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Groz’s Just A Minute: Seahawks’ playoff loss to Packers had 1 big issue

Jan 13, 2020, 11:29 AM | Updated: 11:34 am

Looking at Sunday’s 28-23 Seahawks loss to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, one thing stands out like a sore thumb to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Dave “The Groz” Grosby.

Gallant: Seahawks’ defense that never clicked ultimately doomed them

That one thing is the Seahawks’ decision to punt on fourth-and-11 with less than three minutes to go and trailing by five points instead of letting quarterback Russell Wilson take one more shot at a first down. While Seattle hoped its defense could get a stop and force Green Bay to punt it back before the clock ran out, that didn’t happen. The Packers picked up a pair of first downs, the last of which came on a disputed call on a completion to former Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham, and Green Bay was able to kneel three times to clinch the win and earn a trip to the Bay Area to take on the top-seeded 49ers in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.

“I do not understand why the Seahawks didn’t go for it on fourth-and-11 on their own 36 with three minutes to go,” Groz said in his latest Just A Minute video. “Why not give your best player a chance to work his magic instead of trusting a unit that had struggled for a fourth straight game. … The odds were certainly against you anyway, so why not give Russell one last shot?”

You can hear Groz’s full thoughts on the manner in the attached video, as well as his quick look at what lies ahead for Seattle this offseason. And be sure to catch him every day at 11:45 a.m. with John Clayton on 710 ESPN Seattle.

For more on the Seahawks’ season-ending loss, click any of the links below.

More Seahawks coverage

Rost: Just how similar was Seahawks’ surprising 2019 to the 2012 team?
Huard: Why the Seahawks’ offense starts slow and finishes fast
O’Neil: Seattle’s top offseason need was glaring in playoff loss to Packers
Pete Carroll: ‘This is the start’ of something special
3 Key Moments: Third down defense, tough drop hold Hawks vs Packers

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Groz’s Just A Minute: Seahawks’ playoff loss to Packers had 1 big issue