The Seattle Seahawks played the quality of football a reigning Super Bowl champion should, and then they flexed their collective resolve to hold off a comeback push by the Washington Redskins in Week 5's edition of Monday Night Football.
Seattle managed to hang on for a physical, tense, 27-17 victory at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, led by characteristically strong defense and savvy, magical play from star quarterback Russell Wilson.
Magnificent improvisation helped Wilson scamper for a 122 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries—and also make the completion of the game to running back Marshawn Lynch. A late 43-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka preserved the win.
ESPN analyst Jon Gruden gave the highest praise to Wilson:
Rob Rang of CBSSports.com did a nice job summarizing Wilson's befuddling knack for the unlikeliest big plays:
The Seahawks' official Twitter account accentuated Wilson's rushing prowess:
NFC Director of Football Communications Randall Liu went even further, also pointing out how Seattle is apparently built for the Monday night stage:
Stephania Bell of ESPN expressed a similar sentiment to what Rang said regarding Wilson's manufacturing of chunk yardage:
Numerous penalties—13 for 90 yards, to be exact—prevented the Seahawks from blowing the game open.
Dynamic playmaker Percy Harvin had not one or two, but three touchdowns called back for various infractions. One was a long TD reception that was called back for unnecessary roughness on left guard James Carpenter.
In spite of the adversity, Wilson's dual-threat capabilities allowed Seattle to produce just enough points to keep the game in his side's hands.
The fourth quarter saw a critical sequence unfold in the Seahawks' favor. Punter Jon Ryan converted a 4th-and-inches on a fake field goal, and then Wilson ran a naked bootleg on the next play to keep Seattle's decisive drive alive.
ESPN's Skip Bayless praised Seahawks coach Pete Carroll's risky strategy:
Running back Marshawn Lynch (17 carries, 72 yards) didn't get a ton of carries amid Wilson's virtuosic performance on the ground, but he did chime in as the hot receiver at a critical time. Wilson hit Lynch in a one-on-one situation, and Beast Mode did the rest for a nine-yard trip to paydirt to seal the game. The score came with six minutes and 31 seconds left in the fourth, giving Seattle a 24-10 lead.
Everything seemed to be going the Seahawks' way to start. Washington's rushing attack, spearheaded by Alfred Morris, couldn't mount any momentum, while Wilson beat the opposition with his arm and legs early and often.
Mark Maske of The Washington Post weighed in after Wilson capped a six-play, 65-yard opening drive with a 15-yard TD toss to Jermaine Kearse:
But even after falling behind 17-0, the hosts didn't give up. DeSean Jackson's explosiveness was on full display when he blew past Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor for a deep reception and slipped past Richard Sherman for a 60-yard score to cut it to 17-7 before halftime.
ESPN's Numbers Never Lie highlighted how the Jackson bomb helped Washington QB Kirk Cousins:
Little else materialized for Cousins and the Redskins in the second half, though. Jackson was the clear go-to guy, yet it didn't have much impact on the outcome.
The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre was critical of how Washington prepared, before it got on the scoreboard with minutes remaining in the opening half:
A slow, sluggish start was too much for the home team to overcome, as bad field position and poor third-down offensive execution (3-of-12) doomed Washington—even against a mistake-ridden foe.
A late drive against a softer Seattle defense saw Cousins play better and hit Andre Roberts for a six-yard TD strike.
By then, though, just 3:35 remained on the clock. Another possession was all the offense could have hoped for, but Lynch and Wilson didn't even grant Washington that after their sensational third-down conversion to ice it before the two-minute warning.
The NFC East didn't appear to be the most imposing division at the dawn of 2014. Now it is suddenly a formidable cluster that Washington finds itself at the bottom of as the only team at .500 or below.
Week 6 won't get much easier, either. The Redskins travel to face an Arizona defense that was lit up by Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and will be seeking to get back on track at home.
Ed Werder of ESPN brought up a sound point about Wilson and the numerous hits he took in the pocket and due to his uncanny scrambling ability:
Nevertheless, few teams look as complete as Seattle, so even in this era of extreme parity in the NFL and no undefeated teams remaining through five weeks, the Seahawks could very well hoist the Lombardi Trophy again.
On deck is a home date with the surging, 4-1 Dallas Cowboys in what should be the league's premier matchup in Week 6.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1xZ48mh
via IFTTT October 06, 2014 at 08:46PM
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