Seahawks Rapid Reaction: Drew Lock Guides 'Hawks to Season-Saving 20-17 Victory Over Eagles
Dramatically improving their playoff hopes in thrilling fashion, Drew Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 29-yard touchdown inside a minute to play to lead the Seattle Seahawks past the Philadelphia Eagles for a 20-17 comeback win at Lumen Field.
Filling in for Geno Smith for a second straight week, Lock completed 22 out of 38 passes for 208 yards and the game-winning score, while DK Metcalf led the team with 78 receiving yards on five receptions and Ken Walker III rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown. Safety Julian Love picked off Jalen Hurts twice in the fourth quarter and Leonard Williams registered two tackles for loss to lead the defense in victory.
Here are five quick observations from Seattle's season-saving upset on Monday Night Football:
1. Opening up the playbook late, Lock unloads the explosives to pull off the comeback.
Stat-wise, Lock did a quality job of playing the role of game manager for the first three and a half quarters. He completed north of 70 percent of his passes, he only took two sacks, and he didn't throw an interception or commit a turnover. But from start to finish, the Seahawks kept the training wheels on their backup quarterback, rarely trying to push the ball down field out of caution against an Eagles team with a quality defensive line. Averaging just five yards per attempt, the fifth-year signal caller didn't have a single completion all night of more than 20 yards against a defense that had given up 46 such pass plays in the first 13 games.
But after Seattle ran a very conservative scheme all night with an emphasis on the run game, with the game and season hanging in the balance and the Seahawks trailing by four points inside two minutes to play, Lock cocked back the gun on his right arm and started taking shots downfield. First, on 3rd and 10, he dropped a beautifully thrown bomb to Metcalf down the right sideline between two converging defenders for a 34-yard gain. Three plays later, with a clean pocket to work with, he again unloaded the gun powder with a 29-yard strike to Smith-Njigba along the right sideline in the end zone, as the rookie caught the ball with his fingertips and reeled it in for the game-winning score.
2. With the passing attack grounded most of the night, the run game willed Seattle back into the game.
Too many times this season, when the Seahawks were able to start getting their run game rolling, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron turned a blind eye, preventing the Seahawks from establishing the balance coach Pete Carroll desires. But on Monday night, once Walker and Zach Charbonnet got going in the third quarter, the play caller made sure to wisely keep feeding them with great results. Knotting the game up at 10 with an impressive nine-play, 75 yard touchdown drive out of the half, Seattle ran the ball six times for 57 yards, including Walker cutting back against the grain and following lead blocks by Colby Parkinson and Lock into the end zone for an exhilarating 23-yard scoring run.
After being held in check for most of the first half, Walker exploded for 65 yards after halftime on just 12 carries, while Charbonnet rushed twice for 11 yards. Walker also made his mark in the passing game, including snagging a quick dump off pass midway through the third quarter and making multiple tacklers miss to turn a minimal gain into a 15-yard reception and a new set of downs. Though they only rushed for 100 yards in the game, the Seahawks were able to finally get enough balance to complement the passing game, which helped open up shot plays late in the contest as Lock and company came to life at the perfect time.
Drew Lock tossed a game-winning touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba after playing a clean, near-flawless game managing Seattle's offense in place of Geno Smith.
© Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
3. Opening drives and third down conversions continued to be problematic for Seattle's defense.
Few teams have struggled to get stops on their first defensive drive than the Seahawks, who entered Monday's game having allowed six touchdowns on opening possessions in 13 games, tied with the Ravens and Bengals for most in the NFL. That trend unfortunately continued in prime time, as Jalen Hurts orchestrated a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes in clock time. On several occasions, the unit had a chance to get off the field on third down, including a 3rd and 9 situation after defensive tackle Leonard Williams engulfed running back D'Andre Swift for a three-yard loss on the previous play. But Hurts had a perfect pocket to work with and delivered a strike to tight end Dallas Goedert between two defenders for an 18-yard pickup and a new set of downs. Philadelphia ended up converting all four of its third downs on the drive with Hurts diving into for a three-yard touchdown run to kickstart the scoring.
After forcing two quick stops late in the first half, the Seahawks appeared to have momentum on defense, only for it to evaporate with the Eagles again churning out 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Hurts extended the drive with his arm twice on third down, hooking up with A.J. Brown for an 11-yard gain on 3rd and 9 and connecting with DeVonta Smith for a 17-yard gain into the red zone on 3rd and 3. Hurts found the end zone on Philadelphia's "tush push" quarterback sneak at the goal line, recapturing a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter. Overall, the Eagles went nine for 16 on third down, moving the chains 56 percent of the time, or far more than the Seahawks would have liked.
4. Jamal who? Seattle didn't miss the veteran safety thanks to Love's breakout performance.
Dealing with lingering knee soreness stemming from a torn quad tendon suffered last season, the Seahawks have had to err on the side of caution with Adams at times, including sitting him out at practice this week. After struggling the past two weeks, he may have to fight to get his starting job back with Love emerging as a turnover-creating weapon in the secondary in recent weeks. After being involved with two turnovers last week in Santa Clara, Love enjoyed the first two interception game of his career, picking off Hurts twice in the second half to help send the Eagles home with a third consecutive loss.
Following a field goal by Jason Myers at the 10:05 mark in the fourth quarter, Hurts marched the Eagles past midfield looking to extend their four-point advantage. Looking to put a dagger in the Seahawks, he lofted a deep ball down the seam to Quez Watkins, but after hearing a call that the ball was coming his way from teammate Quandre Diggs, Love raced back and high-pointed the football in the end zone for a clutch pick. Then, after Smith-Njigba's fingertip heroics gave Seattle a late lead, the veteran safety zeroed in on a throw towards A.J. Brown from his deep post responsibility and leaped up for a spectacular interception, somehow managing to get both feet in bounds to seal the victory.
5. Poor clock management nearly ended up costing the Seahawks down the stretch.
Ultimately, the Seahawks didn't need to use their final timeout after getting the ball back inside two minutes to play. But a gaffe by coach Pete Carroll earlier in the quarter could have come back to haunt his team. Trailing by seven, Lock and Walker led the team down the field on an 11-play drive that was extended by a pass interference penalty on cornerback James Bradberry on 4th and 2 against Metcalf. Four plays later, Seattle faced another fourth and short after Lock got the ball out of his hands while being hauled to the ground by rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter and Carroll looked ready to go for it again.
But just as he did on the previous fourth down, Carroll called timeout with the play clock winding down to talk things over. In the first instance, the timeout ended up being a wise one with the play call leading to Bradberry's interference penalty. However, the second timeout with the play clock set to expire granted Eagles coach Nick Sirianni extra time to challenge the previous play, which ended up being overturned as a sack by Carter. Now facing 4th and 6, Seattle had no choice but to settle for a Myers field goal. And making matters worse, since Carroll called the timeout before the challenge, officials didn't give it back to the Seahawks, leaving them with only one left with 10 minutes and change to play. Luckily, the missed chance for a touchdown drive didn't end up costing them, but it easily could have.
