TALKING POINTS
Well, yet another unbelievable finish to a Seahawks prime-time game at CenturyLink Field. What do you figure they’re going to label this one? The Wright Call?
The Seahawks were less than a yard away from seeing this one slip away. Detroit’s Calvin Johnson caught a pass over the middle and was on the verge of diving into the end zone to give the Lions the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
That’s when Kam Chancellor saved the day for the Seahawks, and maybe the season. Chancellor punched the ball out of Johnson’s arm just before Johnson crossed the goal line. The ball was batted out of the end zone by K.J. Wright, a touchback was ruled, and Seattle took over and ran out the clock. It was an absolutely unbelievable play by Chancellor, as he showed everyone just how valuable he is to the Seahawks defense.
However, once again we were faced with controversy. It turns out Wright, by batting the ball intentionally out of bounds, should have been flagged for illegal touching. That would have resulted in the ball returning to the Lions. But the call wasn’t made, and Seattle was the beneficiary. The play happened to occur in the same end zone where the infamous Fail Mary play took place in 2012.
Chancellor’s play bailed out the Seahawks, who never should have been in position to lose this one. Detroit was impotent offensively for 53 minutes, and Seattle’s 13-3 lead seemed safe despite being slight. But the Lions caught a break when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson fumbled while getting sacked midway through the fourth quarter, and Caraun Reid returned the ball 27 yards for a touchdown to make it a three-point game. That sparked Detroit to life.
Seattle also had major issues on the offensive line as Wilson was forced to run for his life throughout the game. Wilson was sacked six times and suffered another 10 QB hits, and he’s been sacked a league-high 18 times through four games (tied with Kansas City’s Alex Smith). Meanwhile, the line opened few running lanes as Thomas Rawls, filling in for the injured Marshawn Lynch, was limited to 48 yards on 17 carries. It was a miracle Wilson finished with the numbers he did: 20-for-26 for 287 yards and 125.0 passer rating, much of it done on the run.
Nevertheless, Seattle is now 2-2, having recovered from its 0-2 start. Granted, both those wins were at home against winless teams, but the Seahawks did what they needed to do and are no longer in a spot where one loss could herald the end of Seattle’s playoff hopes. That’s a good thing as the Seahawks travel to face 4-0 Cincinnati next week, a game which will be a far greater challenge than either of their past two games.
As for injuries, the Seahawks got a little beat up Monday. Cornerback Marcus Burley broke his thumb, receiver Ricardo Lockette had shortness of breath and running back Fred Jackson suffered a sprained ankle. None of them returned to the game and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had no timetable on any of them.
However, Carroll did say that Lynch, who went through some exercises on the field before the game, may be able to return next week.
TURNING POINT
This game turned twice, and both those were mentioned above. Seattle had the game all but wrapped up before Detroit’s James Ihedigbo sacked Wilson to force the fumble that Reid returned for a touchdown. Then it was all Detroit until Chancellor’s big play on Johnson.
QUOTABLE
“So you can’t bat the ball in any direction in the end zone, in either end zone. K.J. Wright batted the football. That is a foul for an illegal bat. The back judge was on the play. In his judgment he didn’t feel it was an overt act, so he didn’t throw the flag. In looking at the replays, it did look like a bat, so the enforcement would be, basically we would go back to the spot of the fumble, and Detroit would keep the football.”
– NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino on the NFL Network Total Access, Monday Night Football postgame show.
BOX SCORE
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