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Seahawks/Buccaneers Week 9 Game Thread

Engage in a live discussion with Seahawks reporter Corbin Smith as the Seahawks host the Buccaneers in a intraconference contest at CenturyLink Field.

Corbin K. Smith

Seahawks/Buccaneers Week 9 Game Thread
Seahawks/Buccaneers Week 9 Game Thread /

Looking to maintain their fast 6-2 start and stay in the NFC West hunt, the Seahawks will push for a second straight win against coach Bruce Arians and the visiting Buccaneers.

Will the Seahawks be able to run the ball against a stout Tampa Bay front seven led by ex-Washington Husky defensive tackle Vita Vea? Can Seattle's pass rush finally come to life after an up and down first half of the season? Which quarterback will find the most success through the air against susceptible secondaries?

From kickoff until the final horn, I'll be tracking all the key plays, story lines, and moments in this Week 9 game day thread. Feel free to comment and ask questions as the Seahawks and Buccaneers duke it out at CenturyLink Field.

First Quarter

12:55 - Quarterback Jameis Winston is in a groove to start off the game, connecting with Mike Evans on 17 and 21-yard completions on Tampa Bay's opening drive to move into Seattle territory.

11:37 - A rare bone-headed play by linebacker Bobby Wagner extended the Buccaneers opening possession, as he pushed Winston after he threw the ball away on third down. Instead of forcing a short field goal, the penalty led to an eight-yard touchdown run by Ronald Jones on the very next play, giving Tampa Bay an early 7-0 lead. The scoring drive was characterized by shoddy tackling at all three levels of Seattle's defense.

8:23 - Showing adaptability rather than relying on philosophy, the Seahawks countered the Buccaneers initial score by aggressively throwing the football against the 31st-ranked pass defense in the NFL. Wilson came out firing on all cylinders, moving Seattle 75 yards on just six plays, completing all five of his pass attempts for 73 yards and hitting Tyler Lockett for a 19-yard touchdown to put a punctuation mark on the drive.

6:22 - With an impressive response after getting gashed on Tampa Bay's first drive of the game, linebacker Mychal Kendricks blew up a bubble screen on first down and Marquise Blair immediately brought down running back T.J. Logan on third down for a two-yard gain. The Bucs were held to just four yards on three plays before punting it back to the Seahawks.

5:35 - Just as Seattle did, Tampa Bay bounced back nicely from a horrendous first defensive possession. Wilson tried to connect with DK Metcalf and Jacob Hollister on the first two plays of the drive, but the Bucs produced back-to-back pass breakups to put the Seahawks behind the sticks. Wilson hit Hollister for a short gain on third down and Michael Dickson came on to punt for the first time.

0:48 - Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good, and the Bucs benefited from the first friendly bounce of the afternoon. Facing third down in the red zone, Winston scrambled and telegraphed a throw to the end zone. Blair did a nice job getting his hands on the ball and tipping the pass in the air, but receiver Breshad Perriman just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch the carom for a 15-yard touchdown. Tampa Bay moved out in front 14-7 with the score.

Second Quarter

11:08 - With Wilson narrowly missing on a throw to Metcalf along the sidelines to extend the drive, the Seahawks were forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal. Jason Myers continues to struggle with consistency, as his kick had plenty of distance but sailed wide left at the last second, leaving the deficit at seven points.

6:19 - The Seahawks simply cannot get off the field defensively and the biggest culprit remains minimal production rushing Winston. The veteran quarterback has been able to scan the field for receivers and converted two key passes on third down to extend another scoring drive, including an 18-yard strike to Chris Godwin, who beat Shaquill Griffin to the middle of the field. Two plays later, Winston slipped out of the pocket and hit Evans on a crossing route in the end zone to push the lead to 14 points.

2:43 - After doing a great job protecting Wilson for the first 27 minutes of the game, the Seahawks offensive line fell apart on what could be their final drive of the half. The Buccaneers registered back-to-back sacks on second and third down, corralling Wilson before he had a chance to escape the pocket and extend the plays. Since a fantastic opening drive, the offense hasn't been able to answer, allowing the visiting Bucs to pull away a bit before halftime.

0:40 - Catching a break they desperately needed, Wilson heaved a 38-yard pass to Hollister down the seam and drew illegal contact from linebacker Devin White in coverage, setting the Seahawks up with a 1st and goal at the Bucs one-yard line. Seattle capitalized with Wilson rolling out on play action and hitting Hollister in the flats for his first career touchdown reception. Unfortunately, an ugly half ended with a missed extra point by Myers, keeping Tampa Bay's lead at 21-13.

0:03 - It looked as if the Seahawks were going to find a way to give away free points to their opponent before halftime. But luck again swung the home team's direction, as rookie kicker Matt Gay couldn't connect on a 50-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half, allowing Seattle to go into the break only down eight points.

Third Quarter

13:29 - Seattle had a chance to try and tie the game out of intermission, but a 14-yard sack taken by Wilson on third down thwarted the drive before it could ever get started. Tampa Bay's aggressive blitzing now appears to be paying off, as Wilson has been sacked three times and hit five times on Seattle's last three possessions.

