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Week 4 Game Recap: Seattle Seahawks 17, Washington Redskins 20What you need to know
QB Matt Hasselbeck connected on 16 out of 19 passing targets to his starting wide receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram. Facing one of the best defenses in the NFL they were able to still find openings and keep Seattle drives moving. A very staunch Washington run defense shut down RB Shaun Alexander for most of the game. Seattle opted to go to the air more, but didn’t give up on Alexander as most of his carries came in the second half. Actually, the best Washington defender may have been the Redskin offense that completely dominated in time of possession. The Seahawk defense did a good job of shutting down the run on first and second downs setting up several tough third down situations for the Redskins. However, the lack of a pass rush and inability to cover in the secondary combined to allow the Redskins to convert 13 of 18 third down conversions. Further, Washington amazingly converted on third and 9, 13, 13, 10, 7, 10, 9, 10, 9, and 10 during the game.
RB Clinton Portis ground out 90 yards against a stacked line of scrimmage. The Redskins kept the Seahawks’ offense on the sidelines by dominating time of possession and staying true to the running game even though they weren’t piling up the yardage. QB Mark Brunell took advantage of a weak pass rush and lots of one-on-one coverage. Brunell made excellent decisions with the ball through the game converting several third and long situations to keep drives alive. The Redskins’ defense is good enough to win games as long as the offense doesn’t lose them. They are very strong up front against the run, and the secondary has the ability to blanket any set of receivers. Even when a Seattle receiver caught a pass in this game they were generally tackled immediately. Lastly, LB LaVar Arrington is being used sporadically. Word out of Washington is they feel he doesn’t fit their system. He registered zero tackles and zero assists against the Seahawks.
What you ought to know
Hasselbeck was very solid in executing the Seattle passing game. He accurately delivered passes and made good decisions while facing a very tough Redskin defense. Hasselbeck looked to be locked into WR Bobby Engram in the first half as the two connected for five hookups on five attempts. In the second half Hasselbeck looked nearly unstoppable, except for the fact that they only had the ball four times during the entire half with time on the clock. He led the Seahawks on 85 and 91 yard touchdown drives to tie the game up. Two other possessions ended in missed field goals, and only one possession ended in a punt. During the Seahawks’ game tying drive Hasselbeck had what appeared to be a designed scramble for ten yards.
Alexander found very little running room. He was being hit in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage on most carries. Not surprisingly, his one long carry in the game (34 yards) came on a sweep around LT Walter Jones that was shortly followed by an Alexander touchdown plunge from three yards. The Seahawks ran one screen for Alexander. His other two targets were both on plays were QB Matt Hasselbeck had checked down through his readings and attempted to dump the ball off to Alexander.
Strong’s lone carry was on third and long. Both of his targets were plays were QB Matt Hasselbeck checked down to him. He wasn’t the primary receiver on either play.
Morris was a non-factor in this game with no touches.
Engram registered an impressive nine receptions on nine targets. He was the beneficiary of WR Darrell Jackson being locked up with CB Shawn Springs. QB Matt Hasselbeck looked confident making Engram the focus of the Seattle passing game. Engram disappeared late in the game and wasn’t on the field for the final two Seattle possessions as a rib injury kept him on the sidelines.
CB Shawn Springs had Jackson covered well when the Redskins were matched up in man coverage. The majority of Jackson’s productivity came when catching balls against the zone. At half time Jackson had only one reception for no yards. He was belted right at the line of scrimmage by Springs on this play. However, in the second half Jackson started finding some room and caught six balls on seven targets including a six yard touchdown. Jackson is beginning to show the ability to make some big plays. His leaping 16 yard reception in the third quarter was most impressive because he took a big hit, but still held on. Jackson’s game tying touchdown was well designed to get him one on one in the slot. The quick slant was an easy pitch and catch.
Jurevicius saw only one target in the first half, and didn’t see the ball again until the fourth quarter. Jurevicius got open off a beautiful spinning double move down the left sideline, but QB Matt Hasselbeck overthrew him. However, Hasselbeck came right back to him on a 17 yard hookup that started Seattle’s game tying drive in the fourth quarter.
Warrick was out of the game with a groin injury.
Hannam was the target on a naked bootleg early on Seattle’s second possession. The play yielded a first down and 20 yards in offense. The play was scripted specifically for him.
Stevens wasn’t targeted until the middle of the second quarter. He had a near drop inside the ten yard line late in the game, but QB Matt Hasselbeck came right back to him for a nine yard pickup just before WR Darrell Jackson’s game tying touchdown.
Brown got the Seahawks on the board after barely sneaking a 53 yard attempt inside the left upright. He then missed this two other attempts, both wide to the left. Both misses were 47 yard attempts. The last one was at the end of regulation and hit the left upright.
The Seahawks stacked the line of scrimmage and were successful stuffing the run. They forced Washington into third and long all game long, but the pass defense let them down. Rookie LB Lofa Tatupu is making giant strides towards being a playmaker. Tatupu led the team in tackles and also registered a sack.
