The second half numbers of this game are staggering, the Hawks outgained the Colts by 305 yards and outscored them 36-3. After being down 15-10 at the half, the defense turned it around, the offensive line gave Russell Wilson time to throw and Wilson connected with almost every receiver on the field. It was glorious.
Offense
The first half of this game had me very, very worried. It was completely lopsided in favor of the Colts who lead in points, time of possession and yardage. I wish I knew what Pete Carroll, Tom Cable and Kris Richard had to say to the team to get both the offense and defense to do a complete 180. Wilson was sacked 3 times in the 1st half and zero in the 2nd. We also learned a new stat about Wilson tonight, he has the most drop backs under pressure in 2 seconds or less in the NFL since 2013 with 308, that’s a lot. He was sacked in the end zone for a safety in the first quarter and the only scoring plays were a 44 yard field goal from Blair Walsh and a pick 6 from backup corner Justin Coleman.
However, the second half was a completely different story. Russell had a 23 yard TD run with a successful 2 point conversion to Doug Baldwin to give the Seahawks the lead, 18-15. Chris Carson and Eddie Lacy are two names we’ve been used to hearing all season when it comes to Seattle’s rushing attack, but J.D. McKissic, that’s a new one. He did everything in his power to make sure that we will remember his name for the rest of the season, at the least. CJ Prosise is now on his 6th injury in just 22 games in the NFL. This was the reason for the Hawks activating McKissic today and in his first game of the season, the Arkansas State running back tallied 38 rushing yards and 27 receiving yards and two total touchdowns. He exploded on the scene tonight and his long dreadlocks even had the announcers thinking he was Eddie Lacy on his first TD.
“Oh, man, it was crazy, my first run… I just hit it. It’s something that you dream of.”
J.D. McKissic
Wilson finished the day 21/26 with 295 yards and 2 TD’s. He connected with Jimmy Graham, Paul Richardson, Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett multiple times with all receivers catching 25+ yard bombs, the longest being 41 yards to Lockett. Our boys are back 12’s and I couldn’t be happier!
Defense
Coming into this game, Seattle’s defense had allowed 60+ yard runs in back to back games for the first time in team history and tonight they held Frank Gore to 46 rushing yards and the Colts as a team to 98 rushing yards total. Although it was a slow start for the defense as well, their dominance in the second half was remarkable. Jacoby Brissett was sacked 3 times 1.5 of those coming from backup DE Marcus Smith II who was also responsible for forcing a Brissett fumble that Bobby Wagner scooped up and ran in for a TD. That was just one of the two defensive touchdowns tonight. Nickelback Justin Coleman intercepted Brissett for a 28 yard pick 6 as well. I’m telling you, it was magical.
Injuries
Cornerback Jeremy Lane suffered a hip injury on the opening series and defensive end Cliff Avril suffered a neck injury in the first half as well and neither defensemen returned. Chris Carson was carted off the field in the 4th quarter with an air cast on his left leg. It was later confirmed by Pete Carroll that Carson suffered a significant ankle injury.
“We had a couple different reports here, but now we know that he did hurt his ankle significantly. We’ll see what that means when we get all the MRIs and all that stuff done.”
Pete Carroll
Starting left tackle Rees Odhiambo suffered a chest injury and Carroll said the o-lineman had trouble breathing at one point. As a precaution, Carroll said Odhiambo is being taken care of in the hospital tonight.
Up Next
Next Sunday, the Seahawks head to the “City of Angels” to take on the Los Angeles Rams at the Memorial Coliseum at 1:05pm PST. The Rams will be coming off a huge victory over the Dallas Cowboys and will be looking to protect home field. Go Hawks!
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