From 'Butt Catch' to ref hugs: These 10 moments defined the Seahawks' season
There is plenty for the Seahawks to celebrate in 2016. They won the NFC West for the fourth time in seven seasons under Pete Carroll. They won at least 10 games and one playoff game for the fifth straight season. With that in mind, we asked staff reporters Bob Condotta and Jayson Jenks to list the Seahawks’ top 10 plays of the 2016 season.
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#10: Oct. 30
Getting friendly with officials
Why it mattered
Thomas picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, but the play’s legacy was Thomas’ celebration: He jumped into the stands, handed off the ball and then ran to an official, who he preceded to hug. That earned Thomas a 15-yard penalty, but it was probably worth it for posterity.
#9: Sept. 11
A clutch catch
Why it mattered:
The Seahawks appeared in danger of a shocking season opening home loss to Miami — a game that already had a pall cast over it after Russell Wilson suffered a sprained ankle in the third quarter — before finally mounting a drive, converting two fourth-down plays to get to the Miami 2-yard line with 57 seconds left.
After a run for no gain, the Seahawks lined up with Doug Baldwin in the slot left and Jermaine Kearse aligned wide left. Seeing that, and that Miami was in a man defense, Wilson changed the play call at the line, with Kearse and Baldwin executing a “rub route” in which Kearse provided just enough interference for Baldwin to move open past his defender. Baldwin caught a perfectly thrown ball with 31 seconds left and Seattle had a 12-10 win, which led Baldwin to say later of Wilson that “he has shown the propensity to do miraculous things, and that play was no different.”
#8: Jan. 14
#ButtCatch
Why it mattered:
Baldwin’s juggling catch that he eventually pinned against his backside kept a Seahawks’ drive alive and led to a touchdown. But really it was just an amazing act of coordination, and the fact social media so instantly dubbed it the “butt catch” helps give it staying power.
#7: Nov. 20
Doug Baldwin’s passing touchdown against Philadelphia
Why it mattered:
Baldwin’s touchdown pass to Russell Wilson gave the Seahawks a 23-7 lead. But what’s most remembered about that play is that Baldwin flipped off offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Baldwin later explained he was joking because he didn’t want Bevell to call the play in the red zone; he said he wanted to catch the pass in the red zone.
#6: Dec. 4
Speed kills
Why it mattered:
Fans had barely settled in their seats after watching one of Seattle’s best offensive halves of the season when Lockett took a handoff on an end around on the first play of the second half, cut through a couple of Carolina defenders at about the 35 and was gone.
Lockett reached a top speed of 21.15 miles per hour — which according to the NFL was the fastest of any player that week — in racing down the sideline, evading a last tackle attempt from Carolina’s Tre Boston as he sprinted into the end zone. The play put Seattle ahead 30-7 and was the longest touchdown run by a Seahawk in the history of CenturyLink Field.
#5: Oct. 16
Defense steps up
Why it mattered:
One of the strangest games of the season — one in which Seattle took a 17-3 lead, fell behind 24-17, then rallied to take a 26-24 lead — came down to one final play for Atlanta, a fourth-and-10 from its own 25 with under two minutes left.
The Falcons, who finished the year scoring an NFL high and franchise record 504 points, didn’t bother just trying to get the first down. Instead, star receiver Julio Jones lined up in the slot, made a move past Richard Sherman at the line of scrimmage and broke into the open down the middle of the field where he was met by safety Earl Thomas. Jones had to hold up just a bit to wait for a pass from Matt Ryan, which allowed Sherman to catch up and — it appeared — grab hold of Jones’ right arm. Jones tried to catch the ball with his left as he fell to the turf but couldn’t.
As Atlanta — and many non-Seahawks fans around the nation — pleaded for pass interference, Seattle celebrated. Asked later if he thought there was pass interference on the play, Sherman said, “no, I feel like we won the ballgame.”
#4: Nov. 7
One-handed wonder
Why it mattered
We’ll break from format here to make this a combo entry, since the plays in question were so similar — one-handed touchdown catches by Jimmy Graham in a 31-25 Monday night win over Buffalo on Nov. 7.On each Graham’s left arm was pinned to his body by a Buffalo defender, basically giving Graham no choice but to reach out with his right and hope for the best. “It’s more of a want-to than anything,” Graham said. ‘’I just want that ball so bad that I’m going to do anything for it.” Graham finished the game with a season-high eight catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Seattle needed all of it to hold off a stubborn Bills’ team, which got to the 15-yard-line before a final fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
#3: Nov. 13
Kam Chancellor’s pass breakup against Rob Gronkowski and New England
Why it mattered:
When Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner timed his run-up and then leapt over the line to block a 39-yard field goal attempt by Arizona’s Chandler Catanzaro with 13:20 to go in the second quarter, it seemed like it might be remembered most for the amazing athleticism involved. A former high school basketball player, Wagner perfectly timed his run and leap over Arizona long snapper Aaron Brewer to preserve a scoreless tie.
But as the game dragged on and on and on, the play came to symbolize an amazing Seattle defensive effort to forge an eventual 6-6 tie against the Cardinals (we could also have named Kelcie McCray tracking down Arizona’s speedy J.J. Nelson to prevent a winning touchdown in overtime as well). That Seattle had to settle for a tie ultimately proved the difference in losing the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. But that they got a tie at all took seemed rather remarkable as the Seahawks walked off the field.
#2: Oct. 24
Bobby Wagner leaps over the line to block a field goal against Arizona
Why it mattered:
When Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner timed his run-up and then leapt over the line to block a 39-yard field goal attempt by Arizona’s Chandler Catanzaro with 13:20 to go in the second quarter, it seemed like it might be remembered most for the amazing athleticism involved. A former high school basketball player, Wagner perfectly timed his run and leap over Arizona long snapper Aaron Brewer to preserve a scoreless tie.
But as the game dragged on and on and on, the play came to symbolize an amazing Seattle defensive effort to forge an eventual 6-6 tie against the Cardinals (we could also have named Kelcie McCray tracking down Arizona’s speedy J.J. Nelson to prevent a winning touchdown in overtime as well). That Seattle had to settle for a tie ultimately proved the difference in losing the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. But that they got a tie at all took seemed rather remarkable as the Seahawks walked off the field.
#1: Jan. 14
Paul Richardson one-handed catch for a touchdown against Detroit
Why it mattered:
It was perhaps the game’s most important play. The Seahawks had looked sluggish until Richardson’s catch, and coach Pete Carroll gambled by going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Richardson’s catch gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead and momentum they never relinquished.