Fast Facts: Seahawks roll to 51-29 win over Lions in home finale
Jan 2, 2022, 4:39 PM | Updated: 7:10 pm
The Seahawks at least went out on a high note in front of their home crowd at Lumen Field.
Seattle had its best offensive day of the season, burning the two-win Detroit Lions on the ground and through the air for a 51-29 win on Sunday afternoon.
Seahawks 51, Lions 29: 710 reacts | 10 numbers that stand out | Stats
The victory improves the Seahawks to 6-10 with one last game to play next Sunday at Arizona. Seattle’s 51 points are a season high, and in fact are the most the Seahawks have scored in a game since a 58-0 win over Arizona in Week 14 of the 2012 season. That was quarterback Russell Wilson’s rookie year.
Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 170 yards and two touchdowns, DK Metcalf had three touchdown receptions, and Wilson made four TD passes in the Seattle win. Kicker Jason Myers made field goals from 55, 42 and 36 yards, and Seattle also had three takeaways on defense.
The win could be especially meaningful as there has been speculation it could be the last home game with the Seahawks for longtime stars Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner, something both players addressed in press conferences in the days ahead of the game.
Russell Wilson: “I hope it’s not my last game” in Seattle
Read the fast facts from the game below.
Scoring plays and highlights
• First half
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Seahawks, who went three-and-out on offense and then lost one of their two Pro Bowlers on their first defensive play. Perennial All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner slid awkwardly on the rainy turf at Lumen Field, and he was soon deemed questionable to return with a knee injury. After the game, coach Pete Carroll said Wagner would undergo an MRI for a sprained knee, per 710 ESPN Seattle’s Stacy Rost.
Even without Wagner, the first quarter – and almost the entire first half – was all Seahawks.
Rashaad Penny broke out with the best first half by a Seahawks running back since 2001, per ESPN Stats & Info, with 144 yards on the ground and two touchdowns before halftime. Penny had a 20-yard run and 15-yard touchdown on Seattle’s second offensive series to go up 7-0, then added a 23-yard rush to help set up a 51-yard Jason Myers field goal late in the first quarter.
Just walk right in, @pennyhendrixx!
📺: #DETvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/vxb5ZYIMqv
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 2, 2022
In the second quarter, Penny followed up a 58-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Freddie Swain with a 6-yard TD run (capping off a two-play scoring drive), and later reeled off a 37-yard run that contributed to an 11-play, 90-yard TD drive.
DK Metcalf caught a 13-yard score and Tyler Lockett took a nifty shovel pass from Wilson with just 21 seconds before halftime in from a yard out as Seattle led 31-7 after two quarters.
Russell Wilson with the smooth toss to Tyler Lockett for the TD! #Seahawks
📺: #DETvsSEA on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/nlTzHi1KwM— NFL (@NFL) January 2, 2022
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown scored Detroit’s lone TD in the first half on a 26-yard run with 11:08 left in the second quarter. Detroit also missed a field goal at the end of the half.
• Second half
Seattle opened the third quarter still on a roll, but Detroit was able to eat into the Seahawks’ lead with back-to-back touchdowns.
D.J. Reed picked off a pass that was batted into the air on the first play of the half, making the first interception of the season by a Seahawks cornerback, and two plays later Seattle was up 38-7 on a second 13-yard touchdown pass to Metcalf from Wilson.
Wasting no time. Two players after the turnover, it's @dkm14 in the end zone again!
📺 #DETvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/KLdYDft8qZ
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 2, 2022
Detroit punched back with an eight-play, 73-yard drive, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Tim Boyle to St. Brown. Then the Lions recovered an onside kick and put together another long series, taking up 5:24 of clock time on a 10-play, 56-yard drive capped off by Boyle finding offensive tackle Taylor Decker on a six-yard TD pass, to cut Seattle’s lead to 38-22.
The Seahawks needed an answer to stop the Lions’ momentum, and they had one.
Seattle essentially put the game away with its longest drive of the game in terms of time it took off the clock, taking up 7:14 on 13 plays and covering 75 yards along the way. Wilson scrambled 17 yards to the 1-yard line, then found Metcalf for their third TD hookup of the game to make it 45-22 in the Seahawks’ favor with 12:36 left to play.
DK WITH THREE TDs 👀 @dkm14
📺: #DETvsSEA on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/zV0KKQwRRG— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2022
Jamaal Williams had a 1-yard rushing score for Detroit, while Myers tacked on two more field goals before the game ended.
Reed and Ugo Amadi had interceptions for Seattle on the Lions’ final two drives.
Key stats
Seattle had 29 first downs to Detroit’s 20 and outgained the Lions 497-357.
Rashaad Penny had the biggest day of any player with 175 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, plus two receptions for 15 yards.
DK Metcalf hauled in six receptions for 63 yards and three TDs, with Freddie Swain leading Seattle with 65 receiving yards on two catches.
Russell Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes for 236 yards and four TDs. He also rushed six times for 24 yards.
D.J. Reed made two interceptions and Ugo Amadi had another.
Picking up right where we left off. 😉
📺 #DETvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/VuOItOC34G
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 2, 2022
Lions QB Tim Boyle, filling in for injured starter Jared Goff, threw 22 of 37 for 262 yards, two TDs and three interceptions.
Amon-Ra St. Brown led the Lions with 111 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches. He also rushed twice for 23 yards.
Rost: What can you put stock into from Hawks’ victory over two-win Lions?
Seahawks injuries
In addition to Wagner’s knee injury, Seahawks defensive end Carlos Dunlap was deemed questionable to return with an ankle injury and cornerback John Reid was taken out of the game to be evaluated for a possible concussion. The latter two injuries occurred in the third quarter.
Up next for the Seahawks
Seattle (6-10) will wrap up the season on the road against the playoffs-bound Arizona Cardinals (11-5) in a 1:25 p.m. game next Sunday, Jan. 9. Coverage of the game will begin on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM with the pregame show at 10 a.m.
