O’Neil: Seahawks nearly come back in game dominated by the Chargers
Nov 4, 2018, 4:42 PM | Updated: 6:44 pm
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks had a shot at tying the Chargers with no time left. (AP)
(AP)
First the Seahawks ran out of time.
Then they ran out of chances when Russell Wilson’s final pass bounced off the shoulder off receiver David Moore at the back of the end zone, and a game that showed just how far the Seahawks still have to go ended with people talking about how close they came to pulling off an improbable comeback.
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The Seahawks trailed by 15 points with 6 minutes, 44 seconds left, yet they were a fingertip away from having a chance to tie the game with no time remaining.
That fingertip belonged to Jahleel Addae, who had a subtle but significant deflection of Wilson’s final pass, which went through the hands of Moore and off his shoulder pad.
Chargers 25, Seahawks 17, and that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of this game.
Seattle scored a touchdown on its opening possession, driving 75 yards on a 13-play procession that consumed more than half of the opening period. The Seahawks didn’t reach the end zone again until Nick Vannett’s 6-yard touchdown catch with 1:50 remaining.
The Chargers’ offense spent a large chunk of the time between Seattle’s touchdowns moving the ball at will. Melvin Gordon rushed for 115 yards and scored a touchdown, becoming the second player to run for triple-digits against the Seahawks this season.
It was the Chargers defense that appeared to seal the game when Desmond King jumped an out route, intercepting Wilson’s pass and returning it 42 yards for a touchdown with just under 7 minutes left in the game. Wilson entered this season not having had an interception returned for a touchdown since his rookie season. King’s touchdown was the second time this season Wilson had an interception ran back for a score against him. Chicago’s Prince Amukamura scored at almost exactly the same point of the fourth quarter of the Bears’ Week 2 victory over the Seahawks.
And like that game in Chicago, the Seahawks came marching back.
Wilson led Seattle on a 54-yard touchdown drive to pull within one score. While Seattle failed to recover the ensuing onside kick, the Seahawks forced the Chargers to punt with fewer than 2 minutes remaining.
Two penalties helped Seattle’s ensuing drive, and Wilson got Seattle in position to throw for the end zone in the final 10 seconds. Tyler Lockett wasn’t able to haul in Wilson’s pass as time expired, but the Chargers were penalized for defensive pass interference.
The Seahawks were awarded one untimed down from the Los Angeles 1. J.R. Sweezy was penalized for a false start, pushing Seattle to the Los Angeles 6. But while Seattle had the chance at tying the game in its hands, it couldn’t quite pull it in.
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