More than any other aspect of the game, this is where Seattle lost (or was beaten by Washington depending on your perspective). Seattle was burned by the Redskins on third down and long situations all game long. Washington P Derrick Frost was only on the field twice even though the Seahawks had the Redskins in third and long ten times in the game. The pass rush was ineffective and the secondary wasn’t able to cover. The only pressure the Seahawks were able to put on QB Mark Brunell came from blitzes. One such blitz at the end of regulation forced Brunell into an errant pass that was deflected and intercepted by CB Kelly Herndon.
Brunell orchestrated drives of 15, 12, and 16 plays during the first half chewing up nearly 22 minutes of the clock. He was able to coolly stand in the pocket surveying the field while converting an impressive eight of eleven on third down. Brunell appeared to be radar locked on WR Santana Moss, especially when he needed a play in a crucial situation. Brunell nearly had a touchdown pass to Moss during the second period. He ended up with a touchdown pass later on in the drive regardless. Both touchdown passes from Brunell were from inside the five yard line off of play action. He also showed a willingness to scramble for yards reminding fans that he’s always been a mobile quarterback. His 18 yard run on third and long in overtime was a huge play. Brunell’s singular error came at the end of regulation. He looked a bit nervous in the pocket and tried to dump off a quick pass to RB Clinton Portis. The ball was off target and a diving Portis had the ball go off his finger tips before being intercepted. Had PK Josh Brown made his field goal attempt at the end of regulation most fans would have pointed to this one play when looking to place blame.
Portis had a tough time finding room to run facing a stacked line of scrimmage for most of the game. Only four of his carries went for more than four yards. However, Portis certainly showed the quick burst to accelerate when a hole presented itself. Also, Portis showed a nice knack of leaning and diving forward to at least gain a yard or two when nothing presented itself.
Betts had a substantial load in the running game with 12 carries. He ran very hard with good shoulder lean between the tackles. However, he was hit in the backfield several times before he had a chance to turn up field. The Redskins appeared to be dedicated to getting Betts several series in the game as the feature running back.
QB Mark Brunell was zoned into Moss during the first half. More than half of his passes went towards Moss before halftime. On top of his four receptions, Moss also drew a pass interference flag on a third down play. During the second quarter he made what could have easily been ruled as a touchdown reception on the side of the end zone. It was a spectacular catch stretched out over the sideline with his toes dragging behind him. However, the official that reviewed the play ruled that the ball was loose when he impacted the ground and rolled over the ball. He seemed to disappear in the second half with only one target, but was targeted four times on Redskins’ only possession during the overtime period.
Patten showed up in the box score with only three catches for minimal yardage, but he was targeted deep on fly routes twice in the game. On one of these plays he drew a pass interference flag, but the penalty was questionable at best.
Thrash made both his of his receptions early in the game on the first two Washington possessions. He wasn’t targeted again until the overtime period. Thrash also returned punts in the game.
The Washington passing game isn’t going to turn too many heads this season, but no matter what people think of it as a whole, Cooley will continue to play a major role in it as the pass catching tight end. After Moss, Cooley looks to be neck and neck with WR David Patten as the second fiddle. Cooley made two nice catches during the second quarter and flashed some ability to run after the catch picking up some extra yardage. All four of his receptions went for first down yardage.
Royal was used primarily in two tight end sets. Two of his targets came off play action fakes, one resulting in a touchdown from a power goal line formation. He caught both of his targets in the first half, but the pass thrown his way in the third quarter was an obvious drop.
Sellers' only touch of the game came off play action from the four yard line. The Redskins did a nice job of selling run to freeze the linebacker for just a moment allowing Sellers to get outside and score.
Rookie free agent Novak was signed to replace the injured John Hall. Novak didn’t attempt a field goal in his first game against Dallas, but he kicked the game winner in overtime from 39 yards in this game. He had to kick it twice after head coach Joe Gibbs attempted to call timeout with the play clock running down. The five yard delay of game penalty backed him up, but it made no difference as he punched the game winner straight through. His first attempt in the game was blocked. He didn’t get any air under the attempt making it easier for backup DT Craig Terrill to get a hand on the kick. His other field goal in the game was from 40 yards.
The Redskins completely removed RB Shaun Alexander from the game during the first half, but got touched for a few big plays later in the game. Alexander’s long carry in the first half was for only four yards, and CB Carlos Rogers did a nice job of putting his helmet on the ball and forcing a fumble on that play. However, Alexander’s 34 yard run in the third quarter led to his three yard touchdown run. Also, late in the game when the Seahawks were driving down field to score the tying touchdown Alexander had runs of nine and 17 yards too.
Washington wasn’t able to put much pressure on QB Matt Hasselbeck in terms of their sack total (only one by LB Lemar Marshall off a blitz) but they did do a nice job of forcing him to get the ball out quickly. CB Shawn Springs reminded his ex-teammates that he is a real deal shut down cornerback. He was able to blanket WR Darrell Jackson early in the game when they were matched up one on one. However, on the other side of the field WR Bobby Engram looked like he was running free through the secondary on far too many plays.
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