Seahawks Vets Set Championship Standard in Win vs. Panthers
SEATTLE, Wash. - Leading up to their Week 3 clash with the Carolina Panthers, the Seattle Seahawks struggled to prepare for their upcoming opponent due to an unusually lengthy injury list with close to a third of their roster sidelined or limited during the practice week and things only got worse in the first half on Sunday.
In a back-and-forth affair highlighted by field goal kickers splitting the uprights, after already entering the game missing three starting offensive linemen, Seattle lost guard Damien Lewis briefly to a hand injury with untested Ben Brown jumping into the lineup for him. On defense, cornerback Tre Brown exited the game with a concussion, further depleting a unit minus starters Riq Woolen and Jamal Adams in the secondary, while edge rusher Darrell Taylor also exited with an injury in the second quarter.
But with members of their Super Bowl XLVIII winning squad in town for the 10-year anniversary celebration, numerous banged up starters, including receiver DK Metcalf, defensive tackle Jarran Reed, and safety Quandre Diggs among others, stepped up to the plate despite being less than 100 percent. Demonstrating their own championship-worthy effort, they played starring roles as Seattle weathered through an early storm before seizing control of the game in the final two quarters for a commanding 37-27 victory at Lumen Field.
"The guys that were hurt all week that couldn't play, that were able to get to game day and answer the call. Diggsy [Quandre Diggs], Julian Love, DK [Metcalf], J Reed [Jarran Reed], those guys didn't get much work at all and they just wouldn't not play," coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "So they made it through their injuries and sucked it up and all had really solid games for us. It's a great visual for our young guys to understand what it takes."
Bouncing back from a shot to the ribs one week earlier against the Lions that caused him to miss a pair of practices this week, a poised Metcalf enjoyed his best game between the lines since last December. Averaging nearly 19 yards per reception, he caught six passes for a season-high 112 yards, reeling in four receptions netting at least 19 yards to help set up five Jason Myers field goals in the first two-plus quarters of action.
But Metcalf's positive contributions on Sunday went beyond his pass-catching statistics. Even as the offense failed to finish promising drives and sputtered on others, including after a rare interception thrown by Geno Smith deep in Seahawks territory in the second quarter, he could be seen actively encouraging his teammates on the bench, exhibiting a key moment in the 25-year old veteran's maturation as a leader.
Defensively, after missing a pair of practices himself with a groin issue during the week, Reed continued to be a catalyst for a rejuvenated defensive line both as a run defender and pass rusher. Playing with remarkable energy from the opening snap that rubbed off on his teammates, he stuffed the stat sheet in a dominant all-around effort in the trenches, racking up eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and a pass deflection.
Taking a page out of former teammate Michael Bennett's book, Jarran Reed celebrated a fourth quarter sack in style as the Seahawks closed the door on the Panthers for their first home win of 2023.
Paying homage to former teammate Michael Bennett, one of the many players from Seattle's heralded Super Bowl team in attendance, Reed happily dished out a hip-thrust dance to a raucous crowd after sacking Andy Dalton late in the fourth quarter, making sure to only pump twice to avoid a penalty. His disruptive presence caused problems for Carolina's offensive line all day long, helping limit the opponent to just 44 rushing yards on the afternoon and turning up the heat on Dalton when his team needed him to the most.
"Really was a big-time come through," Carroll said of Reed's performance despite playing through an injury. "He is such a marvelous return to us, to get him to come back to us. Such a marvelous factor. You wouldn't know how much he affects the guys around him with his wisdom and background, but it's his toughness and resolve. He's unbelievably important to us and had a great game.”
In the secondary, Love and Diggs didn't have perfect outings by any means coming off of hamstring injuries. The two defenders were involved in a blown coverage that led to a 47-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to DJ Chark in the second quarter as Love came up empty on a last-gasp tackle effort. Earlier in the game, the veteran got nailed for roughing the passer on a helmet-to-helmet hit that helped Carolina get into field goal range.
But in the second half, though Carolina did connect on a few big plays on a pair of touchdown drives, Seattle locked things up defensively for the most part with Diggs manning center field and Love generating a pair of pass breakups in coverage, helping force a pair of punts and a turnover on downs to turn the tide.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks didn't just show championship DNA in regard to toughness and leadership. Despite running behind an offensive line with as many as four starters out for a portion of the game, running backs Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet also rose to the occasion as tone setters. Averaging north of five yards per carry and showcasing their explosiveness, power, and toughness with contrasting running styles, they combined to rush for 143 yards on 27 carries, including 71 yards on 15 carries in the second half.
Crediting his assistants for getting the offensive line ready to play with numerous backups thrust into action and the hard-nosed running of Walker and Charbonnet, Carroll loved what he saw from Seattle's run game and how his team put the final touches on a statement win finishing drives down the stretch, witnessing a championship effort in all phases.
"I'm really pumped about that," Carroll remarked. "The first game was such an outlier, can't imagine how that happened. To go finish 60-plus minutes last week and come back again this week, that's really a big statement for us to build on. We're going to need it all the way down the schedule. It's a young team that's coming together and finding themselves and we can really make something of that.”
Moving forward, there are plenty of areas for improvement on the field for the Seahawks, who allowed the Panthers to convert 10 out of 19 third down opportunities while only converting three of their own 13 opportunities on offense. Carroll bemoaned the consistent issues his team has had so far this season getting off the field on defense and extending/finishing drives on offense, citing the team's inability to score touchdowns in the first half and settling for field goals by Jason Myers.
In order to compete with San Francisco in the NFC West and potentially enter the discussion as a contender to do some damage in January, Carroll understands Seattle will have to be much sharper on third downs in general and the team will have to get back to the drawing board with adjustments not yet paying off between the lines.
Despite these obvious flaws, however, Carroll understands that they remain correctable issues. Fired up by how his team responded with so many injuries, he sees a young Seahawks squad developing trust in one another and an understanding of what they have to do to win in the NFL each week. With veterans such as Metcalf, Bobby Wagner, Reed, and Diggs guiding the way, they continue to show the marked growth necessary to compete for championships as their 2013 predecessors did a decade ago.
“That is what the process is about. It's about learning who you're playing with, understanding what you can count on from the people around you, and then being accountable and being that, finding your way to performing like we need you to perform. That is what's happening. There are just growth opportunities. I made a big deal about last week because that was such a challenge opportunity to be in. We'll grow with that one. Coming back home and doing it again after we screwed it up before was a huge growth opportunity for us, and I really feel like we can trust that we understand that you have got to play 60 minutes of football and sometimes even more.”
