Seahawks break out to clobber Colts
Seattle uses huge 2nd-half surge for 46-18 rout of Indy
SEATTLE (AP) — It took a trio of relative unknowns to wake up the Seattle Seahawks.
J.D. McKissic took the second carry of his career 30 yards for a touchdown and Bobby Wagner scooped up Marcus Smith’s forced fumble and rumbled 21 yards for a score in a 13-second span late in the third quarter, and the Seahawks beat the Indianapolis Colts 46-18 on Sunday night.
Justin Coleman added a 28-yard interception return for a TD in the first half and Seattle overcame a sleepy first 30 minutes from its offence to finally put away the Colts.
“It was a terrific night. It just took us a while again . . . . We finally got going,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
McKissic was once cut by Atlanta, but his athleticism earned him a spot in Seattle. Coleman was deemed expendable by New England and was acquired in a trade just before the start of the regular season. And Smith, who finished with 1 1/2 sacks, was a former first-round pick who was a bust with Philadelphia.
Their big plays turned boos that cascaded down at halftime with Seattle trailing 15-10 into cheers in a hurry. CenturyLink Field was left shaking after Wagner scooped up Smith’s forced fumble against quarterback Jacoby Brissett and weaved through tacklers for Seattle’s second defensive score and a 32-18 lead.
Russell Wilson threw two TD passes and two interceptions, but his most important play was a 23-yard run in the third quarter to give Seattle an 18-15 lead.
Adam Vinatieri pulled the Colts even at 18-18 as the Colts capitalized on Wilson’s second interception. Graham dropped a catchable pass and it was intercepted by Malik Hooker, his third straight game with an interception.
But Seattle answered with a 75-yard drive that was capped by McKissic’s touchdown sprint. Wilson added TD passes of 6 yards to Luke Willson and 27 yards to McKissic in the fourth quarter and the Seahawks outscored Indianapolis 36-3 in the second half.
“It’s the same thing that always happens. Slow start out of the gate and for whatever reason we pick it up the third and fourth quarter,” Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin said.
Seattle’s win came appeared to come with a big blow in the final minutes when starting running back Chris Carson sustained a left leg injury. Trainers immediately placed an air cast on Carson’s leg and he was carted off the field. Carroll said Carson’s injury was significant.
Brissett threw an 18-yard strike to Donte Moncrief late in the first half to give the Colts the lead. Brissett was 16 of 29 for 157 yards and was sacked three times.
The biggest play turned out to be Smith’s sack, knocking the ball from Brissett’s hands just before his arm moved forward as Seattle suddenly took a 14-point lead.
“They just outplayed us big time in the second half. We didn’t do a good job of adjusting. That’s on me,” Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said. “We’re a lot better than that, but it’s going to be the same old song and dance if we don’t get things cleaned up.”
RECORD WATCH
Frank Gore finished with 46 yards rushing, leaving him four yards short of passing Eric Dickerson for seventh on the career rushing list.
RETIREMENT CEREMONY
New Hall of Famer Kenny Easley had his No. 45 retired by the Seahawks at halftime. Easley is the fourth player and the fifth number overall retired by the franchise, an honour held specifically for those players elected to the Hall of Fame. The Seahawks also have the No. 12 retired in honour of the fans.
Easley was the senior committee selection for induction to the Hall of Fame this year.
UP NEXT
Colts: Indianapolis faces another NFC West opponent, hosting San Francisco.
Seahawks: Seattle plays its second NFC West game of the season, travelling to the Los Angeles Rams.
PANTHERS 33, PATRIOTS 30
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Graham Gano hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired, and the Carolina Panthers stunned the New England Patriots 33-30 on Sunday.
The winner served as redemption for Gano, who missed an extra point in the third quarter.
It was the second home loss this season for the usually unbeatable Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The defeat marked just the second time since 2012 that Tom Brady has lost two home starts within a season.
Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Jonathan Stewart rushed 14 times for 68 yards to pass DeAngelo Williams and become the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
Newton finished 22 of 29 for 316 yards and an interception, picking apart a New England defence that was giving up an NFL-worst 461 yards and 31.7 points per game.
The Patriots (2-2) forced a pair of turnovers, but had trouble containing Newton’s stable of targets.
Carolina (3-1) finished with 444 total yards, marking the fourth straight game the Patriots have given up at least 300 yards.
