Seattle’s offense nonexistent in 17-9 loss to Green Bay
In what was a defensive stalemate for almost the entire game, the Green Bay Packers came away with a 17-9 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Neither team’s offense looked great in the game, but the Packers were able to string a couple successful drives together and took advantage of more opportunities to score points.
The only points scored in the first half were from a field goal by Seattle’s Blair Walsh when the clock struck zero in the half. But in the second half, Green Bay took advantage of an exhausted Seattle defense and scored 17 points. Green Bay’s offense had possession of the ball for 39:13, with Seattle’s offense having the ball for only 20:47.
Green Bay was unable to get their run game going, but Aaron Rodgers was able to move the offense down the field. The biggest play came at the end of the third quarter, when Rodgers broke the Packers huddle and quickly got to the line. The Seahawks were still switching personnel and hadn’t even broke their huddle. By the time Rodgers snapped the ball, Seattle had 12 men on the field and still were not set. Rodgers was able to hit Jordy Nelson for an easy 32-yard touchdown. This gave the Packers a 14-6 lead with the 4th quarter left to play. Rodgers finished with 311 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Rodgers’ interception came on the Packers’ first drive of the game, when Nazair Jones tipped a low Rodgers pass, caught the tip, and returned it for a touchdown. But the touchdown was called back after a block in the back and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Seahawks’ Jeremy Lane. Lane was blocking Packers receiver Davante Adams when Adams turned and grabbed Lane by the facemask. Lane then threw Adams to the ground and shoved his forearm in Adams neck area. Lane was then ejected for punching an opponent.
Seattle’s defensive line was expected to cause havoc in the Packers backfield, and to their credit, they did. The Seahawks defense registered four sacks, with Michael Bennett leading the way with 1.5 sacks. They also had eight QB hits, with Bennett, Terrance Garvin, and Cliff Avril all having two each. The problem was the defense was on the field for so long, they were unable to make the stops at the biggest times in the fourth quarter.
Seattle’s offense was nonexistent for practically the entire game. They were only able to generate 225 yards of offense, with 135 of those yards coming through the air. The Packers contained whoever was running the ball, with Chris Carson breaking the longest rush for 30 yards.
The biggest concern for Seahawk fans was the offensive line, and the concern was warranted. Wilson was running for his life for most of the game, and was sacked three times, while being hit seven times. Green Bay was not running any special plays, but was able to beat the Seattle defense with only four pass rushers. The lack of a strong running game also allowed the Packer defense to key in on the Seattle passing game.
Seattle’s defense was very good, given the circumstances of being on the field for two thirds of the game. Darrell Bevell has his work cut out for him, as they will need a very strong offensive performance next week against the 49ers for fans to not want to kick him out of town.
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