4th of July Fireworks: Revisiting Longest Touchdowns in Seahawks History

Celebrating July 4 with a Seahawks spin, reporter Corbin Smith looks back at the longest touchdowns produced on offense, defense, and special teams in franchise history.

As people around the United States celebrate Independence Day on July 4, the NFL finds itself in the midst of a moratorium. With OTAs and minicamps wrapping up several weeks ago and training camp still weeks away, there's nothing football related going on in the darkest period of the offseason.

With no football to speak of going on at the moment and fireworks set to explode through the night across the country on Monday, now is the perfect time to revisit moments in Seahawks history when players ignited fireworks of their own with record-setting plays over the years.

Celebrating the holiday in stride by reliving some of the franchise's greatest moments, here's a look at which current/former Seahawks produced the longest touchdowns in team history.

Longest Passing Touchdown: Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson for 90 yards

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Replacing an injured Matt Hasselbeck in a November home tilt against Philadelphia, Wallace started off the game with a bang. Capitalizing on the Eagles running a seven-man blitz less than two minutes into the opening quarter, he lofted a deep ball while throwing off his back foot down the left sideline to a wide open Robinson, who then slipped through a poor tackle attempt by the single-high safety. With nobody else in front of him, the veteran receiver turned on the jets and the underdog Seahawks took an early 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, that play proved to be the only real highlight from the afternoon as the visitors rattled off 26 unanswered points at then-named Qwest Field.

Longest Rushing Touchdown: Shaun Alexander 88 Yards in 2001, 2005

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Amid an impressive string of five consecutive 1,000-plus yard seasons, including leading the NFL with 1,861 rushing yards and winning league MVP honors in 2005, Alexander broke loose for several long touchdown runs. On two different occasions, he nearly sprinted 90 yards to pay dirt, with the first one coming during a breakout sophomore season in 2001. Tied with the Raiders late in the third quarter at Huskies Stadium, the ex-Alabama star took a handoff on an off tackle run to the left, following future Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson and left tackle Walter Jones. After finding a crease and wiggling around a linebacker at the second level, he sprung free with nothing but green in front of him and while a defender tripped him up near the goal line, he tumbled into the end zone for six points.

Four year later, during Alexander's explosive MVP season, he struck again with another 88-yard house call against the Cardinals in Arizona. Running behind the always reliable Mack Strong out of an I-formation look, he cut inside of his fullback's block and then darted back to his left, making safety Adrian Wilson take an awful pursuit angle. With Wilson out of position, Alexander rocketed into the secondary and managed to outrun three defenders sprinting behind him to blow the game open, putting Seattle ahead 24-7 early in the third quarter.

Longest Interception Return Touchdown: Bobby Wagner 98 Yards in 2018

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Over 10 years with the Seahawks, Wagner earned a team-record eight All-Pro selections as one of the best all-around defenders in the NFL. Aside from racking up tackles in record numbers, he proved to be the perfect middle linebacker for the modern game with outstanding savvy in coverage, with his best pick coming late in a blowout win over the 49ers in 2018. Already up 21 points inside five minutes left to play, the playmaking 'backer baited backup quarterback Nick Mullens into throwing a curl route to his running back short of the goal line and Wagner undercut it. Off to the races with Mullens and receiver Trent Taylor trailing behind him, nobody caught him as he promptly took a nap in the end zone with the football as his pillow and then had a much deserved visit with the oxygen tank on the sideline.

Longest Fumble Return Touchdown: Antonio Edwards 83 Yards in 1995

More than two decades before Wagner's pick created mass hysteria at CenturyLink Field, Edwards enjoyed his greatest shining moment in a Seahawks uniform on the road against the hated Broncos in an AFC West clash. Down 20-3 with Denver driving in the third quarter, safety Robert Blackmon came on the blitz and decked quarterback John Elway, forcing a fumble on the sack. In the right place at the right time, Edwards scooped up the loose ball cleanly and took off with several teammates ready to block behind him. Without any Broncos in the vicinity, his long fumble return for a score spearheaded a remarkable comeback as the Seahawks wound up winning 31-27.

Longest Kick Return Touchdown: Tyler Lockett 105 Yards in 2015

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Coming out of halftime nursing a 6-0 lead against the undermanned Bears, the Seahawks badly needed a spark. Going against convention and choosing not to take a knee five yards deep in the end zone, Lockett provided just that on the opening kickoff of the second half, as the rising rookie accelerated through a pair of excellent blocks by Demarcus Dobbs and Brock Coyle and bolting to the sideline to explode past the punter for a record-setting touchdown return. Given Chicago's offense struggles, a 13-point deficit felt like game over and Seattle would tack on 12 more points for good measure to secure an easy 26-0 home win.

Longest Punt Return Touchdown: Nate Burleson 94 Yards in 2007, Charlie Rodgers 94 Yards in 1999

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While Lockett currently holds the distinction for longest kickoff return for a touchdown, Burleson and Rodgers equaled him in the punt return department. During a 33-30 loss to the Browns in Cleveland, Burleson looked dead in the water with multiple tacklers bearing down to him after catching a punt at the Seahawks own six-yard line. But somehow, he managed to juke out the initial tackler and then used fancy footwork to make two others miss, opening up a crease for him to work with to his left. After slipping through another tackle, he took off to his left towards the sideline, eventually cutting back inside and leaving the punter grasping for air. With no obstacles left in his wake, he jogged the remaining 60 yards for an easy six points on special teams.

As for Rogers, his record-setting effort came during his rookie season with the Seahawks in 1999. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound running back helped his team race out to an early 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game by knifing his way through the Steelers poor punt coverage, sprinting his way to an 88-yard return. Seattle wound up winning convincingly in a 27-10 victory at the Kingdome.

Longest Field Goal: Jason Myers 61 Yards in 2020

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Over the past three seasons, like many kickers at a position prone to regression year-to-year, Myers has been plagued at times by inconsistency. But he couldn't have been more perfect during the 2020 season, nailing all 24 of his field goal attempts and eventually surpassing Olindo Mare for the franchise record in consecutive field goals made. Among those 24 kicks to split the uprights two years ago, the veteran place kicker made history in a loss to the Rams in Los Angeles with the longest kick of his career. Down seven points with only two seconds left in the first half, Myers booted a 61-yard field goal that managed to barely sneak just over the crossbar, cutting the deficit to four points heading into intermission.


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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.