Seahawks First Crash, Then Burn After Costly Collision, Baltimore Goes On To Win By Capitalizing On Seattle’s Leaky Special Teams

Seattle’s first defensive play summed up the back-breaking, 31-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Seahawks linebackers Chad Brown and Winston Moss collided in front of Ravens running back Bam Morris. Brown suffered a concussion that eventually forced him to leave the game one series into the third quarter. Moss fractured a bone in his neck, presumably ending his season and possibly jeopardizing his 11-year career.

Losses don’t get any uglier than this. Dave Arnold’s army of special teams non-tacklers gave up 89- and 66-yard punt returns for touchdowns to Baltimore’s Jermaine Lewis, marking the sixth consecutive game special teams surrendered points. Warren Moon added bruised ribs to his battered body, and John Friesz gave a thumbs-down performance with three fourth-quarter interceptions.

“This is really heartbreaking,” tight end Christian Fauria said. “It rips away at the very being of yourself. I don’t know how to put it. I wish I was a poet. But to add insult to injury, not only are we getting hurt, but we’re losing to crappy teams. We’re twice the teams we are losing to.”

After the Seahawks’ fourth consecutive loss, which officially ended ridiculous thoughts that this was a playoff team, the Seahawks were a broken team, physically and spiritually.

Moss joined five other players on the active roster who are out for the season. Left guard Pete Kendall limped off during the final series because of a knee injury. Halfback Chris Warren bruised an elbow. Moon bruised ribs.

Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson, faced with two more weeks of job speculation, raised the possibility of using third-string quarterback Jon Kitna in the final two games.

Moon, who’s endured 39 hits, including 14 sacks in the last four games, is questionable with damaged cartilage around his ribs. Friesz, who was 5 for 15 with three interceptions, had the worst outing of his career after replacing Moon in the fourth quarter.

“That could be a possibility,” Erickson said of playing Kitna. “We need to take a look at what we’re going to do at that position.”

Perhaps the most significant news out of the locker room except for the tearful loss of Moss, the team’s emotional leader on defense, is that Seahawks players and coaches pointed fingers at the poor performance by special teams, which have surrendered 71 points during the past six games.

“It’s really puzzling to me why we keep having these breakdowns week after week,” Moon said. “I don’t think it’s because of effort. I really don’t know what to think to tell you the truth. It’s been a very bizarre last month of the season to say the least.”

Ravens safety Bennie Thompson, a special-team star for a lot of years, does question the effort and the leadership of Seattle’s special teams.

“We were coming in there knowing they are not fundamentally sound on punt and kickoff defense,” Thompson said. “It’s one of their weaknesses and we want to take advantage of it. They don’t try as hard as most teams. They don’t get off the blocks as quickly as most. They try to finesse their way every time and finesse doesn’t work against physical special teams like ours.”

Seahawks punter Rohn Stark, a four-time Pro Bowler, hasn’t seen anything like these Seattle special teams in the 16 years he’s been in the league. Lewis’ 184 yards on punt returns was the third most in NFL history.

“I’ve never had two punt returns (for touchdowns) in a season, let alone in a game,” Stark said. “When one phase of the game costs you - and it’s obvious that it cost us today - it hurts, but at no point is a punt return for a touchdown acceptable. I’ll tell you what it is. I think it’s just a matter of playing a little bit scared. You’re not playing with intensity, and when you play tentative, you can’t make plays.

“The whole basis of coverage is that you bring everybody to one point, but if people show up there one at a time, you don’t get it done. It’s a mental thing.”

Lewis’ 89-yard return ruined a 9-3 Seattle lead in the second quarter that was accomplished on a 4-yard touchdown run by Lamar Smith. That came after a first-quarter Morris fumble and a Dan Saleaumua safety when he tackled Baltimore quarterback Eric Zeier in the end zone.

Brown, playing groggy because of the concussion, gave every ounce of energy to promote a comeback. He blocked a Greg Montgomery punt. He picked up a Zeier fumble and ran it 42 yards for a touchdown. Smith’s two-point conversion run gave the Seahawks a 17-10 lead with 2:35 left in the second quarter.

Lewis then returned a punt 66 yards for a score with 35 seconds left in the half, tying the score and destroying the morale of the Seahawks.