It’s hard to recall a team as talented as Seattle getting so thoroughly dominated in the first half of a playoff game, the way the Seahawks were manhandled by the Carolina Panthers. From the 59-yard run by Jonathan Stewart on the first play from scrimmage, to the 19-yard bullet from Cam Newton to Greg Olsen to put the Panthers ahead 31-0, Seattle was completely and totally embarrassed by their opponent. If this was a case of jet lag, Seattle played like they had just flown in from Korea.
Typically when two evenly matched playoff teams produce such a lopsided score it is the result of strange bounces and flukish turnovers. For example in the 1994 NFC Championship, Dallas, completely out of character, turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions to start the game, allowing the San Francisco 49ers to race to a 21-0 lead against the two-time defending Super Bowl champs. But there was nothing flukish about what happened Sunday to Seattle. Carolina scored with ease on its first four possessions while racking up 214 yards of total offense. Seattle’s first four possessions produced, two punts, two interceptions, one defensive touchdown and a meager 17 yards of total offense. This was starting out as the Little Big Horn of playoff games with Pete Carroll cast in the unfortunate role of Custer.
To Seattle’s credit they never waved the white flag. Despite being outmuscled for the entire first half, the humiliated Seahawks came out swinging after halftime. Taking advantage of a bored Carolina team that sleepwalked through the final two quarters, Russell Wilson led Seattle to four second half scores, placing them one onside kick away from a chance to tie the game. The comeback, however, would come up short, sending the Panthers to the NFC Championship and the Seahawks back to Seattle. The flight from Carolina to Seattle is about 5 hours giving the Seahawks plenty of time to ponder one simple but crucial question: what the hell happened to them in the first half?
-For a team to not show up in the biggest game they have played since imploding in last year’s Super Bowl, has to be related to coaching. One area where the coaching failed in the first half was with the Seahawks choice of cleats. Seattle looked completely unprepared for the poor condition of Carolina’s field and had to scramble to change cleats on the sideline after repeatedly slipping during the first quarter. How could Carroll and the Seahawks have been caught off guard by something as simple as field condition? Didn’t they walk the field prior to the game? Didn’t their players test out their choice of cleats during warmups? You know if it was Bill Belichick he would have had scouts walking the field all week and submitting grass samples, detailed status reports and a complete profile of the grounds crew.
-Pete carroll’s last four playoff games:
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Trailed 16-0 in the 3rd quarter(2014 NFC Championship)
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Blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead and made the worst coaching decision in sports history (2014 Super Bowl)
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Trailed an inferior Vikings team 9-0 and only won because a kicker to miss a 27-yard field goal (2015 Wildcard Round)
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Trailed 31-0 at halftime (2015 Divisional Round)
-After the game Carroll was his at his annoyingly positive best after the game telling the media, “Everybody in here just feels like we just ran out of time. Just wasn’t quite enough time to get this thing done.’’ By that rationale couldn’t the Panthers argue that they would have been ahead 50-0 at halftime but they just “ran out of time”?
-Even in defeat Russell Wilson somehow comes off looking like a winner. In the Andrew Luck vs Russell Wilson debate, despite the disappointing ending, 2015 definitely swung the pendulum back in Wilson’s favor.
-It’s depressing seeing the NFL advertising for youth flag football leagues. It seems like it was not long ago those ads were for real football i.e. tackle football. Thanks a lot Doctor Omalu.
-If you take a look Pete Carroll’s playoff history with Seattle, perhaps the Seahawks slow start wasn’t that surprising. Here is a list of the deficits Seattle has faced in road playoff games under Carroll:
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31-0, 2016 at Carolina
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9-0, 2016 at Minnesota
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20-0, 2013 at Atlanta
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14-0, 2013 at Washington
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28-0, 2011 at Chicago
-But give Carroll credit for this: Since 2011 in the eight playoff games Seattle has trailed by 9+ points the Seahawks are 5-3. The rest of the NFL is 6-41.
-Carolina Panthers veteran cornerback Cortland Finnegan had an interception Sunday against Seattle. Finnegan has always been both a talented player and a fierce competitor. The Patriots have some depth issues at CB. I wonder why Belichick didn’t take a flyer on Finnegan? Finnegan was signed off the street and cost the Panthers nothing.
-Did I hear Joe Buck say that Carolina has rushed for 100+ yards in 28 consecutive games? In this passing era that almost doesn’t seem possible.
-After Seattle rescued their season last year with a fake punt against Green Bay in the NFC Championship, how could Ron Rivera allow the Seahawks to convert another fake punt on Sunday?
-Why does Carolina repeatedly take it’s All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman out of coverage by blitzing him?
-When Seattle was roaring back in the second half I bet Carolina was thinking about their week 15 game in the Meadowlands when they blew a 35-7 lead and allowed the Giants to tie the game. This was the game that superstar wide receiver and petulant child Odell Beckham Jr. had a complete meltdown.
-When the Patriots drafted linebacker Jerod Mayo with the 10th overall pick in 2008, I think they were hoping his talent would be a lot closer to the Luke Kuechly level. Kuechly, who was drafted with the 9th overall pick in 2012, has been an absolute beast for the Panthers.