Groz’s Just A Minute: The difference that has Seahawks ahead of 49ers
Dec 16, 2019, 11:38 AM
The Seahawks pulled out more late-game magic on Sunday afternoon.
WiFi failure gave Hawks tense moment during end of 49ers-Falcons
For the 10th time this season, Seattle won by a one-score margin in their 30-24 victory over the Panthers. And sure, the Seahawks also led by 20 points in the fourth quarter before Carolina’s offense made things tense down the stretch, but that’s still a remarkable number of wins in close games.
The San Francisco 49ers haven’t been so lucky.
While both Seattle and San Francisco are 11-3, a big reason why the Seahawks have the edge over the 49ers for the NFC West lead is because they have been able to find ways to win in the late moments of close games. All three of San Francisco’s losses have seen its opponent take the lead on the final offensive play of the game. On Sunday, the Falcons scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass with only two seconds left on the clock to go ahead 23-22. Two weeks earlier, Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker hit a 49-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Ravens over the 49ers 20-17. And in Week 10, Seattle’s Jason Myers hit a 42-yard field goal at the end of overtime to give the Seahawks a 27-24 victory.
It may be weird to say, but when you consider that and then the fact that the Seahawks’ three losses have all come in games where they trailed by multiple scores at some point in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks appear to have the advantage for their Week 17 meeting with the 49ers in Seattle. Why? If the score is close down the stretch – and knowing the history between those two teams, it probably will be – the Seahawks have proven to be more successful in those situations than the Niners this year.
Dave “The Groz” Grosby takes a look at that topic and shares a few more things on his mind after Sunday’s Seahawks win in this week’s Just A Minute.
Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Groz on Twitter.
More Seahawks coverage
• With defense thin, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright take charge
• Gallant: Win over Panthers a throwback to first half of this season
• Seahawks clinch playoffs, re-take NFC West lead
• Carroll: Hawks winning with defensive backups ‘a good statement’
• 3 Stars: Chris Carson resumes workhorse role
• O’Neil: Seahawks true to form with stress-filled win over Carolina
