Seahawks fall to 0-2 with 27-17 loss to Packers

No miracle comeback this time. No controversial call. No last-minute drama between the Seahawks and the Packers. Just Green Bay landing a huge uppercut to start the game, weathering a third-quarter flurry from Seattle's offense and then pulling away late to hand the Seahawks their largest loss in four years.

BY DANNY O

Sep 20, 2015, 9:02 PM Updated: Sep 21, 2015, 12:20 pm

Follow on Google News

Marshawn Lynch gained only 41 yards on 15 carries in Seattle's 27-17 loss to Green Bay. (AP)

(AP)

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – No miracle comeback this time.

No controversial call.

No last-minute drama between the Seahawks and the Packers. Just Green Bay landing a huge uppercut to start the game, weathering a third-quarter flurry from Seattle’s offense and then pulling away late to hand the Seahawks their largest loss in four years.

Green Bay 27, Seattle 17.

Defense didn’t finish | Carroll disputes call | Knee-jerk reactions | Carroll Show

It’s the Seahawks’ first double-digit loss since Nov. 6, 2011, when Dallas beat them 23-13.

Oh, and there were also penalties. Lots and lots of penalties. Penalties that opened the door for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to throw downfield in the first half, resulting in one touchdown and leading to Green Bay’s second field goal. Throw in a fourth-quarter penalty that resulted in the ejection of linebacker K.J. Wright, and Seattle was left stewing after an 0-2 start that included some encouraging signs of life for the offense, but way too many mistakes and too few passes to new tight end Jimmy Graham.

It’s only the third time the Seahawks have lost back-to-back regular-season games going back to 2012, and it’s the first time Seattle has started 0-2 since 2011.

The Seahawks had chances. They even held a four-point lead in the third quarter after scoring touchdowns on each of their first two possessions of the second half.

But Green Bay’s 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter was punctuated by a two-point conversion that gave the Packers a 24-17 lead with 9:35 left as Aaron Rodgers threw to Richard Rodgers for a 5-yard touchdown and then again, Rodgers (Aaron) found Rodgers (Richard) on the conversion.

Russell Wilson was picked off on Seattle’s ensuing possession, Packers linebacker Jayrone Elliott sniffing out a screen to Marshawn Lynch and picking off the pass one-handed. Elliott fumbled the ball during his return, and Seahawks left guard Justin Britt protested he recovered the ball, but officials ruled the Packers retained possession.

Green Bay took almost 5 minutes off the clock before Mason Crosby kicked his fourth field goal of the game to give Green Bay a 27-17 lead.

Seattle crossed midfield on the ensuing possession before running back Fred Jackson fumbled the ball with 23 seconds left.

The Seahawks had the ball five times in the first half, gained 105 yards in total offense and scored three points. Their first two possessions of the first half gained 128 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

The first touchdown was scored on a 5-yard pass to Jackson, capping an 80-yard drive. The Seahawks scored again 3 minutes later, this time on a 13-yard pass to Doug Baldwin.

And just like that, a Seahawks offense that had scored a total of one touchdown over the first six quarters of the season reached the end zone twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

It was quite a turnaround from a first half in which the Seahawks cost themselves almost as many yards in penalties (81) as they gained in offense (105). In fact, the problems were pervasive enough Seattle could consider itself fortunate to be trailing 13-3 at halftime.

The Packers gained twice as many yards as the Seahawks in the first quarter, 115-58. They scored on their first two possessions, taking a double-digit lead and becoming just the fifth team in Pete Carroll’s six seasons as Seahawks coach to score 10 or more points in the first quarter against Seattle in a regular-season game.

It was a hole the Seahawks could only blame themselves for. It was a penalty that kept Green Bay’s first drive alive, Seattle found to have 12 players on the field after a Packers incompletion on third-and-1.

Seattle was just getting started, though. Defensive end Michael Bennett was flagged twice for jumping offside, and each time that allowed Rodgers to throw downfield with impunity. The first time, it resulted in a 22-yard completion to Davonte Adams. The second time, it resulted in a 29-yard touchdown pass to James Jones.

Seattle’s ensuing possession started with a penalty on the kickoff return and didn’t improve from there. A screen pass to Tyler Lockett gained nothing. That was followed by a handoff to Lynch that lost 2 yards, a false start against left tackle Russell Okung and then a 3-yard loss by Lynch.

The Packers fielded the ensuing punt at Seattle’s 45, and didn’t need to gain so much as a first down before Crosby kicked a 54-yard field goal.

At that point, the Seahawks had been called for five penalties, had negative-5 yards of total offense and trailed by 10 points.

Steven Hauschka’s 54-yard field goal cut the deficit to seven points, but another mistake cost the Seahawks at the end of the second quarter. Bennett again jumped offside. Again, Rodgers threw downfield, only this time the result wasn’t a big completion but an even bigger pass-interference call against cornerback Richard Sherman. It cost Seattle 51 yards in field position, and put the Packers in scoring position with less than a minute to play.

Seattle needed a goal-line stand to hold the Packers to a field goal and limit the halftime deficit to 13-3.