SEATTLE — On a team of relentless, emotional and hard-hitting defensive players, no Seattle Seahawk embodies those traits more than safety Kam Chancellor.
That much is usually evident whenever the Seahawks play, but it was particularly apparent in Saturday’s 31-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers in an NFC divisional playoff game at CenturyLink Field. Chancellor, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound fifth-year safety, had 11 tackles, tying fellow safety Earl Thomas for the team lead.
Even better, Chancellor turned in the game’s most electrifying play, a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Seahawks an insurmountable 31-10 lead.
“I don’t know that a strong safety can have a better game than Kam had
tonight,” said Seattle head coach Pete Carroll. “He was all over the place.
He had 11 tackles and a pick for a touchdown. But with all the big
hits that he made and all the things that he did, it was just an
amazing football game he was able to get done.”
“That guy is special,” said Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin with a big smile. “Eleven tackles and a 90-yard touchdown. He’s just a great player and it’s an honor to play with him.”
Even Seattle’s offensive players were impressed.
“Kam Chancellor had one of his best games that I’ve ever seen,” said quarterback Russell Wilson.
But if Chancellor’s interception was electrifying, an earlier special teams play was jaw-dropping. In the final seconds of the first half, Carolina set up for a 40-yard field goal attempt by place-kicker Graham Gano. Lining up in Seattle’s secondary, Chancellor timed the snap and cleanly vaulted the line of scrimmage — he passed between the long snapper and the right guard — and was in the backfield before Carolina holder Brad Nortman got the ball down.
Unfortunately for Chancellor, his presence caused Gano to shank the kick badly and Chancellor’s momentum carried him into the kicker, resulting in a roughing penalty and a re-kick. Had Chancellor touched the ball, there would have been no penalty.
According to Chancellor, Seattle’s coaches noticed that Carolina’s line stayed very low on kicking plays, raising the possibility that someone could hurdle the line. Chancellor, a great leaper, was nominated “and we did it at practice and it looked good, so we just decided to put it in. … But once (Gano) saw me he just shanked it and it went far left. There’s no way I could’ve got it.”
“That was just a tremendous athletic play,” said Seahawks defensive tackle Tony McDaniel. “It’s just amazing, the kind of athlete he is.”
Yet as impressive as Chancellor’s near blocked field goal was, the interception return was a game-breaker. The Panthers were driving for a touchdown that would have pulled them within seven points with six minutes to play, still plenty of time to tie the score and perhaps even take the lead.
But on a second-and-4 play from the Seattle 13-yard line, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s short pass to tight end Ed Dickson was read perfectly by Chancellor. Stepping in front for the interception, he then sprinted the length of the field with no one even close in pursuit.
“All I saw was green and green means go,” Chancellor said, drawing laughter from a crowd of media.
Around him in the boisterous Seattle locker room, plenty of teammates took time to praise Chancellor’s performance against the Panthers.
“I just love the way he plays,” said linebacker K.J. Wright. “He brings so much energy to this team with big hits and a pick-six. Everybody looks up to that guy. … He’s a guy that we love, a guy that sets the tone, and he’s just a big-time guy.”
“He’s a super athlete,” McDaniel added. “He’s big, physical, fast and smart, and we definitely feed off his intensity. Any guy that plays with the passion he does and the effort he does, it just rubs off on everybody else.”
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