Seattle Seahawks 20-15 Washington Football Team: Seahawks hold off Washington fightback
Seattle up 20-3 in third quarter; Washington score two touchdowns in fourth quarter but Dwayne Haskins' Hail Mary falls short; Seahawks move to 10-4 and clinch playoff spot while Washington fall to 6-8.
Monday 21 December 2020 01:58, UK
Seattle Seahawks held off a fourth-quarter fightback from Washington Football Team to win 20-15 and seal their spot in the playoffs while ending the host's four-game winning streak.
The Seahawks (10-4) remain in a close battle for the No 1 seed in the NFC West with the Rams (9-5), while Washington (6-8) stay in the lead of the East with games against the Panthers and Eagles coming up to close the season.
An uneventful first quarter saw four of five possessions resulting in punts, with the lone scoring drive coming after Seattle took advantage of starting their first drive just short of midfield.
- Seattle passing leader: Russell Wilson, 18/27, 121 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing leader: Chris Carson, 15 carries, 63 yards
- Receiving leader: DK Metcalf, five catches, 43 yards
Kicker Jason Myers capped an eight-play, 30-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal, and he doubled their lead with a 40-yarder in their first possession of the second.
Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins - starting instead of the injured Alex Smith - had been putting together his first good drive of the day before firing too high for Cam Sims, and his pass was tipped and intercepted by the diving Shaquill Griffin just shy of the Seattle endzone.
Starting at their own three-yard line, Russell Wilson led Seattle all the way down the field on a 10-play drive highlighted by two outstanding plays. First, from his own 32, Wilson evaded the pass rush and broke free for a 38-yard run down the right sideline - the longest rush by a Seattle player all season.
On third down from the Washington 10, Wilson fired a laser in traffic to tight end Jacob Hollister, who held on for the touchdown.
Haskins bounced back from his turnover just before the half, leading Washington on a quick 46-yard drive to get in range for a Dustin Hopkins 48-yard field goal and make it 13-3 at the break.
- Washington passing leader: Dwayne Haskins, 38/55, 295 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
- Rushing leader: J.D. McKissic, 13 carries, 51 yards
- Receiving leader: Logan Thomas, 13 catches, 101 yards
However, Seattle put an emphasis on running the ball to start the second half, and they achieved just that. Chris Carson picked up 22 yards on two straight carries, before Carlos Hyde stepped in, broke tackles at the line of scrimmage, and powered ahead 50 yards into the open field for a touchdown.
Washington's defense kept them in the contest, holding Seattle to just eight yards in their remaining second-quarter possessions, and Haskins - who had just thrown a second pick - led an impressive 96-yard drive that was capped by a Peyton Barber one-yard run for Washington early in the fourth quarter.
After the Seahawks had moved into Washington's territory, their D stepped up again as Montez Sweat tipped Wilson's pass and Da'Ron Payne made an impressive diving interception to give Haskins the ball back.
Now that he had found his rhythm, the second-year QB put together another touchdown drive, which he finished off by flipping a pass to J.D. McKissic, who scooted in from six yards out.
Seattle had chances to wrap up the game - Hyde dropped the ball on a third down that would have given them a first down, and they were not able to recover after forcing a Haskins fumble.
But, ultimately, Seattle were able to hold on as they sacked Haskins twice inside the final minute, before forcing an incomplete Hail Mary attempt.
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