In a game that resembled a “butter-fingers” cheat-code riddled NFL Blitz video game session, the Seattle Seahawks were able to improve to 5-1 after defeating the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Tennessee was quite an underdog coming into the game due to losing their starting quarterback, Jake Locker, in week four. However, multiple turnovers and poor offensive play from the Seattle Seahawks allowed the Titans to hang around for the entirety of Sunday’s contest.
The two teams combined for a total of 8 fumbles and 2 interceptions. One particular turnover by the Seahawks will go down in the team’s history of embarrassing moments. Seahawks’s kick-off man, Steve Hauschka, was nearly decapitated during a kick-off return following a Marshawn Lynch touchdown. And when I saw nearly decapitated, I literally mean nearly decapitated:
Following this crushing blow, Hauschka was taken off the field to be evaluated for concussion symptoms. This would seemingly not be that big of an issue, except for the fact that Hauschka is also Seattle’s field goal kicker.
Fast forward to Seattle’s next possession, and the Seahawks found themselves in a position to kick a last-second first-half field goal to take a 10-3 lead. Because Hauschka was out of the game, Seattle had to bring back-up kicker, Jon Ryan, to attempt the extra point. Ryan just happened to be the usual holder for extra points, so Seattle had to depend on someone who normally doesn’t see the spotlight: Chris Maragos, number 53 on Seattle’s depth chart.
Now, this shouldn’t have been cause to worry. Maragos was a holder in all four years of college. Apparently, though, Maragos could not handle the national spotlight (or the ball). Upon receiving the football from the snapper, Maragos fumbled the hold. He then tried to improvise a play by picking up the ball, rolling right, and attempting to pass. Unfortunately for Maragos, he was not actually playing NFL Blitz. The pathetic attempt to make a play was eaten up by Tennessee’s defense, who promptly stripped the ball from Maragos and returned the ball for a touchdown. Instead of being up 10-3 at the half, Seattle now trailed by a score of 10-7.
Fortunately, this incident was not disastrous. The Seahawks would force late turnovers from Tennessee and go on to win the game. 20-13.
Russell Wilson, despite having a lackluster performance, finished with 257 yards on 23 of 31 passes. Marshawn Lynch appeared to be immune to the issues facing his teammates that day, using his classic “Beastmode” cheat-code to finish with 155 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns.
After the game, Seahawks team-members were able to laugh about both the turnovers and the play concerning Hauschka. When asked if he felt a particular obligation to teach Hauschka how to tackle after his poor effort during the game, cornerback Richard Sherman joked, “I feel an obligation to teach Hauschka how to get out of the way.”
The Seahawks’s next game comes against the 3-3 Arizona Cardinals on Thursday.
Image via The Bleacher Report
