Halftime Observations: Seahawks Caught Sleepwalking, Trail 13-6 to Colts
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Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II (25) pressures Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Clearly looking ahead to a Thursday Night Football rematch against the Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks played the role of disinterested host in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts, inexplicably falling behind to Philip Rivers and company and entering halftime trailing 13-6.
Suffering from a Week 15 letdown thus far, here are three quick observations from Lumen Field:
1. An uninspiring game plan yields uninspiring results for Seahawks’ offense.
All week long, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks spoke about the need to start faster on offense after being limited to six points in the first half in Atlanta last weekend. But those efforts during the practice week clearly didn’t work, as the Colts seemed to have a beat on everything offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak tried to do. On the opening series, Ken Walker III got swarmed on a second down run for a two-yard loss and Indianapolis pressured Darnold on the ensuing play, leading to a short dump off to Cooper Kupp and a punt. A couple first down throws quickly got Seattle into scoring range on the next possession, only for three straight runs to produce a total of six yards, including Walker getting tackled for a loss on third down to force a Jason Myers field goal.
Somehow, the Seahawks only got worse on their next two possessions, going three-and-out for a net total of negative 15 yards, getting pinned inside the 10-yard line on both occasions and punting from their own end zone. Amid that ugly sequence, Darnold fortunately had a fumble bounce out of bounds, so things could have been even worse. Penalties and a third down sack by Laiatu Latu kept driving them backward and even after a 44-yard two-minute drill drive that led to Myers’ second field goal, they ended the half with 80 yards, including just a three rushing yards, in an embarrassingly anemic performance by one of the top offenses in the NFL.
2. Philip Rivers hasn’t been flashy, but the senior quarterback has played smart football in a run-heavy Indy offense.
Playing in his first game since January 2021, Rivers jumped off the sideline as a high school coach and put back on his cleats on Tuesday, signing onto the practice squad in an unlikely return from retirement. While his lack of arm strength showed on several misfires early in the game, he settled in with quick passes and screens, with his playmakers turning a couple of those into timely third down conversions. On Indy’s second possession, Michael Pittman took a short third down screen and gained 12 yards with blockers in front of him, setting up Blake Grupe for a field goal that put the visitors in front 3-0. At that point, Jonathan Taylor had been the eigne of the offense, already having double digit carries on the first three possessions.
Turning back the clock for a few moments, Rivers looked like it was 2015 on Indy’s final possession of the half. After Ameer Abdullah took a third down dump off in the flats for nine yards and a first down, the 44-year-old gunslinger hit tight end Tyler Warren over the middle for a 17-yard gain, his longest completion of the half. Capping off the drive in classic Rivers fashion, he hit Josh Downs in stride on a crossing route in the red zone and the speedy wideout did the rest, scoring from seven yards out to extend the lead to 10 points late in the first half. He finished the half 10 for 16 with 81 passing yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers, taking three quarterback hits along the way while mostly protecting himself with quick passes and lots of handoffs.
3. Lack of discipline evident in all three phases with penalty flags raining from the gloomy skies.
Playing down to their competition, the Seahawks not only gave up big third down conversions on defense and couldn’t get out of their own way on offense, including an uncharacteristic drop by Jaxon Smith-Njigba over the middle, but they committed major penalties in every facet of the game in the first half. Offensively, AJ Barner had a first down catch erased by a rare offensive offside penalty on the tight end himself, as he clearly was over the line for an easy call. Charles Cross also got busted for a false start on one of their ill-fated second quarter possessions, knocking the team even closer to the goal line.
Defensively, an offsides penalty on Boye Mafe wound up not being as big of a deal with the Colts returning the favor with a false start on the next snap. But the Colts still got a field goal on that drive to go up 6-3. Putting a yellow cherry on top, Rashid Shaheed had a quality kick return wiped out by a block in back penalty on tight end Eric Saubert, knocking the Seahawks way back in their own territory once again. Even with just four penalties for 25 yards, they carried much more significant weight than the yardage total suggests and symbolized one of the ugliest halves of football in the Mike Macdonald era.
