Getty Geno Smith's injury is sparking plenty of Seattle Seahawks news on whether Drew Lock will start on Thanksgiving.
The Seattle Seahawks lost 17-16 in heartbreaking fashion to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11. Head coach Pete Carroll is creating plenty of Seahawks news after admitting the team’s mistakes on the final drive.
With about 30 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Seattle opted to hand the ball off to Zach Charbonnet which resulted in a minimal gain. Geno Smith then clocked the ball with seven seconds remaining to set up Jason Myers’ field goal attempt to win the game.
After the loss, Carroll admitted the team did not handle this sequence correctly. Carroll declined to specify where the mistakes happened but admitted it would have been beneficial to have gotten closer.
“Nah, we didn’t quite handle that as well as we’d like to,” Carroll told reporters on November 19. “But we got in field goal range. We got there and we had a shot. Jason’s kicked balls from that far before. We’d have loved to be a little bit closer but obviously we weren’t.
“…There’s some choice in there [on clocking the ball and run play], yeah. I’d agree with that.”
Pete Carroll on Final Rushing Attempt: ‘We Didn’t Do It Right’
Final sequence from Seattle: Geno to DK down to Rams 39. Seattle hurries to LOS and, with 23 seconds left (and no timeouts), runs it to charbonnet for 2 yards before a spike to set up 55yd FG for Myers, who had hit from 54 and 52 earlier in game.
Carroll was then asked for more clarity on the running play. The Seahawks coach noted that the hope was to break off a long run before admitting the play was not “as clean as we’d like.”
“Yeah, you’re hoping you pop it, for sure,” Carroll adds. “We didn’t do that as clean as we’d like.”
Later in the postgame press conference, Carroll was once again pressed on the final sequence. The Seahawks coach was asked if Smith had the option to call a different play other than Charbonnet’s run.
“We didn’t do it right,” Carroll stated matter of factly. “I’m just going to tell you. We didn’t do it right. We didn’t do that exactly the way we’d like to do that.
“It didn’t come out right. We’ll tell you more about that tomorrow [November 20].”
Seahawks News: Kicker Jason Myers Admitted It Was ‘Pretty Windy’ for Field Goal Attempt
Jason Myers says no excuses on last kick.
Myers discussed the thought process as the kicker pushed the ball to his right on the miss. The veteran kicker noted the conditions were less than ideal for the attempt despite SoFi Stadium technically being an indoor venue.
“It’s tough because it’s indoor but it’s not,” Myers said during his November 19 postgame press conference. “It’s pretty windy in there, so I knew I had to drive it a little bit.”
Seahawks vs. 49ers: Computer Projections Have Seattle as 7.5-Point Underdogs
Smith deserves a lot of credit for playing through an elbow injury in order to return on the final drive. Seattle was able to get into field goal range despite having no timeouts remaining.
There is no rest for the weary as Seattle plays San Francisco on Thursday, November 23 for a primetime Thanksgiving matchup. Heavy Sports’ computer projections powered by Quarter4 have the Seahawks as 7.5-point underdogs. The projections give the Seahawks a 26% chance to pull off the upset.
Seahawks news reveals the team could be without several key players against the Niners as Smith along with running back Ken Walker both sustained injuries. If Smith cannot play, Drew Lock is expected to start for the Seahawks in Week 12.