Seattle halts Newton TD bid
Collier’s clutch tackle preserves Seahawks’ victory over Patriots
SEATTLE — Russell Wilson continued his sizzling start, throwing five more touchdown passes. Second-year defensive end L.J. Collier made the play that assured those five scoring tosses came in a victory.
Collier stuffed Cam Newton at the 1-yard line on the final play as the Seattle Seahawks held off the New England Patriots 35-30 on Sunday night.
Wilson and Newton — two of the NFL’S premier quarterbacks — claimed the spotlight in a prime-time showcase. Wilson was masterful, leading Seattle to a 35-23 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
This time, it was the Seahawks erupting off the sideline in celebration.
“It’s an extraordinary moment for football players and for a team. You either come through or you don’t,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “There’s so much intensity in that moment. The guys on the field will never forget it.”
Newton led New England 80 yards in the closing moments. They reached the 1 on a pass to N’keal Harry with 3 seconds left. On the final play, Newton tried to run left but was upended by Collier in a clutch tackle. Newton, who had two rushing touchdowns, didn’t come close to the goal line.
Collier and Jamal Adams said from the formation it was clear where the Patriots were going with the play.
“Just to finish it off it’s a hell of a play. Imagine if we had fans here today. It would still
be shaking,” Collier said.
Newton was excellent in his first road game with the Patriots throwing for 397 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He ran for another 47 yards but couldn’t get the last three feet.
Wilson was masterful, too, completing 21 of 28 passes for 288 yards. It was his fourth career game with five touchdown passes. Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, David Moore, Freddie Swain and Chris Carson all took turns celebrating in the end zone. Carson was the last, running under a 18yard rainbow toss from Wilson against the blitz with 4:32 left to give the Seahawks a 35-23 lead.
Wilson became the first QB in Seahawks history to throw at least four TDS in consecutive games after he had four TD tosses in Week 1 against Atlanta.
The night in a normal setting would have left Centurylink Field shaking with delirium, especially after the final play. But the stadium built for noise was empty because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newton did his best to spoil any celebration. His second TD run pulled New England to 35-30 with 2:16 left. It was his eighth career game with at least two rushing TDS, setting an NFL record.
New England held the Seahawks (2-0) to a three-and-out
after Seattle threw on thirdand-1 and Wilson couldn’t connect with Lockett on a deep shot.
Newton needed just five plays to move New England (1-1) from its 19 to the Seattle 36 with 41 seconds left. After a penalty, Newton hit Julian Edelman for 18 yards to the Seattle 13 with 20 seconds left and the pair nearly connected again in the end zone. But Newton’s pass was high with nine seconds remaining. Newton found Harry but was stopped at the 1, and New England used its final timeout, setting the stage for the final play.
Edelman finished with eight catches for 179 yards.