Takeaway
The Seahawks frittered away a 24-7 lead in the fourth quarter and fell to Cincinnati Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium when Mike Nugent’s 42-yard field goal attempt at 3:36 of overtime hit the left upright and bounced through, giving the Bengals a 27-24 victory. Seattle had not squandered a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead since Oct. 10, 2004, when it led the St. Louis Rams 27-10 and lost 33-27 (box).
Essential moments
Several plays doomed the Seahawks, three in particular. Holding a 24-21 lead with 2:27 remaining in regulation, the Seahawks had a chance to run out the clock by converting a 3rd-and-4. But the Bengals sacked QB Russell Wilson, forcing a punt. Cincinnati drove for a Nugent field in the final second that sent the game into OT . Seattle aided the Bengals’ march with a 27-yard pass interference penalty on CB Cary Williams.
The Seahawks had two scoring chances in OT, the but the first ended when Wilson, hurried by the Bengals’ pass rush, threw short of a wide-open WR Tyler Lockett. The second failed when, following a personal foul on RT Gary Gilliam that forced the Seahawks to start a drive for their 10, Wilson was sacked again, forcing another punt.
Offense
After building the 24-7 lead on Wilson’s 30-yard TD pass to WR Jermaine Kearse, a 24-yard Steven Hauschka field goal, a 69-yard TD run by RB Thoma Rawls, and Bobby Wagner’s 23-yard fumble return, the Seattle offense left the building. Its final six drives ended in Jon Ryan punts. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks managed only 27 yards. In the fourth quarter and overtime, the Seahawks went 1-for-6 on third down.
Wilson completed 15 of 23 for 213 yards, one touchdown and one interception, which came on a poor decision when he attempted to force a pass over the middle with Seattle driving in the red zone. Wilson finished with a 91.39 passer rating, but was sacked four more times, bringing his 2015 total to 22.
Rawls, who started in place of the injured Marshawn Lynch (hamstring), rushed for a career-high 169 yards, including his 69-yard TD (first of his NFL career), on 23 carries. That’s the most yards in a game by a Seattle running back since 2006, when Shaun Alexander had 206 against Green Bay.
Seattle finished with a season-high 200 rushing yards. Rawls’ rushing TD was Seattle’s first.
Wilson targeted Graham on Seattle’s first pass play, but only four times thereafter. Graham caught three passes for 30 yards. Kearse’s 30-yard TD catch was his first of the season.
Defense
The Seahawks sacked Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton four times, but that didn’t offset his 331 passing yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Tyler Eifert. Dalton had 102 yards and a touchdown before his first errant throw.
Earl Thomas prevented a Cincinnati touchdown in the first half when he picked Dalton in the end zone and returned it 68 yards — Seattle’s first pick of the season. But a penalty on the return by DT Michael Bennett (he hit Dalton multiple times) cost Seattle 51 of those 68 yards. Wilson had 22-yard completions to Tyler Lockett and Graham following Bennett’s penalty, but the Seahawks had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown.
Seattle won the turnover battle 3-2, but allowed Cincinnati 173 yards on its final three possessions of regulation.
Cincinnati entered as the NFL’s No. 2-ranked offense, averaging 422 yards per game. The Seahawks “held” the Bengals to 419.
When Cincinnati scored a touchdown on its first possession, a 14-yard pass from Dalton to Eifert, that snapped a streak of 20 consecutive defensive possessions Seattle had gone without allowing a touchdown.
Wagner’s 23-yard fumble return TD was Seattle’s third return score of the season, following 57-yard punt and 105-yard kickoff returns by Lockett.
Words
“We had them, but they did a great job of finishing. We just have to get more prepared and improve. We hold ourselves to a high standard.” — Rawls.
“We just didn’t finish and that’s a huge thing for us in this organization. In the fourth quarter and overtime, we didn’t execute. We need to keep grinding until things start going our way” — Kearse.
Noteworthy
The Seahawks fell to 2-3. Last year, they reached the Super Bowl after starting 3-3 . . . Seattle has never defeated a 4-0 team on the road . . . The Seahawks are 6-5 in their last 11 10 a.m. PT kickoff games . . . Bengals lead the all-time series 10-9 . . . Seattle extended its streak to 16 of 100-yard team rushing games . . . Seattle is 13-8 in its past 21 road contests.
Next
The Seahawks return to CenturyLink Field at 1:05 p.m. Sunday to face the Carolina Panthers (FOX). Carolina is 4-0 and will be coming off a bye week.
8 Comments
You can blame the defense, play-calling, but where was the Seahawks alleged star Russell Wilson? I guess I could fathom that type of performance if he was a rookie but he’s being paid top $$$. Guys like Peyton Manning get pilloried for playing like that.
God is challenging him.
Ran for his freakin life, MOST of the game…guys coming through, essentially unopposed many times. Made some bad decisions, no doubt, but the guy was behind the proverbial eight ball, as he has been all year, so far. And you can’t discount the play calling, imo. SO freakin predictable. As for the D, I think Williams and Chancellor DID have a pretty crap game. But in the 4th, they were simply gettin gassed because the O (which includes the coordinator, btw) couldn’t move the damned ball…no gettin around that.
Who would do better than Wilson, considering the new Offensive line? Peyton Manning? Brady? Rogers? Dalton? Not to disparage the Seahawks new group of O linemen. They are progressing rapidly and doing great, considering how new they are to the task. This is just not the same team, thanks to the salary cap.
To make things somewhat fair, why not give the owners and players 80% of the revenues and put the remaining amount into paying off the taxpayers dollars used to build the stadiums? Split what is left over between and a health and retirement program all players and owners can draw from as their health and age issues require, and a fund to provide tickets to low income families so they and their children might have a chance to see a game?
Should the salary cap be allowed to decimate a team as it has the Seahawks?
Has the time has come for the salary cap to go?
Not sure whether to use a Denny Green analogy in regarding the Bengals(THEY WERE who we thought they WERE!)
Or just be numb to the thought that our defense is usually our strength esp in the 4th Quarter(disappeared)…
This
game has a shoe on the other foot feeling regarding that game we played
vs Houston in 2013 that we absolutely stole from them.We had no
business winning that game and yet we caught them at the end of the game
after being down by 17 and sent it into OT where we won.
Both were on the road only this time the home team won
Granted the Texans weren’t undefeated but it is eerily similar
These were games the Hawks use to win… has their killer instinct waned? Or
does Cary Williams need to be replaced?He looked awful today.
No time to feel sorry for themselves!the Panthers sure wont give them any sympathy. Lets go Seattle One game at a time…..
We will see what they are made of in the next month.
Williams had a horrid game, but I think Chancellor did as well. He seemed, confused most of the game, just sort of watching plays go by. Definitely not the Kam of last year…yet. imo of course.
What amazes me is the Bengals are to the NFL what the fast forward button is to your Remote.Their style has got them to 5~0.The Big Cats are crisp/fast.
Yet for 3 Qtrs we were using another remote button:Mute.
The Hawks held those guys in check convincingly in the first 3.
Most viewing the game felt that a Seahawks win was a foregone conclusion.
They lost in part because the Hawks did exactly what the Texans did back in 2013.They began to play not to lose.The offense was transparent in the 4th Qtr and as to your points?Chancellor and Williams should donate their game check to charity as both gave an absymal performance in that critical 4th Qtr.
It is disheartening. A big hole in 2~3 does not lie. Much work to be done.Should they lose to the Panthers 2~4 would almost assure the best they would be able to do is a Wild card appearance if they even make the play offs IMO.
The good news is there is zero chance with boredom with this edition of the Seattle Seahawks. Enjoy the roller coaster.