Whew! The Seattle Seahawks (11-3) needed six field goals to beat the Philip Rivers led Indianapolis Colts (8-6) in a game that was way too close for comfort. Seattle did not get into the end zone but didn’t need to, as Jason Myers became the first Seahawks kicker to make six field goals in a game. His 56-yarder with :18 left gave the Seahawks a dramatic 18-16 win, less than a minute after Colts kicker Blake Grupe made a miraculous 60-yard field goal that looked to give Indy a shocking win on the road.
Philip Rivers tried his darnedest at 44 years old but dadgummit his defense let him down at the end.
The Colts and Philip Rivers got the ball first, getting a couple of first downs along the way. Rivers completed just one of four passes and Seattle forced a punt. The Seahawks were backed up in their own territory and went three-and-out following two ineffective runs and a throw short of the sticks to Cooper Kupp (with a penalty negating any successful play). Indianapolis put together an 11-play, 41-yard drive with Ameer Abdullah getting involved over Jonathan Taylor. Blake Grupe kicked a field goal to make it 3-0 Colts.
Two passes by Darnold to Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed immediately put Seattle into field goal range, but two more ineffective runs led to the end of the drive. Anthony Bradford tried to pull on 3rd and 4 and Kenneth Walker tripped over him. Jason Myers banged one through from 47 to make it 3-3 to end the opening quarter.
Following a Colts punt, a rare Jaxon Smith-Njigba drop and then a sloppy offside penalty on A.J. Barner wrecked the next Seahawks drive. Sam Darnold was sacked by Laiatu Latu after a bad pass pro rep by Zach Charbonnet, and a weak Michael Dickson punt gifted the Colts a short field. On 4th and 1 in field goal range, the Colts went for it and Jonathan Taylor was stuffed… but the Colts false started. Indy opted for a long Blake Grupe field goal and he drilled it from 57. 6-3 Colts.
As the Seahawks offense struggled, the Colts were able to extend the lead to stun the Lumen Field crowd some more. Philip Rivers hit a nice seam pass to Tyler Warren and continued to eat up the Seahawks with short stuff. Jonathan Taylor didn’t hit explosive runs but had positive yards on virtually every touch. A 3rd down throw to Josh Downs across the middle beat Josh Jobe and resulted in a touchdown. 13-3 Colts.
Seattle was able to score before halftime in the two-minute drill, just like last week against the Atlanta Falcons. Some curious officiating saw Jaxon Smith-Njigba not get a pass interference call in his favor and then the Colts seemingly got away with delay of game as they kept trying to force a fumble after the play was over. Nevertheless, Jason Myers still kicked a field goal to make the score 13-6 Colts at the half.
The Seahawks added to the scoreboard to open the second half but once again it was only a field goal. Sam Darnold converted 4th and short to A.J. Barner after hanging in the pocket long enough for a receiver to come open. Seattle wouldn’t advance much further, and a long throw to Rashid Shaheed was incomplete with no flag on the play despite Shaheed’s protestations. Jason Myers made his third field goal of the day to cut the deficit to 13-9 Colts.
After punts were exchanged by offenses struggling to get going in terms of explosive plays, the Seahawks finally got going. Play action to Rashid Shaheed gained 28 yards, and on a crucial 3rd down it was Darnold to JSN for another 28 into the red zone. As the 4th quarter began, the Seahawks had an ineffective Charbonnet run, a pass to Kenneth Walker for minimal gain, and an incomplete throw to Cooper Kupp. Another field goal for Jason Myers. 13-12 Colts with 13:24 to go.
An iffy pass interference penalty on Josh Jobe extended Indy’s drive instead of a three-and-out. After getting close to field goal range, a screen pass to Ameer Abdullah was blown up and the Seahawks got the ball back on the ensuing punt. Backed up inside their own 10, it was mostly the aerial attack that got Seattle going. Jaxon Smith-Njigba broke a tackle and raced for 39 yards to clear 100 yards for the afternoon. But once again, the Seahawks stalled in the red zone and threw clock-stopping incomplete passes to save time for the Colts. Jason Myers’ fifth field goal provided the Seahawks their first lead at 15-13 with 2:27 to go.
It’s Philip Rivers with a chance to win the game. A tale as old as time. His first play was to handoff to Taylor for three yards from his own 32. Pressure by Leonard Williams forced Rivers into a throwaway to bring up 3rd and 7. Back shoulder throw to Alec Pierce for 16 yards with Josh Jobe in coverage. A run blitz by the Seahawks stymied Jonathan Taylor for no gain. A short throw to Tyler Warren set up 3rd and 8. Seattle used two of its three timeouts in this scenario. On 3rd and 7, Taylor was stopped short of the first down and the Seahawks used their final timeout. Blake Grupe came on for the possible winning field goal from 60 yards and he MADE IT. 16-15 Colts with :47 left.
Rashid Shaheed returned the kickoff to his own 37 with :42 to go. Shaheed with the catch into Colts territory. Darnold spikes the ball with :28 left. Sideline throw to Shaheed and the Seahawks are just about in field goal range with :25 to go. A 3rd and 2 throw is dirted by Darnold. It’s Jason Myers from 56 yards out… GOOD!!! 18-16 Seahawks with :18 left.
Seattle kicked it deep and the return was brought to the Indianapolis 30 and took seven seconds off the clock. Rivers throws AND COBY BRYANT SEALS THE GAME WITH AN INTERCEPTION! SEAHAWKS WIN!
The big one. A rematch with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 5:15 pm PT on Prime Video. Lumen Field will be rocking.
