Close, but no sack: Seahawks can’t bring down Philip Rivers
Sep 14, 2014, 11:56 PM | Updated: Sep 16, 2014, 4:47 pm
BY
Former Seattle Sports Lead Editor
Getting pressure on Philip Rivers wasn’t much of an issue for Seattle on Sunday.
Finishing him off was the problem.
The Seahawks’ inability to bring down San Diego’s quarterback was among the bigger – and not to mention most surprising – factors in Seattle’s 30-21 loss.
“There were some plays we felt we got close to him and we shoulda sacked him or we shoulda rushed a little harder to get to him and he converted on us,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said during a postgame interview with 710 ESPN Seattle.
More coverage of the Seahawks’ Week-2 loss to San Diego
| • Recap | Stats | Photos | Interviews | Carroll Show | • O’Neil: What we learned | • O’Neil: Seahawks’ issue was a matter of time | • O’Neil: Time (of possession) on Chargers’ side | • O’Neil: Seahawks bust out the ‘Belly Flip’ | • O’Neil: Seahawks say heat wasn’t a major factor | • Huard: Breaking down Harvin’s touchdown run | • Henderson: Sherman was hardly ‘exposed’ | • Henderson: Carroll fine with Lynch leaving early |
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting off the field as a defense and getting the offense the ball back.”
Rivers completed 28 of 37 attempts for 284 yards and three touchdowns, a good deal of that damage coming on plays in which he either beat Seattle’s pressure by eluding it or getting rid of the ball quickly. The Seahawks finished with a single sack, an upset considering the Chargers were without their starting center and played for a stretch with a backup at left tackle.
And then there’s the fact that Rivers isn’t the most fleet of foot quarterback, which is putting it nicely. A prototypical pocket passer at 6 feet 5 and 228 pounds, his usual lack of mobility should have had Seattle’s defense licking its chops. A few times, though, it was Rivers’ legs that kept Seattle’s defense on the field.
He picked up first downs with runs of 12 and 4 yards and officially finished with 17 in all, a total that factors in the 7 yards he lost on kneel-downs. And while that may not seem like much, it was a total that Rivers has topped only four times in the past five seasons.
