A Grip on Sports: Before we take a hiatus, we take the chance to evaluate the Seahawks first big blown chance of the new season

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s hard to say goodbye, even if it’s only for a while. A long while, actually. But I will choke it out, which gives me something in common today with the Seahawks.

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• I started writing this column more than 13 years ago. And in that time, I’ve never stepped away for an extended period of time. Until this week. But, hey, there is a first for everything, right? Even that cliché began somewhere. And before I delve into the rest of September, let’s face one first that really wasn’t.

The Seahawks choking on a win that was right in their grasp. They have done this before. Last season, actually. And the failures cost them a playoff berth.

Tied at 10 with a little more than 3 minutes to play Sunday, second-year head coach Mike Macdonald decided to put the season-opening home game against the 49ers in his defense’s hands.

A logical decision. A decision based, in large part, to Macdonald’s pedigree as a defensive coach. And his confidence in a group that had bent much of the day, but only broke once. When George Kittle was still on the field.

The tight end wasn’t anymore, taking his considerable move-the-chains skills to the sideline along with a balky hamstring. Since Kittle limped off, the San Francisco offense seemed stuck in second gear.

So Macdonald, facing a fourth-and-1 at San Francisco’s 20 after Cooper Kupp’s a-hair-too-short third-down catch, opted to send out Jason Myers. The veteran kicker was perfect. Seattle led. And everyone from Poulsbo to Pullman settled in to watch the defense stifle the final 49er drive.

A few worrisome thoughts popped up to those paying attention, though.

Despite only yielding 10 points, the Hawks had given up more than 300 yards. The defense, one of the NFL’s best to end last season, was also worn down, having watched the offense struggle the entire second half – other than the go-ahead drive, jump started by Josh Jobe’s pick of an errant Brock Purdy pass.

But all that was needed was 3 minutes of solid play. Keep everyone in front. Force the 49ers to matriculate down the field and, at worse, put the game on Jake Moody’s foot. San Francisco’s kicker had already missed one field goal. And his protectors had failed on another, leading to Julian Love’s block.

There was one problem, though. Riq Woolen. After his Pro Bowl rookie season, Woolen’s career trajectory has slowed a bit. Just like the cornerback did on Purdy’s deep ball to Ricky Pearsall on the second play of the drive. Pearsall’s double move – why hesitate at all on the first one when the charge at that point is to keep everyone in front? – allowed Purdy a small hole for a deep connection. It got bigger when Woolen seemed to lose track of Pearsall and the ball. The 45-yard gain led to what became inevitable. A final-minute touchdown toss.

Purdy bought time with his feet, threw a 50-50 ball to backup tight end Jake Tonges in the end zone and Woolen once again reacted, well, strangely. Or poorly, if you prefer. The touchdown, and Moody’s perfect extra point, forced Sam Darnold to move quickly, a happenstance sadly lacking most game.

But this time he did, taking the offense to the 49ers’ 9-yard line in a minute.

Then Nick Bosa happened. San Francisco’s defensive star bull-rushed Abe Lucas into Darnold, the ball was jostled, it slipped from the quarterback’s grasp and Bosa fell on it. Game over. A winnable game? No, a depressing 17-13 loss.

With 3 minutes left, Macdonald had counted on his defense, despite the group having been on the field for more than 60% of the game. His defense, good enough up to that point, let him down. And the offense couldn’t pick him up.

• You won’t be able to pick up this column for most of the rest of the month.

For the first time since starting it in January of 2012, I am taking time off. Heading overseas. Actually acting like the retired person I am.

When then-S-R sports editor Joe Palmquist asked me to do this, he wanted five columns a week. I balked. I understand reading habits. And the desire of you folks to keep up with the local sports scene every day. I told him no. I wanted to be here every day. To build consistency. In myself and in you. For the most part, I have kept to that.

About 350 columns a year since. Almost every day. Even on vacation.

Not this time. Not while I have a chance to visit places I’ve read about voraciously since I was a child. But I’ll be back before October. It’s a promise.

