Seahawks’ overtime kickoff was a mishit, not an onside attempt
Sep 13, 2015, 3:26 PM | Updated: 6:11 pm
A poorly-executed pooch kick gave the Rams a short field at the start of their overtime win over Seattle. (AP)
(AP)
BY
Former Seattle Sports Host
ST. LOUIS – Seattle’s attempt at an onside kick to start overtime should have never happened.
That’s not a commentary on Pete Carroll’s coaching strategy or any decision that was made by the Seahawks on the kick that the Rams recovered at Seattle’s 49 just 14 yards from where Steven Huaschka kicked it.
“That’s not what was supposed to happen there,” Carroll said.
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It was supposed to be a bloop kick, a pooch, and while Seattle’s DeShawn Shead said afterward that the intention was to get the ball back, what everyone initially thought was an attempt at an onside kick was not what the Seahawks or their kicker had in mind.
“I mishit that kick,” Hauschka said. “We were supposed to kick it downfield further than that. I mishit it. So I take responsibility on that.”
Carroll said: “We were kicking the ball in a certain area of the field. We didn’t hit it right. We just missed it … we didn’t execute the kick right. That’s all. Simple as that.”
The Rams’ Bradley Marquez recovered the ball after waving for a fair catch. That was initially thought to be a problem. Officials threw a flag for an illegal fair catch, believing the ball had been kicked off the tee and into the ground – which is how kickers often attempt an onside kick. Players are forbidden from signaling for a fair catch after the ball strikes the ground. Rams players and coaches protested, pointing to the scoreboard that was replaying the kick and showing the ball did not hit the ground before Marquez signaled.
“They got it right,” Hauschka said of the officials.
If the Seahawks had recovered the ball, they would have been able to win the game by kicking a field goal, according to Phil Luckett, the NFL’s officiating supervisor who was assigned to the game. Normally, the team that gets first possession in overtime must score a touchdown to win the game without the other team having a possession. However, the kickoff would have constituted the Rams’ chance at a possession, according to Luckett, and had Seattle recovered, the game would have been in sudden-death format where the first team to score wins.
Instead, the Rams recovered and drove to a field goal, winning when their defense stopped Seattle on the ensuing possession. It was the first time that Seattle lost in overtime since Russell Wilson became the team’s quarterback. The Seahawks had been 4-0 in overtime games with Wilson in the regular season and also won last season’s NFC Championship Game in overtime.
