June 24, 2009

All -Decade: Top 10 Regular Season Wins

We've already discussed the All-Decade Seahawks team... Here's my take on the 10 greatest regular season wins for the Seahawks this decade:

10. 12/3/06 Seahawks 23, Broncos 20

The first of four games on this list that ended with Josh Brown nailing the game winning FG as time expired... Say what you will about that little turncoat bastard, but he had a knack for high drama while playing for Seattle. Given little chance to win at Mile High Stadium against their long-time rivals, the Hawks allowed Denver to tie the game on a 71-yard Brandon Marshall catch and run. OT seemed like a given, but The Objectivist mustered a drive into field goal range. JB hit a 50-yarder, and that loss kept those Denver Douchenozzles out of the postseason.

9. 11/11/01 Seahawks 34, Raiders 27

Sunday Night Football on ESPN v. the despicable, sub-human, playoff-bound 6-1 Raiders... The Hawks were scuffling at 3-4, but got a spectacular boost from Shaun Alexander's all-time greatest performance: 35 carries, 266 yards and 3 TDs. The Hawks finished the season on a 6-3 run, while the Raiders limped into the playoffs in a 4-5 stupor (and saw their season end with the "tuck rule" game. Yes, they got screwed. But fuck the fucking Raiders.)

8. 12/2/07 Seahawks 28, Eagles 24

Even though the Eagles were 5-6 and without McNabb, this was supposed to be a Seattle loss. The "Seattle can't win 10 am games on the east coast" brigade didn't count on Lofa Tatupu going absolutely apeshit on everyone's asses. His three picks were key, capped by the game-saving INT deep in Seattle territory in the final seconds.

7. 10/9/05 Seahawks 37, Rams 31

The Hawks were coming off a 2004 campaign where they were beaten three times by STL, including two soul-obliterating defeats at Qwest. Breaking the Rams' psychological dominance was key for a successful 2005 season, and the Hawks ran out to a 34-21 lead. Up 37-31 late, the Hawks had to punt to Shawn McDonald (who delivered the killing stroke in OT at Qwest the previous October). Deliciously, Big Play Babs forced McDonald to fumble, and JP Darche recovered.

The Seahawks have won eight straight over STL, starting that day.

6. 12/29/02 Seahawks 31, Chargers 28 (OT)

As they wrote over on Next Season Sports, this was the game where Hasselbeck forever took command of this team. The Hawks were down 28-14 in the 4th, and rallied to score 17 unanswered points. This was also the game where Matt popped up after a late hit by noted dirtbag Rodney Harrison and told him that he "hit like a fucking fa@@ot."

5. 12/12/04 Seahawks 27, Vikings 23

The Seahawks came into the Metrodome at 6-6 and on the verge of playoff elimination. They were on the road and coming off a short week after a heartbreaking MNF loss to Dallas. In addition, Darrell Jackson was weighed down with grief after his father's death. No one gave Seattle any chance to win.

D-Jack had perhaps the best game of his career, snagging 10 balls for 135 yards and a TD. Hass went wild, throwing for 334 yards and three scores... The win was sealed when Michael Boulware picked off an inexplicable Randy Moss option pass in the end zone.

4. 10/15/06 Seahawks 30, Rams 28

One of the most exciting finishes in Seahawks history; The Hawks fought back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to take a late 27-21 lead. After a Mo Morris fumble deep in STL territory, Torry Holt made a ridiculous TD catch that looked like the death blow. Down by a point, Beck marched the Hawks into Rams territory. An illegal procedure flag was misinterpreted by Scott Linehan as a foul that included a 10-second, game-ending clock runoff. The jabbering dipstick was wrong, and left slack-jawed after Josh Brown nailed the 54-yard game winner at the final gun.

3. 12/27/03 Seahawks 24, 49ers 17

As I've said in this space before, the 2003 Seahawks...

were frustrating, but exhilarating. They won (and lost) games in dramatic fashion. They were amazing at home (8-0), but only 2-6 on the road. In fact, they were riding a six-game road losing streak into the regular season finale at Candlestick Park. Seattle needed a win to keep its playoff hopes alive, and they were facing former coach Dennis Erickson (who would have loved to ruin the Seahawks season). The Hawks quickly fell behind 14-0 that day, but clawed their way back and pulled out a hard-won 24-17 victory (punctuated by an astounding pitch & catch TD from Hass to K-Rob).

I was visiting my parents in the Tri-Cities, and caught a flight back to Ohio that night after the game. We got back to Columbus just in time to see the right combination of Sunday results to put the Hawks in the postseason for only the 2nd time since 1988.


2. 11/27/05 Seahawks 24, Giants 21 (OT)

We all remember Feely's three missed field goals, but what about Holmgren's brilliant time-out in overtime that led to a replay reversal which cost NYG 16 yards of field position (and contributed to one of Feely's misfires)? Or Joe Jurevicius' spectacular two-TD day? Or DJ's huge catch in OT? Or this?


1. 10/23/05 Seahawks 13, Cowboys 10

One of the all-time blood-pissers in Seahawks history, which saw Seattle trailing 7-3 late in the 4th quarter. A Hasselbeck interception set Dallas up inside our 20, and they just needed a first down or a TD to ice the victory. On a crucial 3rd down play, the D blasted Bledsoe out of bounds inches short of a first down, and they settled for a FG... You know what happened after that..

-Ryan Hannam's sliding TD catch to tie the game...
-Big Play Babs picking off Bledsoe and streaking down the sideline into FG range...
-JB's tossing his helmet and being mobbed after hitting the game winner...

I could watch the last two minutes of that game on a loop until time ends. That was the moment I sincerely started believing the 2005 Seahawks were Super Bowl bound.

3 comments:

Seth said...

I would want to add that blowout win over the Eagles in '05. That was a game that everyone had been "circling on the calendar" all year, at the defending NFC champions in December, and even though the Eagles had a crummy year, it was still pretty incredible to go in there and absolutely obliterate them.

Zem said...

I'm really disappointed that I was so hungover for the 07 Eagles game that I slept through two of Lofas pick and I boarded a plane just as Feely lined up for his first field goal, and in turn, missed all three.

A blood pisser is an astounding description of that Cowboys game.

Alan said...

I was at that '05 Rams game in STL. Last row of the stadium, but could see that ball pop loose from up there. Just absolutely muffed it. I was happy, though not to popular the next day back at SIU.