Lock, filling in for Smith, leads the Seahawks to an emotional victory

SEATTLE – With his hat on backwards, Pete Carroll enjoyed a thrilling win that marked the end of the longest losing streak of his tenure Seattle Seahawks Head coach.

Security Julian Love had an ear-to-ear smile on his face and beamed as he broke down his two interceptions in the fourth quarter.

And Drew Lock had a lump in his throat and became emotional during an on-field interview after leading the Seahawks to a 20-17 victory over the Seahawks Philadelphia Eagles That might have saved Seattle’s season.

“It takes a special group to rally around a guy playing in his second game of the year,” he told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after starting for the second straight game while injured Geno Smith. “They are used to the same thing all year round, the same rhythm, the same spin of the ball, everything. For a team like that – not just the offense, the defense – to rally around me tonight, man, that was amazing.”

Asked about the emotion in his voice, Lock said: “It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time.”

That was true for both the quarterback and the team. The Seahawks entered Monday night having not won since Nov. 12, losing four straight games for the first time since Carroll took over in 2010. Lock, meanwhile, had lost his last seven starts dating back to December 2020, when he was still with the Seahawks Denver Broncos.

Lock ended both streaks in dramatic fashion on Monday night.

With the score 17-13 with 1:52 left and a timeout, he led the Seahawks with a 92-yard winning drive. All 10 plays were pass locks. He completed five of them, including three passes DK Metcalf for 58 yards and a 29-yard go ball to the rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigbawho scored the winning goal with a fingertip catch in the end zone.

“Beautiful football, just beautiful football,” Carroll said. “The attitude we talked to you about last week, that’s where he was. He was on it. He was in command. There were a few imperfections in this drive; he came right back and scored, converted and got the first downs. “Then to throw the touchdown and win the football game, just unbelievable.”

In his first start of the season last week, Lock threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He delivered a much more balanced performance on Monday evening, even if he didn’t shine in the statistics. Lock completed 22 of 33 for 208 yards and one touchdown. He completed passes to eight different targets, took just two sacks and didn’t turn the ball over, despite throwing a wide-open ball to the ground Tyler Lockett A low shot in the third quarter could have made the game 17-1.

He was still annoyed about the missed shot afterwards, but was still satisfied.

“For us to come out tonight and play the way we did and get a win on one of two occasions I’ve had in the opener this year, my goodness, I was excited,” he reflected in his press conference the game. “I was emotional. I was emotional for myself, but I was emotional for those guys in that locker room. It’s been a tough few weeks. We needed a win.”

Monday night’s game was already full of drama before kickoff, with uncertainty surrounding whether Smith or Lock would last beyond the announcement of the inactive players. Smith was limited all week, still hampered by the groin injury he suffered in practice on Dec. 7, but surprised the team with his range of motion during a pregame practice. He appeared healthy enough to be active in an emergency – Seattle was also elevated Sean Mannion from the practice squad — but Carroll went with Lock as the starter, saying he feared a setback in Smith’s recovery.

“Drew took over most of the plays during the week,” Carroll said. “We really tried to save Geno as much as possible and not put too much strain on him because it’s been so short a time since the strain. We went out tonight to see if he could play if we needed him. … He looked. “Really good at training, but that was really the only strenuous training we asked him to do. So we knew we could put him on and if we needed him we could go to him hoping we wouldn’t have to so we could buy something. I gave him another week of recovery because it was really too was early.

“It was a difficult decision. It was hard for Geno because we caught him up to that point and then said, ‘No. Get dressed, be there if we need you, but we’re going with the other boys.’ and see if we can make it to next week so you can come back and play next week.’”

Did Smith fight Carroll in this decision?

“Oh yeah,” Carroll said. “Oh yeah, we fought. We fought, but he understood.”

Lock said Smith is an “unsung hero” for the support he has shown him over the past two weeks, calling Smith “a selfless guy.” He said Smith encouraged him on the sideline before the final drive, telling Lock he was the best quarterback on the field.

“I think we hugged each other about 10 times in the locker room tonight,” Lock said. “He’s just so excited for me and I appreciate his genuine enthusiasm for me because it’s not easy, man. It wasn’t easy when he was named starter for me last year. It’s not easy for him to watch from here now.” on the sidelines. I know what a competitor he is. He wants to be out there every single snap.”

Carroll confirmed that Smith will face the on Sunday Tennessee Titans as long as he is healthy.

“Yes,” Carroll said. “Geno is our starter.”

In the meantime, Lock can enjoy a win that keeps the Seahawks’ playoff hopes alive. According to ESPN Analytics, their chances of reaching the postseason increased from 32% to 55% after the win over Philadelphia. With a loss they would have fallen to 16%.

“I’m really so happy for the kid,” Carroll said. “First of all, it is a memory that you will never lose. He will hold onto this Monday night forever. He deserves it. He deserves it. He played the great moments in the game and came through…” . It was hard for him. For anyone who bounces back and has the brain of a starter, the brain of a championship kid, it’s damn hard to have to wait. He had to do it. He has his chances and almost got it together. A game that was good enough last week and this week he’s done the whole thing. It was amazing.”