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Week 7 - Sunday 23rd October 2005 |
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"Clear the ramp, 30 seconds, God be with ya" are the opening lines of the film but they proved to be particularly apt for the end of this game.
OK, no-one in their right mind (and I do wonder sometimes) would compare an NFL game with the D-Day landings but this was one tough ball game with a rescue mission in mind.
From the kick off the NFL's number 1 ranked offense clicked into gear and drove imperiously down to the Dallas 10. The first sign that something was up happened when the ball bounced up out of the hands of a diving Peter Warrick straight to a Cowboy. It was the last decent Seahawk drive we would see for a very long time. Like the taking of Caen, some things just take longer.
The fact that both teams punted 9 times apiece tells it's own story about how defenses dominated the rest of the game.
On one of the few occasions that either team broke out of it's own half, Drew Bledsoe threw a 5 yard pass to Keyshawn Johnson who scored a legal touchdown at Qwest field for the first time and 0-7.
More punting followed and you know I really hate to complain about the officials but twice they threw flags in the Seahawks favour then picked them up. The second one came in the drive following Michael Boulware's interception and got Holmgren so hot he nearly staged a one man pitch invasion.
As it was we settled for a 55 yard Josh Brown field goal and 3-7 at the half.
The third quarter was a non-event but the 4th started in dramatic and disastrous fashion. Jimmy Williams dropped a punt and the Cowboys recovered at our 9. RB Marion Barber had done well replacing Julius Jones but was held for gains of 1 and then 2 yards. On 3rd down Grant Wistrom sacked Bledsoe for a 4 yard loss. Backing them up just that short distance took on extra significance when Cortez pulled the 29 yard field goal wide.
If we thought it was a momentum swing we were wrong as 2 more possessions were punted away and on the 3rd Hass threw an interception at the Seahawks 12 with only 3 minutes remaining. I couldn't see a way out of it but I repeated what I'd been saying all night in the chat room. 'Hang in there, hang in there, hang in there'.
That's just what we did with DD Lewis crunching Bledsoe on 3rd and 3 and forcing a field goal which Cortez didn't miss for 3-10.
The Cowboys had frustrated the Seahawks by packing the box against the run and generating enough pressure to stop the pass. The loss of Jackson and Engram had scarcely been noticed against the Rams and Texans but our back up's struggled to get open against some aggressive corner play. Alexander had run for only 50 yards and was still 5 short of the Seahawks all time rushing record.
On the other side of the ball the defense were doing great with 5 sacks taking us to 23 for the season and currently on course for over 50 burying last seasons count of 36. The Cowboys had run fairly well and put up 164 yards in total but they didn't really break a run of any significance.
Hass had struggled and had already failed 3 times in the 4th quarter but with the Seahawks still within a score could he do it now from 81 yards with 2 minutes remaining? Could he save Private Ryan?
He did it 22 yards at a time, crash 22 to Urban, bang 22 to Stevens, wallop 22 yard penalty for interference on Hackett on what was a 1st and 20 following a Seahawk penalty. Now on the Cowboys 25 with still 1:40 remaining Alexander broke loose across open ground before sliding into cover. He'd only gained 11 yards but he'd broken the record yet no-one cared! The ball was back with Hass who now found Hackett at the 1 but Alexander couldn't punch it in.
"Clear the ramp, 30 seconds, God be with ya". Well it was actually 46 seconds but there he was at last, Private Ryan Hannam breaking cover and sliding to catch the pass in the corner of the end zone. 10-10 and it was a fantastic drive and the Seahawks were safe for the time being as over time beckoned.
Still there was time to panic as the Cowboys returned the kick 39 yards. After playing an extremely conservative passing game Bill Parcells then risked it all trying to get the Cowboys in field goal range.
With 14 seconds left and to disbelief in the chat room Jordan Babineaux intercepted an under thrown pass and returned it before running out of bounds at the Dallas 32. It was a huge play for Babineaux and what a cool head he displayed by going out of bounds with time still on the clock.
We knew Josh Brown had the length but did he have the bottle after hitting the post in a similar situation against the Redskins? Cue Steve Raible. 'The kick is up and it issssssssss, GOOD, THE KICK IS GOOD!!!!!!
It was unbelievable stuff and on the pitch Brown pulled off his helmet and hurled it in an act of self preservation as he was mugged by his team mates. Never go into battle without your helmet but Brown figured he was less likely to end up on the floor on the bottom of a 3,000lb mass of bodies and he was right.
The battle had been won and the Seahawks will now get a rest as the bye week beckons, I'm sure they need it but so do we in the chat room!
Andrew Robinson (HawksHead)
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