Brady finished 32 of 45 for 307 yards and two scores.
BRONCOS 16, RAIDERS 10
DENVER — The Broncos throttled running back Marshawn Lynch and sent quarterback Derek Carr to the sideline with a back injury, then sealed their win on safety Justin Simmons’ interception of EJ Manuel at the Denver 8 in the closing minutes.
Despite holding Lynch to 12 yards on nine carries, the Broncos found themselves in danger of frittering away an AFC West showdown they had dominated.
Trailing by six, Manuel heaved a high toss to Amari Cooper just after the two-minute warning. Simmons, who won the job from three-time Pro Bowl safety T.J. Ward this summer, came down with the ball just shy of the goal line and took it out to 8. The Broncos ran out the clock to hit their bye week at 3-1.
Oakland (2-2) had cut its deficit to six on Giorgio Tavecchio’s 38-yard field goal with 5:23 remaining. That came after Brandon McManus hit the left upright from 29 yards out early in the fourth quarter after nailing kicks from 28, 36 and 46 yards.
CARDINALS 18, 49ERS 12 (OT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Carson Palmer threw 19 yards to Larry Fitzgerald with 32 seconds left in overtime for the game’s only TD. The scoring had been limited to nine field goals on an ugly afternoon in the desert before Palmer directed a seven-play, 75-yard drive with 1:52 to play.
Fitzgerald, who had three catches for 13 yards before the winning grab, rose to catch the ball under tight coverage by Rashard Robinson.
Robbie Gould kicked his fifth field goal, a 23-yarder with 2:24 left in overtime to put the 49ers ahead 15-12.
Phil Dawson kicked four field goals for the Cardinals (2-2), whose two victories both have come in overtime.
The 49ers (0-4), losing to the Cardinals for the fifth time in a row, won the coin toss to start the overtime. They used up 7:36 of the extra session, which was shortened from 15 to 10 minutes this season.
EAGLES 26, CHARGERS 24
CARSON, Calif. — Carson Wentz passed for 242 yards, LeGarrette Blount rushed for 136 and the Eagles extended their promising start to the season.
Rookie Jake Elliott kicked four field goals for the Eagles (3-1), and Blount ran for 88 yards in the fourth quarter alone, and Philadelphia ran out the clock after Henry’s TD catch with 6:44 to play.
Philip Rivers passed for 347 yards and two TDs for the Chargers, who have lost nine consecutive games dating to last season in San Diego.
Tyrell Williams caught a 75-yard TD pass, but the Bolts are off to their first 0-4 start since 2003 — three years before Rivers became their starting quarterback.
BUCCANEERS 25, GIANTS 23
TAMPA, Fla. — Jameis Winston threw for 332 and three touchdowns without an interception, and Nick Folk kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired.
Folk redeemed himself after missing two field goals and an extra point earlier in the day, booting the winner after Winston answered Eli Manning’s second TD pass of the day with an impressive drive that began at his 25.
The Giants (0-4) lost on a last-second field goal for the second straight week. They took a 23-22 lead on Rhett Ellison’s 2-yard TD reception with 3:16 remaining. Manning threw to Odell Beckham Jr., in the rear of the end zone for a 2-point conversion that was disallowed because the receiver had stepped out of bounds before making the catch.
Winston threw TDs passes of six yards to Mike Evans and 58 yards to O.J. Howard in building an early 13-0 lead. His 14-yard TD pass to Cameron Brate put the Bucs up 22-17 midway through the fourth quarter, setting the stage for an exciting close.
RAMS 35, COWBOYS 30
ARLINGTON, Texas — Todd Gurley scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 53-yard catchand-run, and Greg Zuerlein kicked a careerhigh seven field goals.
Gurley finished with 215 total yards — 121 rushing and 94 receiving — as the Rams overcame two first-half touchdowns from Ezekiel Elliott the day before a federal appeals court hearing related to the star Dallas running back’s blocked six-game suspension over a domestic incident in Ohio.
The Rams (3-1) rallied from 11 points down late in the first half and matched their start from a year ago, when they went 1-11 the rest of the way as No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff was sitting and later lost the first seven starts of his career.
Goff passed for 255 yards and two TDs without an interception.
The Cowboys (2-2) are already a loss shy of their total from last season when Dak Prescott was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Elliott led the league in rushing, also as a rookie.