With losses, Seahawks’ season starting out like ‘08
INDIANAPOLIS – As he had done on each of the previous two Sundays, Jim Mora presented a positive message after a Seahawks loss.
And pep talk No. 3, which followed the Seattle’s 34-17 loss to Indianapolis, included a reference to the Seahawks’ dreary 2008 season.
“Last year going 4-12 was extremely disappointing, and we don’t want to relive that,” Mora said after his team fell to 1-3. “Right now we’re in a little bit of a dark spot, but we’re going to find our way out of it, I promise you we are.”
Mora didn’t bring up 2008 to compare the two seasons (he still maintains the Seahawks will break out of their funk this time around) but following a blowout loss to the Colts in front of 66,112 at Lucas Oil Stadium, it’s hard not to notice the similarities between the two seasons.
Just like last year, the Seahawks are 1-3 after four games with their only win coming against the lowly Rams, and just like last year, injuries have contributed to a slow start. On Sunday, another similarity emerged. During the first weekend of October last season, the Seahawks traveled east and were blown out by the New York Giants. This year, on the first weekend of October, the trip was slightly shorter, and the score slightly less lopsided, but the end result is still the same: the Seahawks are beat up and trying to rally after a 1-3 start.
“We can’t make excuses, we’ve just got to continue to fight and work hard to overcome it,” Mora said. “I can’t emphasize enough that we’re very disappointed, very disappointed. We’re disappointed in the loss, and we’re disappointed in the start, but we really welcome the challenge.”
One of the big challenges on this day was to contain Peyton Manning and the Colts offense, and the Seahawks weren’t able to do that. Down its starting quarterback, Seattle hoped its defense could step up and keep Manning in check, but the Colts’ quarterback instead was nearly flawless, passing for 353 yards and two scores while completing 31 of 41 attempts. He was 17 of 20 for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Colts built a 21-3 lead by scoring touchdowns three of the four times they had the ball.
Indianapolis opened the second half with another touchdown – its fourth in five possessions – to make it 28-3. The lead would eventually get as large as 31 points before the Seahawks scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns.
The Seahawks had some success moving the ball with backup quarterback Seneca Wallace, but in the first half – before the game turned into a blowout – they were unable to turn drives into points because of miscues and penalties.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times and we just didn’t score enough points,” said Wallace, who completed 33 of 45 attempts for 257 yards and a touchdown.
The goal now for the Seahawks is to win the next two games, both at home, to head to the bye week with a 3-3 record. After the bye they play four of their next five games on the road.
Even at full strength, earning a road win over the Colts, who are now 4-0, would have been asking a lot, so this result by itself won’t make or break the Seahawks’ year.
Instead, it’s how they respond the next two weeks that will tell the story of this season, and the players are as confident as their coach that they will bounce back.
“Ain’t no (quit) in me,” Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. “I’m not going to quit. … It’s a long season. We’re 1-3. All right, cool. We can win next week: 2-3. Next week after that, 3-3, and you’re right back in it. That’s how you have to look at it.”
Colts 34, Seahawks 17
| Seattle | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | — | 17 |
| Indianapolis | 7 | 14 | 7 | 6 | — | 34 |
Ind—Brown 1 run (Vinatieri kick)
Ind—Wayne 5 pass from Manning (Vinatieri kick)
Sea—FG Mare 38
Ind—Collie 21 pass from Manning (Vinatieri kick)
Ind—Addai 12 run (Vinatieri kick)
Ind—FG Vinatieri 37
Ind—FG Vinatieri 19
Sea—S.Wallace 7 run (Mare kick)
Sea—Schmitt 1 pass from S.Wallace (Mare kick)
| Sea | Ind | |
| First downs | 20 | 24 |
| Total Net Yards | 279 | 431 |
| Rushes-yards | 19-49 | 22-78 |
| Passing | 230 | 353 |
| Punt Returns | 0-0 | 2-25 |
| Kickoff Returns | 5-104 | 1-19 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 33-45-0 | 31-41-1 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 5-27 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 5-49.0 | 2-40.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-45 | 7-48 |
| Time of Possession | 31:06 | 28:54 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Seattle, J.Jones 11-25, James 4-16, S.Wallace 4-8. Indianapolis, Addai 12-46, Brown 9-33, Manning 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Seattle, S.Wallace 33-45-0-257. Indianapolis, Manning 31-41-1-353.
RECEIVING—Seattle, Houshmandzadeh 8-103, Branch 6-49, Carlson 5-39, Burleson 4-31, J.Jones 3-10, Forsett 3-8, Schmitt 2-3, Owens 1-8, James 1-6. Indianapolis, Clark 8-80, Addai 7-50, Wayne 6-74, Collie 6-65, Garcon 3-71, Brown 1-13.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.