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “But that’s not the point for us. Next guy steps up. … (But) Bobby’s a great football player, so of course we miss him.”
Seattle hopes to have Wagner back for Thursday’s game at San Francisco.
Lynch returns
Running back Marshawn Lynch returned after missing Seattle’s previous two games against Detroit and Cincinnati because of a hamstring injury.
Lynch carried 17 times for 54 yards against Carolina with a long rush of 17 yards. He also had a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter, his first touchdown of the season.
“I thought he battled his tail off,” Carroll said. “He didn’t get a lot of space. Every run that he gave, he gave everything he had. I thought he was running with the same kind of ferocity that he always does. He just didn’t get many opportunities to get in the clear.”
Lewis starts at center
Patrick Lewis got the start at center for Seattle, replacing Drew Nowak. An undrafted free agent from Texas A&M in 2013, Lewis is in his second season with the Seahawks. He played in six games a year ago with four starts.
“Really, just for the sake of competition we thought that Patrick deserved a chance to show what he can do,” Carroll said. Offensive-line coach Tom Cable “thought it was worth the competitive opportunity for Patrick to get a shot,” Carroll added. “We’ll look at the film and figure out what that means for (this) week.”
Ex-Husky Thompson hurt
Carolina linebacker Shaq Thompson, who played the past three seasons for the University of Washington, was a defensive starter Sunday in addition to playing on special teams.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Thompson, who also played running back for the Huskies a year ago, was injured on the kickoff following Carolina’s go-ahead touchdown late in the game. After making the tackle on Seattle’s Tyler Lockett, Thompson stayed down on the field for a few minutes and then had to be helped to the sideline with an apparent leg injury.
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