The Hawks Nest: A Statement Seattle Victory
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by SSreporters
I am going to die of a heart attack watching Seattle Seahawks games. This was a statement stand by a team that was picked to finish 2nd or 3rd in the NFC West, they don't play well on the east coast, and now they are one win away from another NFC West title. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-24 in a close game, and are now 8-4, and are closing in on a possible first round bye (highly unlikely, but it could happen). Recap of the whole game is needed. And, I almost couldn't right this because Comcast can't handle 3 inches of snow, and it cut the internet connection off.
Recap (1st Quarter)
It all started when A.J. Feeley threw it down the middle on the opening play, Lofa Tatupu, interception 1. Matt Hasselbeck could've easily thrown a pick of his own, but Takeo Spikes had butterfingers. Seattle made them play 3 plays later, on a Shaun Alexander touchdown run, I'm not kidding. Seahawks 7-0. Ensuing possession, Eagles strike right back with a long TD run by Corell Buckhalter, I'm not kidding. Tied at 7-7. Seattle almost gave the ball away on the next possession when Matt Hasselbeck fumbled on one of just 2 sacks of the game for him, but the Eagles couldn't fall on it. Eagles get it back on a punt, Feeley fires, Lofa Tatupu, interception 2. A couple of plays later, Hasselbeck finds Bobby Engram on a beautiful seam pattern, 14-7 Seattle. Crap, we're not done! The Eagles kicked a FG, 14-10 Seattle at the end of the 1st. Shaun Alexander is running like crap.
2nd Quarter
After a missed Josh Brown FG, Philly gets the ball back, but goes 3 and out, Nate Burleson has a huge return to the Philly 43. The next play, he is wide open down the middle, and goes the distance, it's 21-10 Seahawks. The Eagles are clearly in trouble, but no fear, Kevin Curtis beats Deon Grant and Kelly Jennings, and scores from 24 yards out to cut the lead to 21-17. After some ineptitude for the next 9 minutes, a key drive for the Eagles was all the way to the 1 yard line after a pass interference call in the end zone. First play, Brian Westbrook, nothing. Next play, Feeley to the end zone, incomplete. Next play, Westbrook, stopped . So instead of a 21-20 potential score at the half, Andy Reid goes for it, Westbrook, loses a yard with seconds remaining, and Seattle goes into the half with yet ANOTHER huge goal line stand. 21-17 Seahawks.
At halftime, you could say that the game was pretty even, Seattle was still not running the ball well, Philly should've had the lead, and the Seahawks defense saved the day yet again.
3rd Quarter
Seattle was a half away from having their first turnover free game since last season, Bobby Engram gets popped on the 2nd play of the half, and Philly recovers a fumble at the Seattle 40. A rare takeaway for Philly, and they finally capitalized on a left tackle 29 yard TD play. After consecutive 3 and outs, Mo Morris made the play that saved the game. A 3rd and 1, an achilles heel all year long for Seattle, and he fakes out Sheldon Brown on a toss sweep, 45 yards later, Seattle takes the lead for good. It's 28-24 Seattle.
Once again, Philly could've ad a nice opportunity after an interception by Sheldon Brown at their own 22. Guess what Feeley does? Throw it to Julian Peterson, 3 picks by 2 linebackers. End of 3, 28-24 Hawks.
4th Quarter
The first 10:00 of the quarter were boring and irrelevant to the outcome. With the Eagles at their own 40, and 4:20 left in the game, and their season basically hanging in the balance, they drive all the way to the Seattle 44. On a 4th down, Feeley feels (ba-dum-cha) the pressure, throws it high for Kevin Curtis, who can't hang on, and the game is over right? After Mike Walrus' genius plays of how to close out a game, which is run Shaun Alexander for 3 downs and not pick up the 1st down while Philly has all 3 timeouts, Brian Westbrook had a HUGE 64 yard punt return all the way to the Seahawks 14. All they needed was 14 yards, and their season was saved, and dashing Seattle's "upset" bid. A goal line stand in the 1st half for Seattle, they needed one more stop to hang on for their 3rd win in a row at Philadelphia.
With no timeouts, for reasons unknown, Feeley takes a 2 yard loss on a Julian Peterson sack, clock running down with less than a minute left, they ran with Westbrook for all of 4 yards, so some really retarded playcalling by the Eagles. On 3rd down, with 23 seconds left, Feeley, who lost the last game with an interception, lost this one with his 4th pick, Lofa Tatupu had his 3rd pick, and all but sealed the Seahawks bid for another NFC West crown. Final score, Seahawks 28, Eagles 24.
Wow, that was a mouthful. Now for opinion. Shaun Alexander needs to be benched, he's not 100%, running for 65 yards on 20 carries, while Mo Morris gets 64 on 5 carries, tells you something. Mike Holmgren should either resign as head coach, because to get one first down with the game at their mercy, he thinks that Shaun is the guy. He can't think straight! Last year, Seattle could not win these games, their defense has been their savior for Holmgren's idiotic plays. A tough, statement win for Seattle, and as of this typing, still have a 2 game lead over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West as Arizona is winning 14-3.
Your turn, a huge portion of the country watched this one, what happened? Are the Seahawks lucky, or are they good? Also, are the Eagles done after this loss?
