Galloway Was Sorely Needed

The Seattle Seahawks got the ball with less than 3 minutes left in a divisional showdown, ready to take over the game with a show-what-we’re-made-of drive that might define their identity for the rest of the season.

The Hawks have exactly the game-breaking, play-making guy perfect for these critical circumstances.

Unfortunately, he was back in Ohio somewhere.

Joey Galloway might have been playing flag football on Sunday. Or fretting over how he’ll ever be able to support his family on the scant millions he’s already made.

Or, more likely, he spent the afternoon making his false daily affirmations, looking into a mirror telling himself: “I’m smart, I’m the game’s greatest receiver, and dog-gone it, they should pay me.”

Whatever he was doing, it wasn’t helping the Seattle Seahawks in a 13-10, last-second defeat to the San Diego Chargers in a game that could have given them sole possession of the AFC West lead.

Galloway, the receiver who has held out all season in defiance of his contract, has not been gravely missed thus far, as the Hawks have eked out three victories in five games.

But in a defense-dominated game like Sunday’s, when every yard is of precious value, when only one big play all day is needed to fabricate a victory, Galloway would have made the difference.

Yes, the Seahawks could have won this game in a lot of ways. And they certainly should have, given the four Chargers turnovers they forced.

But I’ll still pin this defeat on Galloway.

Last year, here, he pulled in an 81-yard scoring pass and returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown.

With just one play resembling those Sunday, the Seahawks would now stand 4-1 and would have eliminated any disbelief still lingering among themselves or their fans.

Instead, they were left to offer mitigations.

They protest that it’s early in the season.

That there are going to be growing pains.

But it is meaningless in the NFL, where the culture recognizes only winning and losing.

Hey, the Chargers overcame four Erik Kramer interceptions and found a way down the field for the gamewinning John Carney field goal.

The problems the Seahawks faced when they took the field for their late, futile, drive, were the same that killed them all day.

One, they can’t run the ball.

Two, they can’t pass the ball deep.

In both cases, it leaves quarterback Jon Kitna with little time to search downfield and with no threat of a rush to serve as a diversion for a salivating defense.

And on the last offensive drive, Kitna hooked up with Sean Dawkins for a completion before sending Ricky Watters into the line for no gain, and then having two incompletions to Derrick Mayes to force a punt.

Last year, here, the Seahawks had even less of a rushing game (40 total yards), and only 14 pass completions.

But Galloway made the difference last year with his big plays. And he made the difference this year by not being here.