By Jawann Bennett
The Seattle Medium Newspaper/GameTime! Sportstalk
A beautiful November night set the background for all eyes to see the Emerald City sparkle, but with the nation watching on the Monday Night Football stage how would the Seattle Seahawks perform against the Buffalo Bills in a interconference matchup at CenturyLink Field?
The Seahawks have struggled offensively on the gridiron over the course of their last three games and with zero running or passing touchdowns in that time frame, Quarterback Russell Wilson’s health has been questioned as the catalyst for the offensive struggles. Nursing ankle, knee and chest ailments Wilson proclaimed he hasn’t felt this good “since Week 1”.
On the first play of the game, Wilson quickly hit wide receiver Doug Baldwin on a 7-yard out pattern and showed off his ability to escape out of the pocket on the third play, but Seattle needed to punt on fourth down. Buffalo linebacker Jerry Hughes blocked Seattle punter Jon Ryan’s kick and the Bills recovered the ball on the Seahawks 3-yard line. The very next play, Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor showed why his nickname is “T-Mobile” scampering in the end zone on a 3-yard option run to take a 7-0 lead, the first touchdown allowed in the first quarter by the Seahawks defense this season.
Wilson and the Seahawks regrouped, as he completed passes to Baldwin twice more including a beautiful 50-yard rainbow pass down the middle of the field to the Bills 3-yard line.
Wilson showed that Taylor was not the only mobile quarterback in the game, as he found pay dirt on the ground for the first time this season scoring on a 3-yard run the next play to tie the game 7-7.
Buffalo struck back with a 17-play, 75-yard drive aided by a strong running game from running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy that took 10 minutes off the clock. The drive was capped off by a 5-yard Taylor pass to receiver Justin Hunter as the Bills went up 14-7 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, fireworks happened all over the field on “Salute To Service” night led by a man whose hobby is piloting aircraft — Seattle tight end Jimmy Graham. Wilson capped a 65-yard drive that began in the first quarter with a gorgeous 17-yard lob in the right corner of the end zone hauled in with one hand by Graham to tie the game again at 14-14.
Buffalo then answered with a 12-play, 62-yard drive, but this time the Seahawks defense held the Bills to a Dan Carpenter 31-yard field goal as the Bills went up 17-14 with 9:32 left in the half.
Wilson got busy again with two consecutive quick drives. The first of which ended with running back Christine Michael dancing in the end zone on a 3-yard run capping a 3-play, 40 yard drive that took 1:42 off the clock and gave Seattle its first lead 21-17. After the third Buffalo punt of the first half, Wilson found his favorite target of the quarter, Graham, again for a 14-yard reception in which he hurdles a Buffalo defender followed by a pass down the deep middle for another 18-yard, one-handed juggling touchdown reception to cap a 6-play, 68 yard drive that took only 1:19 giving the Seahawks a 28-17 lead they would take into halftime, but not before a little drama and controversy.
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman jumped offsides during the Bills 53-yard field goal attempt by Carpenter with :03 left and blocked the kick taking his momentum into Carpenter who appeared injured charging Buffalo with a timeout. However, Sherman was penalized 5 yards for offsides and not a personal foul for unnecessary roughness, which forced Carpenter to leave the game for a play by rule because he was tended to for injury.
“They said I was offsides,” said Sherman after the game. “You still stop the play you know, you’re not gonna just let them kick the ball freely and let them have a free play.”
“He (the kicker) can make the decision not to kick the ball, he has a better vantage point than me,” continued Sherman. “It is what it is.”
The Bills then had to spike the ball to have another field goal attempt with :01 left, but not before Sherman exchanged words with Bills players and particularly their assistant coach Rob Ryan of which Sherman said, “I didn’t have any exchange, he was talking to himself.”
The spiking of the ball allowed Carpenter to return to the game for a 48-yard field goal attempt, but the Bills were penalized 5 yards for delay of game in large part to the officiating crew, perhaps distracted by all the drama, standing over the ball until 5 seconds remained on the play clock. Eventually, the Bills did attempt a 54-yard field goal which was missed by Carpenter. Graham finished the half with 6 receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns, Wilson 14-17 for 229 yards passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another.
The Bills had to implement another weapon alongside McCoy to get back into the game in the second half, that was Taylor finding receiver Robert Woods. That happened after the first drive of the half ending with Sherman intercepting a miscommunicated pass intended for Woods in the end zone and returned 31 yards, after which Sherman starred down Bills head coach Rex Ryan who had words for him as well.
Words had to turn to action thereafter as Taylor engineered a Buffalo 13-play, 82 yard drive through the rushing of McCoy and receiving of Woods that straddled the third and fourth quarters taking 6:49 off the clock and ending with running back Mike Gillislee’s 1-yard touchdown run. Taylor would run in the two-point attempt cutting the Seahawks lead to 28-25 with 14:26 to play.
Seattle answered with an 8-play, 44 yard drive that took 4:37 and concluded with a Steven Hauschka 49-yard field goal to put the Seahawks up 31-25 with 9:49 left.
Both defenses would hold steady forcing the opposing offenses to punt. Buffalo took the final possession of the ball 2:41 on the clock and no timeouts. Though Taylor would find Woods for two big plays on the Bills final drive, he could not find him in the end zone and the Seahawks defense would hold for a thrilling 31-25 victory sending the first-place Seahawks to 5-2-1 at the mid-season point. 4-0 at home and the franchise’s 11th straight Monday Night Football victory.
Taylor finished 27 of 38 for 289 yards passing with a touchdown and interception. Woods finished with 10 receptions and a career-high 162 yards receiving, and McCoy walked away with 21 carries for 85 yards for Buffalo, who drops to 4-5 on the season and still without a Monday Night Football victory since 1999.
Wilson’s second half paled in comparison to his first finishing 20 of 26 passes for 282 yards passing and two touchdowns to go alongside his first rushing touchdown this season. Baldwin had 6 receptions for 89 yards, but it was Graham’s big game that propelled this Seahawks offense by air with 8 receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns giving him his third 100-yard plus game less than a year after a major knee injury.
“We talked this week if we get a favorable matchup, throw it,” said Graham, who not only pilots aircraft, he was Seattle’s aircraft carrier.
Seattle’s running game was anemic, if not nonexistent, with just 33 yards in the game. They await the return of running back Thomas Rawls to help jumpstart the running game maybe as early as this Sunday night’s matchup at the AFC leading 7-1 New England Patriots.
