MIAMI — “Big Play Babs” lived up to his nickname on Sunday afternoon, and he nearly saved the day in the process.
Defensive back Jordan Babineaux, who was given the moniker by his Seattle Seahawks because of his habit of delivering highlights at the right time, turned Sunday’s momentum around with a 35-yard interception return in the second quarter.
“He did what we expected him to do,” safety Deon Grant said after the Seahawks’ 21-19 loss to Miami. “He picked the ball off and took it to the house, and that’s what we need. As a defense, it’s about turnovers. And he did that (Sunday).”
The play turned momentum completely around. The Dolphins were dominating the game en route to a 14-0 lead when Babineaux stepped in front of a Chad Pennington pass and returned it for the score with 8:21 left in the second quarter.
“We felt like we were onto something,” running back Julius Jones said of the tide-turning play.
Seattle got back into the game but couldn’t pull it out in the end.
Babineaux, aka Big Play Babs, added another highlight to support his name.
“(Defensive backs coach Jim Mora) reminds me every week: just continue to play disciplined and those plays will happen. That’s what happened,” Babineaux said afterward. “I’m not out there trying to do too much or going out of my way to make plays. I had a pretty good sense for the ball by watching film and knowing what they were going to do.”
Bitten by a Wildcat: The Seahawks were expecting the Dolphins to run the so-called Wildcat offense on Sunday. They just couldn’t stop it when it mattered.
The formation, which involves a single-wing offense that includes running back Ronnie Brown taking direct snaps from center, was used seven times Sunday and resulted in 80 rushing yards. The two most devastating plays came when Brown handed the ball off to Ricky Williams for a 51-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter and when Brown scored from 16 yards out on a keeper.
“It’s something they do well. I give them credit,” Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane said. “We were stopping them, and then they got the big run on us. They believe in it, so they kept running it. They’ve got something good there.”
Williams went untouched on his 51-yard touchdown, as some Seattle defenders got fooled by fullback Lousaka Polite going around the back of Brown while he handed the ball to Williams.
On Brown’s touchdown, the Seahawks seemed to pursue the play well but couldn’t stop him. Grant missed a tackle at the 10 when Brown cut inside before diving into the end zone with 5:38 remaining.
Said Grant: “A couple times, they set it up perfect, and they won.”
Branch sits: Wide receiver Deion Branch was one of eight inactive players announced before the game.
Branch has now missed five consecutive games due to a bruised heel. He returned to practice last week and could play Sunday against Arizona.
Guard Floyd Womack was available but did not play due to a foot injury. Ray Willis started in his place at right guard.
Promising returns: Babineaux wasn’t the only Seahawk to turn in a long return Sunday.
Return men Josh Wilson and Justin Forsett both had plenty of long runs, the most impressive of which was Wilson’s 50-yarder at the start of the second half. Wilson spun off at least two would-be tacklers on that return.
For the game, Wilson averaged 33.0 yards on two kickoff returns. Forsett had a 32-yard kickoff return and averaged 16.3 yards on three punt returns, including a 29-yarder.
Remember him? The Seahawks found a way to get wide receiver Bobby Engram more involved in the offense Sunday, and not by conventional methods.
The Seahawks lined up the slot receiver on the outside for much of the afternoon in an effort to counter defenses’ habit of ganging up on him over the middle.
The result was five receptions, which tied for the team high.
“I just got some opportunities,” said Engram, whose role in the slot was often filled by split end Koren Robinson. “When I get opportunities, I try to make the most of them. And when I don’t, obviously I can’t do much. I just got more opportunities (Sunday).”
Back for more? Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren wasn’t making any promises about being along for the ride, but he did say Sunday afternoon that the franchise would turn things around at some point.
“It’s kind of just piling on, and pretty soon it’s pretty hard to breathe underneath the pile,” said Holmgren, who plans to take next season off but could get back into the league at some point in the future.
“But they’re a pretty resilient group. And this year has kind of been the perfect storm for us, but it’s not typical of what our team is about — or what the team will be about in the future. I will tell you that right now.”
It’s tricky: The “Wildcat” formation wasn’t the only curveball the Dolphins threw at Seattle on Sunday.
Quarterback Chad Pennington was able to complete a flea-flicker when Ted Ginn Jr. hauled in a 39-yard touchdown pass despite double coverage.
On the play, Pennington handed the ball off but then got it back on a lateral. The Seahawks didn’t bite on the fake, yet he was still able to thread a perfect throw into Ginn’s hands between cornerback Marcus Trufant and safety Brian Russell in the back of the end zone.
“I was pretty surprised,” Trufant said. “(Ginn) made a good play. I thought if I wasn’t able to get it, it might go out of bounds. But he made the big-time play, and that’s what it came down to.”
Quick slants: When the Dolphins were forced to punt midway through the second quarter, it marked only the second time since the first quarter of last week’s game against Philadelphia that a Seattle opponent punted. … Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace played most of the game with a strained groin. … Pennington admitted that his late fumble, which could have put Seattle in position to kick the game-winning field goal, put the fear of God in him. “To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure if I was down or not,” he said. Television replays showed that Pennington was clearly down when Seattle linebacker Lofa Tatupu stripped the ball out inside the Miami 30-yard line. … When Babineaux returned the interception 35 yards for a touchdown, it marked the second time in as many road trips that Seattle has scored on defense. At the time, the Seahawks had as many offensive touchdowns in their past two road games as they did defensive scores. … When the Seahawks got the ball midway through the third quarter, trailing by four points, it marked only the second time all season that Seattle had the ball and a chance to take the lead in the second half of a road game.
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