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Seahawks improve to 2-0 with OT road win against Patriots

Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times on

Published in Football

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Pete Carroll may be gone.

But in Mike Macdonald’s second game as his replacement, the Seahawks seemed to pay some homage to their former coach, pulling out a game that for much of the fourth quarter seemed to be slipping away.

The Seattle Seahawks got a Jason Myers field goal with 55 seconds to force overtime and another from 31 yards with 4:37 left in overtime to beat the host Nerw England Patriots 23-20.

The Seahawks improve to 2-0 and move into first place in the NFC West as they’re the only team in the division that has a winning record, and are returning home to host Miami next Sunday.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith played a mostly flawless game, hitting 33-of-44 passes for 327 yards and a TD with no interceptions in a game that featured no turnovers for either team.

Before Myers could hit his game winner the Seahawks first had to stop the Patriots, who won the coin toss but couldn’t move it after taking over at their own 30. A third-and-one run by Rhamondre Stevenson was stopped by a sure tackle from linebacker Tyrel Dodson (the Pats were also called for illegal formation on the play, so it wouldn’t have counted if they’d gotten it).

The Seahawks took over at their 16 and used a 10-yard completion from Smith to DK Metcalf to get out of trouble.

A 20-yard pass interference penalty drawn by Tyler Lockett moved them into Patriots territory.

On a third-and-six at the 45, the Patriots brought an all-out blitz. Smith calmly hit Zach Charbonnet in the flat and Charbonnet was able to leap to gain the final yard needed for a first down at the 38.

A 16-yard pass to Lockett got the Seahawks comfortably in position and Myers hit his third field goal of the game.

The Seahawks tied it after they appeared they might be able to win it.

Myers’ field goal to send the game into OT came only after Smith was stuffed on a third-and-one run at the 15. The Seahawks feigned as if going for it on fourth down only to take a delay penalty and settle for the field goal.

The Patriots took over at their own 30 with 55 seconds left. But the Pats couldn’t move it and punted it. The Seahawks had the ball at their own 24 with 15 seconds left and a time out. They played it safe and after calling a time out, Smith knelt and the game went to overtime.

The Seahawks overcame five dropped passes, a Kenneth Walker III-less running game that managed just 46 yards on 19 carries in pulling out the game.

The game seemed lost when New England reached the Seattle 25 with just over six minutes to play, seeming on the verge of a touchdown that could have put the game away.

A key play came when Boye Mafe appeared to have Patriots running back Antonio Gibson stopped for a loss back at the New England 24.

But Gibson slithered away and broke down the sideline for 45 yards before Devon Witherspoon finally caught up to him at the 25.

The Patriots gained only two yards on their next two runs and decided to throw on third down. Pats QB Jacoby Brissett, finding no one open, was sacked by Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II for a 9-yard loss taking it back to the 30.

 

Joey Slye, who had made two earlier short field goals, had no chance on this one as Seahawks safety Julian Love burst over the right side to block the kick.

The Seahawks took over at its own 38 with 3:54 to play.

Charbonnet converted a third-and-1 to take it to the 47 with just over two minutes to play to help get the Seahawks keep before the stop of Smith caused the Seahawks to settle for the tying field goal.

The Seahawks went for the kill to start the third quarter. After picking up 14 yards on a pass from Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a third-and-15 to take it to the New England 23, Seattle decided to go for it.

A field goal would have put the Seahawks up 20-13, but a touchdown would have made it a two-score game.

The ploy in the backfield as a run by Charbonnet over the left side had no chance, with the Pats getting easy penetration to blow up the play and Charbonnet losing two yards.

Neither team could move it on their next two series, with one Seahawks drive being killed by two passes that might have been classified as drops.

With 4:03 to go in the third quarter, New England took over at its own 34 and used the running game to march steadily down field.

Gains of 18 and seven by Stevenson got the drive going and a 7-yard pass to Gibson to convert a third-and-4 kicked it into gear.

The Pats marched steadily to the six where on second down, Stevenson fumbled as he powered through the line but right tackle Mike Onwenu got it back for the Pats setting up a third-and-2 at the 3.

Stevenson picked up two yards on the next play to take it to the 1 for a first down and scored on a direct snap on the next play to make it 20-17 with 12:46 to play.

The Seahawks got one first down to begin their next drive.

But a pass to Fant that would have taken it to the New England 43 was negated due to a holding penalty on rookie tight end AJ Barner.

A sack followed and the drive quickly ended.

The Seahawks led 17-13 at the end of a first half that might have featured more offense than expected considering how each team had played on defense last week

The Patriots scored first on a five-yard pass from Brissett to former Husky Ja’Lynn Polk, capping an eight-play, 60-yard drive.

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©2024 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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