Seattle Seahawks defeat Denver Broncos in Russell Wilson’s return
SEATTLE — Of course this came down to the final seconds.
How could it not for Russell Wilson in his return to Lumen Field? How could the reunion of a Super Bowl champion quarterback and the only franchise he knew for a decade not finish in dramatic style?
How could it not for Pete Carroll and for the raucous Seattle crowd, who watched Wilson orchestrate so much late-game magic over the course of 157 starts and 10 seasons and for the first time were faced with being on the defending end?
Certainly as Wilson guided the Broncos to a pair of third-down conversions and out to midfield, trailing by a point late in the fourth quarter, many in the building regardless of sideline or jersey color or allegiance must have believed he was going to author another storybook ending, this one as the villain rather than the hero.
Instead, a twist.
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Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett in his head coaching debut opted to send Brandon McManus out for a 64-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-5 with 20 seconds left rather than give Wilson and the offense a do-or-die chance at converting and making McManus’ job easier.
McManus told the staff before the game his range extended to the 46-yard line on the left hash. Denver got to that spot exactly, the edge of the veteran kicker’s range but close enough that Hackett decided it was the Broncos’ best chance at points.
“We were right on the line, but he had plenty of distance,” Hackett said. “Brandon gave it his best shot. That’s a long field goal to hit. I think he’s completely capable of that, but obviously I wish we got a lot closer. It put us in that weird spot there because we were in field goal range but in that fourth-down situation.”
There’s no gray area in that spot for a rookie head coach. It’s the offense or the field goal unit.
“Fourth-and-six, for me during that time, we had been moving it just slightly. We weren’t moving it in big chunks. I think we had just given up a sack right before that,” Hackett said, though the only negative play on the drive was a 4-yard loss on a completion to the flat. “I wanted to be sure that we took a chance (at points) when we had a chance and we felt confident in (McManus).”
McManus’ career-long is 61 yards and he entered Monday 1-of-4 from 60-plus. The longest field goal made at Lumen Field: 56 yards.
“I knew there was a good chance we might kick it,” McManus said. I’ve got to make them. I told them I can make that kick.”