KIRKLAND – With the game on the line, and a possible winning field goal waiting Sunday afternoon, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren couldn’t get the thought of Deion Sanders out of his mind.
That was the overwhelming image that kept Holmgren from calling a pass play in the waning seconds of Sunday’s loss to the Washington Redskins. While a completion could have given kicker Josh Brown a shorter field goal attempt, Holmgren wasn’t taking any chances.
“I had pretty much made up my mind as soon as we got the ball,” he said Monday, referring to a Kelly Herndon interception in the final minute. “We were on the (Washington) 30. I said, if I kicked it right now, (Brown) can make this kick; he’s got plenty of leg.
“I’ve done it before where you try to throw it and balls get tipped; goofy stuff happens. I just was not going to take the chance there.”
He told the story Monday of being in a similar situation while serving as offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers in the late 1980s. Holmgren called a pass play, from Joe Montana to Jerry Rice, only to watch Sanders – then with the Atlanta Falcons – step in the path of the ball and nearly intercept it.
“It hit (Sanders) right in the hands, and he was going to run it 80 yards to beat us,” Holmgren said. “But he dropped the ball in the last 30 seconds of the game. I think that has always stuck with me.
“I put the ball in the hands of the best player in the world (Montana), and a fairly safe pass, and I almost lost the game for our team. That stuck with me a long time.”
In a similar situation Sunday, Holmgren called two running plays. That left Brown needing a 47-yard field goal to win the game, but it hit the left upright as time expired. The Seahawks went on to lose in overtime.
“I don’t second-guess that call,” Holmgren said of not calling a pass play in the final seconds. “I may have called some other plays in the game that I would like back, but not that one.”
While the critics also questioned the final running play putting the ball on the left hashmark, Brown said he actually prefers to kick from there.
“I know a lot of people think that kicking the ball straight is probably the easiest thing,” the Seahawks kicker said, “but I hate the vision from the middle of the field. I just don’t like it. I told (special teams coach Bob Casullo) to put it on a hash.”
Alexander moves to top: Although Shaun Alexander’s 20-carry, 98-yard performance on Sunday was generally unremarkable, it was enough to push the Seahawks’ running back to the top of the NFL in rushing.
Alexander moved past Tampa Bay rookie Carnell “Cadillac” Williams for the league lead, with 455 yards. San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson is second, with 450, and Williams has 447.
Alexander also leads the NFC in touchdowns (six), third-and-1 conversions (5 for 5) and is third in points (36).
The Seahawks now rank second in the NFL in offense, averaging 387.8 yards per game. Only Philadelphia (432.0) is better.
Keeping faith in Brown: Despite Brown’s two missed field goals Sunday, including the potential game-winner, Holmgren expressed confidence in his 26-year-old kicker.
“He came that close,” Holmgren said, holding his thumb and forefinger an inch or two apart. “One of these games, we are going to get lucky with some of those bounces.”
Brown said he’s already moved on from the forgettable day.
“If it happens (again), if the team is in that situation and it’s needed, I’m fine with it,” Brown said. “It’s not a thing that bothers me. I would say any aggressive kicker would enjoy that kind of situation, that kind of pressure.”
Third-down letdown: The Seahawks’ defense led the NFL in third-down conversions entering Sunday’s game, surrendering first downs just 24.3 percent of the time over the first three games of the season.
And then came the Washington Redskins, who converted 72 percent of their first downs to drop Seattle to 18th in the league. Seahawks opponents have now converted 22 of 55 opportunities, or 40 percent.
“It wasn’t just one thing,” Holmgren said of Seattle’s struggles in that department on Sunday. “… I felt our youth and inexperience showed on the third down plays that we got hit with (Sunday).”
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