Can’t blame pressure for Seahawks’ second straight late-game collapse

A typical culprit for a malleable defense is a lack of pressure on the quarterback. That’s what made the Seahawks’ second consecutive late-game collapse even more of an anomaly.

“The rush, the things that happened up front – Michael (Bennett) and Cliff Avril making things happen and crucial sacks and stuff,” said head coach Pete Carroll Sunday after the team’s 27-23 loss to Carolina. “We played really, really hard and don’t get out of here with the rewards of that kind of effort.”

The defense notched three sacks and eight quarterback hits, but was even more disruptive at times than the stat sheet showed. The Panthers, meanwhile, had four sacks and six quarterback hits. Cam Newton, the 245-pound Carolina QB, is a load to take down, but Seahawks pass rushers kept him relatively uncomfortable in the pocket and limited him to just 46 yards passing in the first half. Newton finished with 269 passing yards, 30 yards rushing and a season-low 65.5 QB Rating.

Seattle had only six sacks through the first four games but have seven in the past two.

Defensive end Cliff Avril, who was active on the line and collected three tackles, said the game plan was not out of the ordinary.

“(It’s) what it is every week: Try to get pressure, try to get hits, effect him, try to make him uncomfortable in the pocket,” Avril said.

Linebacker Bruce Irvin added two sacks, increasing his season total to 3.5. Irvin has built a solid resume against the Panthers, with seven sacks in the four career games against the NFC South foe.

“Bruce, he is finding himself,” Avril said. “He’s understanding the game, he’s understanding what he needs to do.”

Moments before confusion in the secondary led to a wide-open winning touchdown for Greg Olson, the Panthers faced a crucial third-and-3 situation. The Seahawks D-line had strong push right up the middle into Newton’s face, but the Pro Bowler still managed to zip a pass to Jerricho Cotchery for the first down.

Carroll said the group “pressured well and effectively” and bottled up the passing game up until the dramatic final play.

“They just made some plays,” Carroll said. “We were able to pressure him at times in there and get some balls thrown away, but he had enough. When you got four downs to go for it and you’ve got to hit one for a first down, and he was able to do that.”

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