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WSU: Before we return, the Cougars will have made their first road trip of the season – this Saturday, to Texas against 2-0 North Texas (12:30 p.m., ESPNU). They will have played their most-important game of the year – the Apple Cup, which happens to be in Pullman (4:30, Sept. 20, CBS). And they will have played their last game on the Palouse for a while – hosting Colorado State (4:30, Sept. 27, CBS Sports Network) to end the month. Will they be 5-0? Or 2-3? Or something in-between? If the defense continues to play as it did against Idaho and San Diego State, we guess the Cougs will be 4-1 at worst. Greg Woods, who has taken in each of the first two wins in person, expresses this thoughts about the defense, and the depth of the defensive line, in his story today. … Colton Clark takes his weekly look at players with local ties’ NFL performance, beginning this week with No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward and his game against Denver. … Speaking of former WSU quarterbacks on the Cougs’ 2023 roster, John Mateer’s performance for Oklahoma on Saturday made him the Heisman Trophy favorite to some. … San Diego State had some disappointment in the way the loss unfolded. … The Associated Press poll came out Sunday. As did rankings from a lot of different sources. The A.P. has Oregon at No. 4, WSU future opponent Mississippi at 17 and Oregon State’s foe this week, Texas Tech, at 21. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, being we won’t be here the rest of the week, we’re not listing Saturday games. We’ll just go team-by-team, starting with Washington, which did its job Saturday and more. But bigger tests await, including the Apple Cup following a bye. … Oregon State’s loss was built in large part by its mistakes. The Beavers are a big underdog this week. … Oregon’s win was built in large part by its exceptional play. The Ducks are a four-touchdown favorite again this week at Northwestern. … If Colorado wants to become even more successful, the Buffs will have to pay the piper. … Cam Rising sacrificed his body for Utah. … The Utes are trying to save their backup quarterback’s redshirt season. … Who is at fault Stanford’s offense is not very good? A couple folks took the blame. … Who is to blame for all the issues UCLA is experiencing? The ultimate responsibility falls on the head coach. … Is USC as good as it has looked? … Arizona State’s loss should not have earned it passing grades. … Arizona’s 48-3 win over Weber State probably should have. … Texas A&M may just be the best team Utah State will play all season.

EWU and Idaho: Around the (current and future) Big Sky, what can Montana take away from the win over Central Washington? … Third-ranked Montana State came close against second-ranked South Dakota State. But close is not what the Bobcats desire. … Northern Arizona wanted a win over Utah Tech. And got it. Barely. Nothing barely about Portland State’s three losses. The Vikings have been outscored 161-20. This week they are in Hawaii. … Cal Poly had no chance at Utah. … All Sacramento State had to do to top host Nevada was move the ball enough to run out the clock. The Hornets couldn’t.

Indians: For some reason, the coverage of Spokane’s final game of the season, a 9-1 road loss to Northwest League second-half winner Eugene on Sunday, is not on the S-R website this morning. I am linking the story through the e-edition.

Velocity: Spokane’s rally Sunday, which led to a 2-1 win over Westchester at ONE Spokane Stadium, is also not there. Again, here is a link to the e-edition story.

Seahawks: Season-opening NFL games are always accompanied by questions, no matter how good, or bad, a team seems. Dave Boling had a few and the Hawks’ performance answered some. But not others. He shares all of them in this column from Lumen Field. … We have a game story to pass along once more and three quick impressions. … The Hawks got what they deserved. … There are grades. Always. … What grade would you give Darnold in his Seattle debut? … How about Kupp? … And, finally, Klint Kubiak’s offense? … Yes, Hawk fans will focus on the offensive struggles. The 49ers’ fans will point to a defense that has been rebuilt and is expected to be really good. … San Francisco winning without Kittle at the end is a big deal. … For those of you keeping score at home, and I’m sure there are more than a few of you, Pete Carroll’s Raiders are 1-0. And Geno Smith had a lot to do with it with 362 passing yards in New England.

Mariners: The M’s return home to play St. Louis tonight at T-Mobile. And they return with some momentum, adding an 18-2 blowout over Atlanta on Sunday to their Saturday rout of the Braves. They also return to start the season’s final 19 games carrying a 1.5-game lead over Texas and a two-game edge over Kansas City in the wild-card race. KC is at Cleveland (2.5 games back) tonight while Texas hosts baseball’s best team, Milwaukee. … Cal Raleigh hit home run No. 53 – only one short of Mickey Mantle’s 64-year-old record for most dingers by a switch hitter. By the way, Good Luis Castillo was on the mound, a hopeful harbinger for the stretch run. … Jorge Polanco has played enough to vest his 2026 contract. … We can pass along these Athletic stories on contenders and their key player down the stretch.

Reign: Seattle traveled across the country to play a Washington team that decided to turn Trinity Rodman loose. The former WSU student aced the exam, scoring twice in the Spirit’s 2-0 win.

Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz was on the top of his game Sunday. Jannick Sinner was not, though it might not have mattered. When Alcaraz, now No. 1 in the world, is at his best, no one, not even Sinner, is better. Alcaraz won the U.S. Open’s men’s final in four sets. It was his sixth Grand Slam title. … The tournament had some interesting moments.  

Golf: We watched a little of the Walker Cup this weekend. Not because amateur golf is beautiful and special. But where the biennial match between the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland was played, Cypress Point, is. What a perfect golf course. Any members out there? I would give anything to play it. Anything. Well, maybe not my clubs. I love those clubs.

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• With a long plane flight looming, I hit the sack earlier than usual last night. Thus I missed the Bills’ comeback. Not that I would have watched anyway. The NFL, outside of Seahawks’ games – and our family feasts during them – holds little of my interest anymore. Age? Football fatigue? Memory issues? Age? Not sure. But if I think of it while on vacation, I’ll pass it along. If I remember. By the way, this would have been my sister’s 72nd birthday. I do remember her. And you should remember we will be back in this spot in no time at all. Until later …