10:54 - Though the Buccaneers picked up one first down on a throw from Winston to Godwin, the Seahawks were bailed out by a false start on 3rd and 7 and picked up a pivotal defensive stop to open the half. On the ensuing play, Godwin could only pick up eight yards on a quick screen, forcing Tampa Bay to punt the ball back to Seattle.

10:49 - In what could be a game-altering play, Chris Carson took the first down handoff and broke through several tackles before racing 59 yards on his longest run of the season. But White chased him down from behind and punched out the football, briefly causing fans to go into cardiac arrest. Luckily, the ball shot out of bounds and Seattle maintained possession. Wilson took advantage with a 22-yard strike to Hollister and then a two-yard touchdown pass to Lockett. Seattle promptly tied the game as Wilson fired a dart to Metcalf on a crossing route to knot the game at 21 apiece.

4:11 - Continuing to carve up Seattle's defense like a Thanksgiving turkey, Winston marched Tampa Bay to the opposing 20-yard line. But two crucial plays wound up forcing the Bucs to settle for a field goal. Winston scrambled to evade pressure on 3rd and 10 and found rookie receiver Scott Miller in the end zone for a touchdown, but officials overturned the call because he stepped out of bounds and didn't re-establish himself. On the next play, Winston again went into scramble mode and bolted 20 yards for a touchdown, only for the play to be negated by a holding penalty. Gay came on and booted a 41-yard field goal after a short Winston completion to put the Bucs back in front 24-21.

0:48 - At this point, is there anything that can stop the Wilson to Lockett connection? Even after a holding penalty against guard D.J. Fluker drove the Seahawks back to their own 30-yard line and set up a 2nd and 22 situation, Wilson just casually dropped a dime to his most trusted receiver 30 yards down the right sideline. After buying time on the next play, Wilson dumped the ball off the Luke Willson, who rumbled 16 yards for another first down to close out the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

14:31 - Despite driving to Tampa's 24-yard line with relative ease, Seattle's latest drive ran out of steam at the start of the quarter. Wilson got decked trying to find Metcalf on third down, leading to a 37-yard field goal by Myers to tie the game.

12:41 - Seattle has a pass rush. I repeat, Seattle has a pass rush. Well, maybe that's generous since Wagner had to create pressure blitzing as a middle linebacker, but he was able to go through the "A" gap untouched and brought Winston down for a seven-yard sack on second down. Set well behind the sticks, the Bucs were forced to punt it back to the Seahawks two plays later.

11:29 - Carson may have lucked out earlier on his explosive third quarter run, but his season-long fumbling issues came back to haunt him again when the Seahawks looked to have all the momentum. Driving near midfield, he lowered his shoulder trying to squeeze out a few extra yards before going out of bounds, but the ball squirted free before he reached the turf. Tampa Bay challenged a down by contact ruling on the field and won, recovering the football for a crucial turnover.

10:38 - As it turns out, the Buccaneers couldn't capitalize on their lucky fumble recovery after all. Just two plays after Arians won a challenge, Winston dropped back and lost the football as he reared back to throw. The fumble was immediately scooped up by defensive end Rasheem Green, who rumbled 34 yards and nearly returned it for a touchdown.

8:19 - The Seahawks have left a lot of points off the scoreboard in this game, including failing to punch the ball into the end zone after Green's long fumble return. Evans deserves a ton of credit for chasing down Green before he got to the end zone, as it wound up saving the Bucs four points. Two incompletions from Wilson inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line led to a 22-yard field goal from Myers, giving Seattle a 27-24 advantage.

5:22 - As they've done far too many times this year, the Seahawks defense functioned like a sieve to kick off the next possession. Winston hit Evans in the middle of the field for a 25-yard gain and Jones darted 15 yards off the right guard to move the Buccaneers all the way to the opposing 31-yard line. But Seattle's defense stiffened up, holding Jones to four total yards on consecutive carries and benefiting from an airmailed throw by Winston on third down. Forced to settle for a field goal, Gay split the uprights from 45 yards out to bring the game back to a tie.

4:25 - When the Seahawks needed someone not named Lockett to step up, Metcalf provided the fireworks. Hitting the rookie receiver perfectly in stride, Wilson connected with him on a deep crossing route and the former Ole Miss standout did the rest, quickly using his 4.3-speed to race 53 yards for a touchdown. Myers knocked in the extra point to give Seattle a 34-27 lead.

3:34 - When it comes to challenging pass interference plays, coach Pete Carroll simply can't quit. In his latest failed attempt, he argued Evans pushed off on Griffin before making a 23-yard reception, but officials didn't see enough to overturn the call.

0:46 - Mounting quite the comeback, Winston marched the Bucs 75 yards on 10 plays, including hitting Evans for 17 yards to get to the Seahawks one-yard line. Just one play later, reserve running back Dare Ogunbowale punched it in with little resistance from a yard out to tie up the game.

0:00 - Still armed with one timeout, Wilson orchestrated a six-play, 53-yard drive, getting the Seahawks all the way down to the Buccaneers 22-yard line. Arians opted to burn Tampa's final timeout in an attempt to freeze the already ice-cold Myers and the move worked, as his 40-yard field goal sailed wide right, sending the game to overtime.

Published
Corbin K. Smith
CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.

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