Rapid Reaction: Late Interception Dooms Seahawks in 38-35 Shootout Loss to Buccaneers
SEATTLE, Wash. - On the unfortunate losing side of a Sunday afternoon thriller, an interception thrown by Sam Darnold in the closing two minutes led to a game-winning field goal for Chase McLaughlin as time expired with the Seattle Seahawks falling 38-35 at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an instant classic.
Throwing for 341 yards, Darnold tossed a season-high four touchdown passes to help will Seattle back from an early 13-0 deficit and help his team take a 35-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. But his final throw bounced off the helmet of a defender into the hands of linebacker Lavonte David for an interception, ultimately leading to McLaughlin’s game winner. Ken Walker III paced the rushing attack with 86 yards on the ground and D’Anthony Bell recorded the lone sack on a forgettable day for the Seahawks defense.
Falling to 3-2 with the deflating defeat, here are five takeaways from the Seahawks’ second loss at Lumen Field this season:
1. Sam Darnold puts on the chef’s apron, grills short-handed Bucs’ secondary with gas.
It’s only been five weeks, but for anyone who still may have questions about whether or not the Seahawks made the right decision at quarterback this offseason, Darnold appears to be on the verge of landing a lucrative endorsement deal with Weber grills after scorching the Bucs with one of the best performances under center in franchise history. Completing eight of his first nine passes, he got off to a fast start before transitioning into MVP mode starting late in the second quarter, leading five consecutive touchdown drives as a defensive slugfest turned into an early 2000s Arena League shootout. He started the festivities threading the needle to Smith-Nijgba from six yards out on a slant to trim Tampa’s lead to 13-7 inside 10 seconds to play in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, Darnold kept churning Tampa’s depleted secondary to a crisp, launching a 53-yard moon ball to Smith-Nijgba to set up Charbonnet’s touchdown run and following up by rolling out to his right from the two-yard line to deliver the first of two touchdowns to Barner. Taking on the role of magician manuevering the pocket, after Barner broke a tackle to score from six yards out again, the quarterback evaded a rush on an aggressive 4th and 2 go-for-it call and worked his way to his left to find Tory Horton for a 21-yard touchdown to put Seattle up 35-28. Those theatrics will be forgotten due to his ill-fated interception that bounced off of defensive tackle Logan Hall’s helmet, but this was one of the finest outings you’ll see by a quarterback in a defeat.
2. Penalties, a botched speed option kill three promising first half drives that loomed large.
While everyone will point at Darnold’s interception as being the decisive mistake for the Seahawks, they wouldn’t likely have been in that position if not for a quartet of crucial mistakes on their first three offensive possessions. After advancing past midfield on their first drive, a holding penalty against rookie guard Grey Zabell turned a third and short situation into 2nd and 18. Unable to pick up the necessary yardage, Jason Myers sliced a 44-yard field goal wide left, keeping the game at 3-0 Buccaneers. On the next possession, Seattle again got past midfield and Ken Walker III took a shovel pass from Darnold on 3rd and 12 and managed to squeak free for a first down conversion, only for an illegal man downfield penalty on center Jalen Sundell to wipe out the big play and set up a punt two plays later.
Unfortunately, the biggest mistake that haunted Seattle came on the third possession. After Darnold had led his team past midfield again, coordinator Klint Kubiak decided to dig into his bag of tricks, sending rookie Jalen Milroe in as a wildcat quarterback and calling a speed option to the left. Tampa Bay wasn’t fooled on the play at all and the athletic signal caller unloaded an ugly pitch well behind Walker, who couldn’t hang onto the ball as the defense recovered the fumble for a critical turnover. Moments later, Rachaad White made them pay with a touchdown run on a pitch play to extend the deficit to 13 points.
3. Losing defensive backs like flies, a secondary M.A.S.H. unit got worked throughout second half track race.
Seattle won’t - and can’t - lean on excuses for Sunday’s lethargic performance defending the pass. But while both teams had major injury issues in the secondary going into play, the situation only got worse for Mike Macdonald’s defense in general as the game progressed with cornerback Riq Woolen exiting with a concussion and defensive end Derick Hall being ruled out early with an oblique injury. Down as many as four starters by the end of the third quarter, including cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love, who did not suit up at all, Mayfield went on a pumpkin carving exhibition early, completing 29 out of 33 pass attempts for 379 yards and two touchdowns, regularly connecting on downfield passes to a litany of receivers, including Emeka Egbuka going for 163 yards on seven catches.
Most aggravatingly, the Seahawks had their opponent in undesirable situations on numerous occasions, only for Mayfield to make them pay anyway. Inside eight minutes to play in the third quarter, Boye Mafe blew up a screen play to White for an eight-yard loss, setting up 3rd and 15 from the Seattle 20-yard line. But Mayfield went right after backup Nehemiah Pritchett, who had just replaced Woolen in the secondary, and dropped a dime to the back of the end zone to Egbuka for six points to retake the lead. Later in the quarter, the savvy quarterback struck again on 3rd and 12, connecting with Egbuka for a 57-yard completion with safety Ty Okada failing to help after the receiver raced past cornerback Josh Jobe, setting up White’s second touchdown. Overall, the Bucs converted on seven out of 11 third downs, including three that were 12 yards or longer to convert, a recipe for defensive disaster.
4. Run defense plays well, with exception of the red zone and a late third down explosive.
Continuing to shut down opposing run games as they have all year, with numbers that were skewed slightly by a few massive tackles for loss, the Seahawks bottled up White and Sean Tucker for most of the afternoon. Those two backs, who stepped up with starter Bucky Irving sidelined by a foot injury, combined to rush for 44 yards and under three yards per carry. Even with Mayfield sprinkling in a few clutch scrambles, he also had just 15 yards on five carries as Tampa Bay rushed for a total of 56 yards and a putrid 2.3 yards per carry. That’s typically a strong sign for a victory.
With that said, when Seattle needed to make big run stops in key situations, the defense wasn’t able to get the job done. Entering Sunday as the only team in the NFL that had not allowed a rushing touchdown through four weeks, they started to show cracks in the red zone against the Buccaneers, starting with White powering his way into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown on a pitch. The former Arizona State back found pay dirt again in the third quarter, putting Tampa Bay back up by seven points. But the most important letdown came in the final minute after Darnold’s interception, as White spilled a run out wide right on third down with Seattle failing to contain the edge, astutely going down inbounds after a 12-yard gain to set up McLaughlin for the game-winning field goal.
5. Dareke Young comes through with winning plays on offense and special teams.
Lost in defeat, especially with Myers’ missed field goal becoming a major miscue late in regulation, Young shined as one of the bright spots for the Seahawks in multiple phases. The fourth year receiver gave Darnold and the offense outstanding field position as a kick returner twice with 45 and 50-yard returns, setting the table for Darnold touchdown passes to Smith-Njigba and Barner. He added a bone-crushing hit on kick coverage and finished with three tackles on special teams overall.
With only three career regular season catches on his resume, Young also came through on offense to open the second half. Darnold rolled out to his left and with officials throwing a flag for defensive holding against David, the quarterback decided to take a shot downfield to the receiver, who reached back behind his helmet with a defender draped on him for a 36-yard catch along the sideline. Followed by a Walker 31-yard run, the Seahawks punched it in with Charbonnet two plays later to take their first lead of the afternoon. Overall, Young helped pitch in for 21 points with his efforts.
