Seahawks lead Texans at halftime but waste three chances for much bigger margin

On the surface, a 14-6 halftime lead over the Houston Texans sounds fine. But dig deeper - and watch closer - into Monday night's game and the Seattle Seahawks have to be sick about not putting this game away early.

Up 14-0 lead, the Seahawks wasted three chances to get more points and potentially bury the Texans. With the way Seattle's defense is playing, a three-score lead would seem almost invincible at Lumen Field.

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One missed chance was a wild accident. The other was shame on offensive coordinator Kllint Kubiak for getting greedy. The last, just before halftime, was a blocked field goal allowed by pressure right up the middle.

Ever see a former triple crown winner throw an interception?

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Up two touchdowns, the Seahawks appeared to score a third early in the second quarter. Ernest Jones hit Texans' quarterback C.J. Stroud as he was attempting to pass and jarred the ball loose. Stroud continued forward with his arm motion, but the ball seemed to travel backward behind the line of scrimmage. Seahawks' linebacker Drake Thomas picked the ball up at Houston's 8-yard line and ran to the goal line.

But before he made it into the end zone to make it 21-0, Thomas was tackled and stripped from behind by Houston's Braxton Berrios, who recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback.

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The Seahawks' defense - which has limited the Texans to only 103 yards of offense - forced a punt and Seattle quickly drove to Houston's 21-yard line. But on 1st-and-10, Kubiak called a razzle dazzle end around with Cooper Kupp throwing instead of catching. His pass intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba was intercepted at Houston's 12.

The Seahawks were then in position to score just before halftime, but kicker Jason Myers' 53-yard attempt was blocked. The Texans. After a 29-yard completion on the next play, Houston kicked a field goal on the final play of the half to hang in the game.

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