Seahawks still have a chance
As we all know by now, the Seahawks are 2-0 when they shut out their opponent, and 0-5 when they give up points, so it’s fortunate for Seattle that Jason Hanson’s 34-yard field attempt clanged off the upright.
Or maybe not
One play after the miss, Matt Hasselbeck was intercepted, which set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Brandon Pettigrew. Well, if the Seahawks are going to avoid an embarrassing loss, they’d better find a way to come from behind, something they’ve been unable to do this season.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet rock bottom
At least that’s what this feels like right now as the Seahawks are showered with boos. Two plays from scrimmage, two turnovers for the Seahawks after Justin Griffith fumbled after catching a pass from Hasselbeck. And of course, three plays later, Stafford hit Bryant Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
More boos. A lot more boos
And now it’s 17-0 Lions after a 41-yard Jason Hanson field goal. The Lions got those points thanks to another short field following a turnover on downs. On the plus side, the Seahawk ran four whole plays without turning the ball over. Unfortunately for Seattle, three of those four plays were runs of -1, -1, and 0 yards. The last run for no gain came on fourth-and-one.
Seahawks move ball forward, even manage to score
Well, at least we know the Seahawks won’t get shut out, which seemed entirely possible the way things were going in the first quarter. Quarter No. 2 has been much kinder to Seattle, which drove 60 yards and scored on a 3-yard run by Julius Jones.
Perhaps a good indicator of how things have gone for Seattle today was the way the Seahawks picked up their first first down. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught a pass, fumbled, and Max Unger fell on it just past the first-down marker. That’s right, even in picking up a first down the Seahawks managed to fumble.
It’s worth noting that the Seahawks started with good field position because of a nice kickoff return by Louis Rankin, who is making his Seahawks debut today.
So you’re saying there’s a chance
The Seahawks might just make a game out of this. Super sub David Hawthorne picked off a Matthew Stafford pass, and now the Seahawks are driving. Matt Hasselbeck has completed 12 straight passes, the last of which was the 2,097th of his Seahawks career, moving him past Dave Krieg for the most completions in franchise history.
Mare field goal makes it 17-10
With 3:00 left in the first half, the Seahawks have made of game of this. Their last drive stalled out thanks to a run of negative 5 yards followed two plays later by a false start, but considering how this game started, the Seahawks should feel good if they can get to halftime with this being a one-score game. And yes, I did really just say the Seahawks are in a situation where they should feel good about being down seven at home to the Detroit Lions. Sad, I know.
Seahawks within four at half
Another Mare field goal at the end of the half made it 17-13. Matthew Stafford was picked off by Deon Grant to give the Seahawks the ball back at their own 16-yard line with 1:13 left. And while Seattle did well to get into field goal range, you can’t help but wonder if they might have been able to get more had they not kicked the field goal with two timeouts still at their disposal.
The Seahawks will start the second half with the ball, meaning they could be in the lead in just a few minutes. That would have been hard to imagine a little while ago given the way this game started.
Matt Hasselbeck is 21 of 24 since throwing an interception to start the game, and has 165 yards. The Seahawks seem content to let Hasselbeck carry the load, as they have rushed just eight times for 16 yards, 14 of which came on a Justin Forsett carry.
No surprise that David Hawthorne leads the Seahawks with five tackles.
Seahawks within one
After Seattle and Detroit traded punts to start the half, the Seahawks put together a 72-yard drive that ended with another Olindo Mare field goal, this one from 24 yards out. It’s now 17-16 Lions with 9:24 left in the third quarter.
Seahawks lead 22-17
The Seahawks have now rattled off 22 unanswered points and have their first lead of the day. Matt Hasselbeck connected with TJ Houshmandzadeh for a 2-yard score to cap the drive. The lead is five and not six points because Jon Ryan bobbled the snap and had to heave a pass into the end zone, which fell incomplete.
Heater with another pick
The Seahawks are back on offense again after David Hawthorne came up with his second interception of the game. He also has seven tackles through three quarters.
And speaking of linebackers, Aaron Curry, who left briefly with an injury, was back on the field for that series, so it appears he is OK.
Seahawks now lead 25-17
Apparently the Lions forgot that football games last more than one quarter, because they have been pretty much invisible since taking a 17-0 lead.
Olindo Mare is 4-for-4 on field goals today, and hasn’t missed a field goal since Jim Mora called him out after he missed two against the Bears in week 3.
Lions remember they’re still in a football game
After taking the middle two quarters off, the Lions decided to start playing again, and are back within five after Jason Hanson and his 39-year-old leg drilled a 50-yard field goal.
They then forced Seattle into a three-and-out, and will get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
Josh Wilson pick six seals the victory
The Lions had the ball twice in the fourth quarter with a chance to win it, but interceptions by Marcus Trufant and Josh Wilson ended both drives. Wilson’s pick, which he returned 61 yards for a touchdown, clinched a 32-20 victory for the Seahawks.
Not a pretty win at all for Seattle, but given the 17-0 hole the Seahawks dug themselves, a double-digit victory is a pretty good end result.
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