Seahawks 23 Houston 20: Game Review

Now with this being my first real game review of the year, I feel the need to remind you that I don't fact check any of my stats. The things I write about are simply what I recall from the game and what I draw from that amazing catalog of facts I keep in my mind. So please if you are going to correct me when I say Marshawn had 98 yards rushing, when it was really 102..just save it! :) You get the point! Now, Let's break down this historic victory.

This game was really a tale of two halves. Or a tale of one quarter and then 3 quarters and overtime. The Texans played the best quarter of ball on Sunday. in the second quarter they put up all 20 of their points and had our defense on its heels. Pete Carroll's favorite mantra is " Finish Strong" and that is exactly what Seattle did last Sunday.

Offense: With 3 O-line starters out, both tackles Okung, Giacomini and the center Unger, to call the offensive line makeshift would be generous. I thought we would be able to combat this early by designed plays that got Wilson out of the pocket. That didn't happen. JJ. Watt and Brian Cushing were suffocating and relentless from both sides of the field. Our offense wasn't able to develop any sort of rhythm throughout the entire game, with Wilson being sacked 5 times, and 2 turnovers, it was a long hard day on offense. There were some amazing plays however, Marshawn went absolutely BEAST MODE from our own 1 yard line, out to the 45. He broke about 6 tackles and stayed in bounds for an amazing run. Momentum on drives were killed by sacks, and poor execution. You could start to see Seattle piecing it together the second half. We looked like we were driving then Russell slid to protect himself and was a yard short of the frist down, then we couldn't convert. Eventually however they got it together. It seemed like our offense got stronger and the Texans defense got weaker. The Texans looked tired and when I saw the look on JJ.Watts face, the same look Brian Urlacher had last year late in the game vs. the Bears, I knew we were coming back. Russell started scrambling, making a tired defense look slow and silly. At one point he literally had them running in circles. Russell is special. He never stops believing in himself, or this team and he took over on that drive. It was special to watch. Doug Baldwin had some amazing catches. He is 13-15 on targets this year, and he always seems to make the clutch 3rd down catch. Alot of people are saying he is the new Bobby Engram, and I know Engram personally and that is quite the compliment. I think if Baldwin gets more targets he has potential to be better than Bobby. Remember the one season Engram had over 1000 yards receiving and like 90+ catches, that was his best year, and I see Baldwin averaging that should he get the opportunity. Long story short, the offense gets a pass from me this game, because of the woes on the line, and because we won, this teams seems to have a knack for coming up with the big plays when we need them.

Defense: The box score looks a lot worse than our defense did on Sunday. 3oo+ yards in the first half, when we're averaging like 242 per game. Yea......something was off. Still the Texans scored all their points in the 2nd quarter, and our defense pitched a shutout for 3 full quarters + overtime. We came out a little flat, I saw missed tackles, and I was getting really frustrated with our zone defense. We have the personnel to play man coverage with any team, and it seemed like all their big completion were coming against our zone. There were a few fantastic plays by the Texans, that easily could have been incompletions or tackles for a loss, but the ball didn't really bounce our way until later in the game. Its been shown that Schaub can't throw when he is out of the pocket, and is under pressure. They key to the second half turn around was the pressure we were able to put on Schaub. Clemons had a big sack, Avril did too. Im really pleasantly surprised with how well McDonald and McDaniels are playing up the middle. There was a scary moment when Michael Bennett went down with a back injury and was put on a stretcher and taken off the field. Seeing his dad calling out for him from the stands was heart wrenching. Luckily his injury was a low back pull and he will be back at practice this week. With the return of Bruce Irvin this week , fresh off his 4 game suspension for violating the leagues banned substance policy, our pass rush will be at full strength for the first time all season against the Colt. Of course the biggest play of the game came with just under 3 mintues left in regulation when Schaub on a play fake rolled to his right and had a defender in his face and for the 3rd week in a row threw a pick 6. This time to Richard Sherman, who took a risk and jumped the route and ran it back 54 yards with only one shoe. I hate when I hear people say we got lucky on that play, or that Schaub gave us that win. Those people completely ignore the fact that Sherman studied the Texans offense all week. That he knew in 3rd and shorts, after run plays they like to play fake and throw to the flat.  They discount that in practice this week he practiced that exact defensive play, and that on his first attempt he missed the int, on his second attempt he made the interception but fell down, so that when it came time in the real game he was ready to not only intercept the ball but stay on his feet, one shoe and all and take it to the house. The separation isn't in the luck , the separation is in the preparation, and that is why Seattle came out on top.

Special Teams: Often overlooked in the grand scheme of things, but ask any real Seahawk fan about their team and you will get raves about our special teams. Ryan is always clutch,  Houska's 45 yard FG in OT won the game, and Golden Tate had a gutsy punt return out of the end zone in overtime that lead to the game winning FG. Steve Maragos is a beast on special teams coverage. Let's give them their due...they played well the entire game.

Conclusions: The Seahawks were able to win this game out of sheer will, grit, belief, and perseverance. It was a hard fought battle, and we are better for it. This one right here was a character win, and a historical win because for the first time in franchise history the Seattle Seahawks are 4-0. I tried to put that into perspective for myself and what really makes me appreciate this is not that I've never seen it in my lifetime, but that my father who has been a Seahawks fan from the year of their inception in 1975, has never seen a Seahawks team go 4-0. This one for you daddy.  GO 'HAWKS!

The Actual Play of The Game: Sherman's Pick 6 to tie the game.
The Almost Play Of The Game: Jermaine Kerse TD catch that got called back for pushing off.

#WhatsNext  Seattle Seahawks @ Indianapolis Colts @ 10AM PST