Time wasn’t on the Seahawks’ side against San Diego
Sep 15, 2014, 10:19 AM | Updated: 10:26 am
BY
Former Seattle Sports Host
SAN DIEGO – The Seahawks held the ball for 17 minutes, 45 seconds Sunday against the Chargers, tied for the sixth-lowest time of possession of any game in franchise history.
That impacted more than just Seattle’s ability to develop a rhythm on offense. It kept Seattle’s defense out on the field on a day in which temperatures on the field were consistently above 110 degrees.
“At certain times we needed to have long sustained drives for our defense, to give them a little bit of rest,” tight end Zach Miller said. “And we just didn’t get it done.”
| Lowest time of possession in Seahawks history | ||||||
| TOP | Date | Opponent | Seattle plays | Result | ||
| 14:28 | 11/4/79 | Rams | 35 | L, 24-0 | ||
| 17:04 | 10/23/11 | Browns | 50 | L, 6-3 | ||
| 17:10 | 9/25/88 | 49ers | 42 | L, 38-7 | ||
| 17:10 | 10/18/09 | Cardinals | 46 | L, 27-3 | ||
| 17:26 | 11/7/10 | Giants | 37 | L, 41-7 | ||
| 17:45 | 10/29/06 | Chiefs | 49 | L, 35-28 | ||
| 17:45 | 9/14/14 | Chargers | 40 | L, 30-21 | ||
In fact, the Seahawks had the ball so little over the course of Sunday’s game that the most surprising thing wasn’t that they lost, but that the score was so close. Look at the other games on the franchise’s list for lowest time of possession and you’ll see the nine-point margin of defeat on Sunday was pretty close all things considered.
The second thing to note about the chart: I was surprised to see just how many of those games occurred in the previous 10 years. From 1976 to 2005 – a span of 30 seasons – the Seahawks had just two games in which they possessed the ball for 17:45 or less. Since then – a span of nine seasons – they’ve had five such games under three different coaches.
