* The Seahawks dominate the first half – rolling up 288 yards of total offense while holding the Falcons to 78 yards en route to a 21-0 lead at halftime – before barely holding on to stave off the Falcons’ rally in the second half.
SEATTLE – While it may be a stretch to call a September victory a season-saver, the Seattle Seahawks’ 21-18 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was pretty darn close.
Balancing between the unfamiliarity of an 0-2 start and the familiarity of another late-game meltdown, the Seahawks avoided both against one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
“That was a big win,” defensive tackle Chartric Darby said after Seattle (1-1) held off Atlanta’s second-half rally. “The first one is always the biggest. If we had fallen to 0-2, it would have been really hard to come out of that hole.”
Added Seahawks fullback Mack Strong: “There are a lot of 1-1 teams right now, so we’re right in the thick of it.”
Not that .500 was easy.
The Seahawks breezed to a 21-0 lead with a dominating first-half performance, only to see the Falcons charge back in the second half. Even Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, not one to publicly acknowledge doubt, admitted the second half gave him flashbacks to a couple of late-game fades last season.
“I’ve never lied to (the media) yet, so I’m not going to tonight,” Holmgren said. “I was thinking: ‘Oh, my goodness, here we go again.’ But this time, we got it done.”
Despite dominating the stat sheet – the Seahawks out-gained Atlanta 428-223 in yardage and 24-14 in first downs – Seattle nearly let the game slip through its collective fingers. The Falcons (1-1) scored on their first two possessions of the second half, then added a touchdown and two-point conversion with 4:01 left in the game to pull within 21-18.
A three-and-out by Seattle gave Atlanta a chance to tie the score, and perhaps win the game. Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who had left the game for the final two plays of the previous drive with a leg cramp, returned to the field and tried to engineer one final, heroic drive.
Vick came into the game with 2:39 remaining in regulation and the Falcons taking over at their own 27-yard line. But three plays later, with Atlanta staring at a fourth-and-14, he had to come out again.Matt Schaub’s fourth-down pass into double coverage was broken up by Seahawks cornerback Andre Dyson to secure Seattle’s win.
“In this game, anything can happen,” Darby said. “Once you’re in that position, you have to bury teams. We gave them an opportunity to breathe, and you can’t do that.”
For the first 30 minutes, the Seahawks left the Falcons gasping for air. The same Seattle offense that struggled against Jacksonville one week earlier looked unstoppable.
The second quarter was particularly impressive, as the Seahawks piled up 219 yards, 13 first downs and touchdowns on all three possessions en route to a 21-0 lead. On the three scoring drives, Seattle had 31 plays yet faced just three third downs. All three times they needed 3 yards or less to convert the first down – and all three times they did so.
“We threw the ball and caught the ball very well,” Holmgren said. “… Our rhythm was pretty good.”
By halftime, the Seahawks had a 21-0 lead, due in large part to convincing margins in both total yardage (288-78) and first downs (17-3). In the second quarter alone, Seattle had 200 more yards and 13 more first downs than the Falcons.
While every facet of Seattle’s game plan was coming together, the lone bright spot for Atlanta was punter Michael Koenen, a Western Washington University product who had plenty of opportunities (five punts) and made the most of them (52.0 yards per kick).
But, as has so often been the case for the home team at Qwest Field, the momentum did not hold up over the final 30 minutes. Atlanta out-gained the Seahawks 145-140 in total yardage and scored 18 unanswered points.
Things really got interesting early in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks were looking to add to a 21-10 lead after a long drive into Atlanta territory. But a second-and-4 at the Falcons’ 18-yard line turned into a third-and-28 after penalties on three of four snaps – all of them called on Seattle’s most experienced veterans (Strong, center Robbie Tobeck and right guard Chris Gray).
Hasselbeck completed a pass on third down, only to see receiver Bobby Engram fumble the ball away with 6:56 remaining in the game. Vick scrambled for 32 yards on the Falcons’ first play but displayed a slight limp afterward. He came out of the game three plays later, and Schaub came on to finish the drive. After T.J. Duckett’s 1-yard touchdown run – and Schaub’s two-point conversion pass to tight end Alge Crumpler – the Falcons pulled within a field goal. But that was as close as they would get.
“We talked about it at halftime and felt that if we could hold them to zero points in the second half, with our offense, we could win the game,” Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking said. “… That is exactly what we did. But, in the NFL, you can’t afford a slow start.”
Seeing as though it was the home opener, the Seahawks were well aware of how disastrous a loss could have been. But if the players were getting worried in the second half, they weren’t letting on afterward.
“Obviously, it would be real bad if we lost that game,” Hasselbeck said. “But we didn’t. As players, I don’t think it was in our head.”
For most of the 66,030 fans in attendance, another meltdown had to be on the mind. But this time, the Seahawks refused to let it happen.
“That’s definitely a shot in the arm for us,” Strong said. “It gives you a little confidence in something that, in the past, we haven’t been that successful at doing. I’m just happy we got it done.”
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