Silence in Seattle: Rowdy fans absent

COVID-19 crisis nixes famed home edge

For a normal Sunday night game in Seattle, fans would show up in the morning, giving themselves time to find parking and begin preparations for the evening’s festivities.

Those parking lots will be empty Sunday. No tailgates. No party buses. No fans. CenturyLink Field, a venue designed for maximum noise and re

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garded as one of the NFL’s best homefield advantages, will sit empty when the Seahawks host New England.

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, Seattle will not have fans in the seats Sunday, or Sept. 27 or Oct. 11. Instead of the deafening roars that have caused seismic activity, controlled background noise will be piped in.

“The excitement level and the energy and the connection with the people of this area has been unique and extraordinary,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s not going to happen. But that doesn’t mean that when we score or something, make a big play, sack the quarterback, people can’t go out on their front steps and start screaming, yell out their windows.”

The Seahawks are 63-23 at home in the regular season and playoffs since Carroll arrived in 2010. Dating to when the stadium opened in 2002, the Seahawks are 109-46. Good players, good coaches, good teams are the main reason. But the fans have helped.

“There have been games when we played the 49ers where you can’t hear yourself, and we’re standing right next to each other, because the crowd is so loud,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “You love it when it’s loud and the offense can’t hear.”

The Seahawks plan to continue several of their fan-related traditions, notably raising the “12” flag above the south end zone before kickoff. The flag will be raised Sunday by Dr. Eliot Fagley, an anesthesiologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the critical care unit at Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center.

■ Broncos: Running back Phillip Lindsay (toe) was ruled out for Sunday, when coach Vic Fangio said he expects rookie wide receiver K.J. Hamler (hamstring) — a second-round draft pick — to debut. The status of wide receiver Courtland Sutton (questionable, shoulder) will be a game-time decision, Fangio said.

■ Buccaneers: Chris Godwin (concussion) was ruled out for Sunday. Fellow wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) was a full participant in practice Friday for the first time in the past two weeks and removed from the injury report.

■ Colts: Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman had an “incident” with his toe in practice and is being further evaluated, coach Frank Reich said. Reich also said it’s too early to determine if tight end Jack Doyle (ankle) will miss multiple games.

■ 49ers: The team will stay at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, rather than return to California between consecutive games at the New York Jets (Sunday) and Giants (Sept. 27).

■ Falcons: Cornerback Kendall Sheffield (foot) and defensive end Charles Harris (ankle) were ruled out for a second straight week, and rookie defensive tackle Marlon Davidson (knee) is doubtful.

■ Lions: Running back C.J. Anderson retired after seven NFL seasons, including 2019 with Detroit. The 29-year-old plans to pursue coaching.