Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll gripes over…
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There were several reasons the Seattle Seahawks lost Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
Head coach Pete Carroll has “gripes” about one of them: officiating.
Carroll pointed out three plays from Seattle’s 17-0 loss against the Packers, the first time the Seahawks have been shut out since Russell Wilson became the team’s starting quarterback in 2012.
The first play Carroll discussed was a fumble by Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers with 4:06 left to play in the second quarter. Seahawks defensive end Darrell Taylor appeared to have recovered the fumble when he came out of the pile with the ball in his hands, but officials had ruled that Green Bay had already recovered possession.
“Darrell is laying on top of the football and the quarterback was reaching underneath him,” Carroll said Monday on ESPN 710 Seattle. “Darrell had it from the moment that ball’s on the ground. He got his chest on the ball and was laying on it … I don’t know how they looked at it. He’s laying on the ground and the guy’s reaching underneath him and they gave it to the offense and that’s a big play. God, that’s such a big play in the game.”
The Packers held a 3-0 lead at the time. And though Green Bay did not score on that drive, a turnover would’ve given the Seahawks excellent field position near midfield with a chance to tie, or take a lead, going into halftime.
The verified Twitter account of the NFL’s officiating office posted a message Sunday evening responding to the call, saying that there was “simultaneous recovery” of the fumble, which, by rule, would return the ball to the Packers.
Perhaps an even costlier play came in the third quarter, with the Packers still holding a three-point lead. Seattle had driven the ball all the way to the Green Bay 12-yard line. Wilson threw a pass intended for receiver DK Metcalf on a third-and-10 that Packers cornerback Kevin King intercepted in the end zone.
Replays on the CBS broadcast showed the ball moving as King hit the turf.
“When we throw the ball, Russ throws the interception in the end zone, I don’t know, I see the ball on the ground,” Carroll said. “The guy’s got to finish the catch and I don’t know why that was looked at in that manner. They called it, they saw it and all that. But that’s points on the board. Russ took a chance right there and it didn’t work out for us. We were right down there to kick a field goal.”
The Seahawks did not challenge because all turnovers are reviewed, under NFL rules.
The final play Carroll took issue with was a spot that was changed on Seattle’s first offensive drive of the game. Wilson scrambled on a third-and-8 and officials initially gave the Seahawks a first down. After Packer linebacker Rashan Gary was injured on the play, inducing a timeout, officials changed the spot and marked it a fourth-and-1. The Seahawks then punted.
“There’s a fellow hurt on the play and so time passes,” Carroll said. “We got a first down and we were in the huddle, we break the huddle, we’re at the line of scrimmage ready to go and they stop the game and reverse that play. The way we understand it is that the booth has like 20 seconds to make those decisions to overturn a call that might have been wrong on the field. But they had minutes and minutes and minutes. I don’t know, did they open up the span of time to look at it? I don’t know. I don’t know how that happened.”
The Seahawks (3-6) play the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/seahawks/2021/11/15/seattle-seahawks-coach-pete-carroll-gripes-over-officiating-vs-packers/8630239002/
