The Seahawks were 1 yard from having their season begin to crumble on them, 1 yard from doubt and consternation becoming a constant companion over the final five games.
But with the St. Louis Rams facing a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 30 seconds remaining in Sunday’s divisional game, quarterback Gus Frerotte fumbled the snap and then was tackled from behind by Darryl Tapp, preserving a 24-19 victory before 65,423 suddenly catatonic fans at the Edward Jones Dome, Seattle’s third consecutive win. And just like that, the Seahawks went from being distressed and second-guessed to celebratory.
The final play – reminiscent of Tony Romo’s fumble on a point-blank field-goal attempt in the playoffs against Dallas last season – consummated a bizarre day during which nothing seemed to go right for the Seahawks for a half and they still were able to walk away with their sixth consecutive victory over St. Louis.
Afterward, virtually everybody in the Seattle locker room, and particularly coach Mike Holmgren, bore countenances of shock and dismay, well aware that their record improved to 7-4 though common sense suggests it should not be so.
The Seahawks won despite missing two field goals, dropping three passes, giving up four sacks, an interception, a fumble and falling behind, 19-7. They won despite sleepwalking through the first half. And they won despite a lackluster performance by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, playing with injured ribs.
“I really love this football team,” Holmgren said. “But they have it in their agenda to test me to my limits. But we’ll get through it. As my father used to say, if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.”
The win became considerably less certain after kicker Josh Brown missed a second field-goal attempt, a 52-yarder with 2:49 left that was perhaps precipitated by a high snap from Boone Stutz.
With the Seahawks on the Rams’ 34, Holmgren said he considered punting the ball to give St. Louis farther to go to score a touchdown. But he wanted an eight-point lead to guarantee at least a tie.
As it was, St. Louis got the ball back on its own 42. On the third play of the final possession, safety Deon Grant was whistled for pass interference because he had grabbed the hand of Isaac Bruce on a deep throw over the middle. It gave St. Louis the ball at Seattle’s 15.
Steven Jackson gained a yard on first down. Frerotte, playing because starter Marc Bulger left the game in the first quarter with a concussion, hit Bruce for 8 yards to Seattle’s 6. And Frerotte sneaked 2 yards for a first down at Seattle’s 4 with 1:03 to go, setting up the game-deciding series.
Frerotte bounced an incompletion intended for Bruce on first down. On second down, he hit Drew Bennett at the 2, but Jordan Babineaux made a big tackle. And on third down, Jackson gained a yard.
Seattle called a timeout to set up its defense. The Rams came out in an I-formation, but then Frerotte called a timeout. The already tense moment became even more suspenseful.
Seattle defensive coordinator John Marshall earlier in the week had installed a new goal-line defense, which he now called. Defensive captain and middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu told the defensive linemen to get low, get pressure and stay in their gaps. The Rams came out in a different formation, with Jackson behind Frerotte and fullback Brian Leonard behind the right tackle. The play was supposed to go to Jackson over right tackle, behind Leonard. But earlier, center Brett Romberg injured his ankle and was replaced by veteran Andy McCollum. The exchange between McCollum and Frerotte was muffed.
Frerotte gathered the ball and tried to run to his right, but Tapp had broken through the line and wrapped up Frerotte before he could get going.
It was Seattle’s second goal-line stand of the game, and it ended a second half in which the Seahawks blanked the Rams (2-9) to snap their two-game winning streak. With Arizona’s overtime loss to San Francisco, Frerotte’s fumble turned Seattle’s chicken salad into cordon bleu. The Seahawks (7-4) lead the division by two games, giving them a buffer with three of their five remaining games in the Eastern time zone. Ha ha, Buffer.
Till next time blog friend, ciao!
