Just over seven months removed from their first Super Bowl title, Earl Thomas and his Seattle Seahawks picked up right where they left off on Thursday night.
In the NFL season kickoff at CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks showed no championship hangover and dismantled the Green Bay Packers 36–16.
Earl was a contributor all over the field for Seattle. He recovered from an early muffed punt return to register five combined tackles and a pass deflection while leading his defensive unit to a near shut down of the highly explosive Packers offense.
Afterward, No. 29 was asked by ESPN’s Sal Palantonio how his team defended the vaunted Green Bay offense so well and responded by noting that Hawks just executed their defense well, refusing to alter it to face the Packers or any other team.
“We don’t change for anybody,” he said. “They have a dynamic offense but it says a lot about us that we could shut them down and do what we do.”
More than anything, the reputation of the Seattle defense preceded them, and for most of the night, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers avoided testing the Legion of Boom.
That was particularly true of the side of the field where Richard Sherman and ET III reside. Rodgers rarely ventured into Area 29, as his longest completion of the night was just 23 yards.
“Everybody is so valuable to this defense,” Earl said. “Last year, playing middle safety, I only got the ball thrown to me eight times out of the whole year. So you gotta find a way still to stay in the game and make an impact.”
There are always 2 spots of the field you can't throw the ball at against Seattle. The right side, and wherever Earl Thomas is.
— #DGlasperSays (@askdglasper) September 5, 2014
Man seahawks could be a dynasty. They have the best saftey in the game Earl Thomas is a BEAST and sherman/wilson good coaching etc
— DreamShake (@mvpdream34) September 5, 2014
Earl Thomas, told fellow All-Pro DB Richard Sherman didn't think tonight was up to par for #Seahawks' defense: "Maybe because he was bored"
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 5, 2014
Meanwhile, Sherman wasn’t targeted all night long, leaving the GB QB with few options to attack the Seattle defense.
“He’s an ultimate pro,” ET said of Sherman. “He’s not worried about it. He knows when his time is called, he’s going to capitalize on it every time. We have a great, great, great team and we’re after greatness.”
Though the Green Bay offense largely avoided Area 29, Earl got involved in punt return duty early on in the contest. After Rodgers failed to get the Packers going on the game’s opening drive, ET III fielded a punt in traffic at his own 32–yard line and barreled ahead for three yards before he was brought down by the Packers’ special teams unit.
Earl Thomas is one of those players that doesn't want to come off of the field.
— Mikey Taylor (@MikeyT202) September 5, 2014
Earl Thomas is absolutely fearless. Had a man right on him and didn't call for a fair catch. #Seahawks
— Judah Richardson (@jdrch) September 5, 2014
Following Earl’s return, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense took the field for the first time and quickly gained a first down on a short pass to Percy Harvin. The Seattle offense stalled shortly thereafter and was forced to punt, but on the punt, Green Bay’s Mike Daniels was flagged for running into the kicker, which gave the Seahawks a first down and breathed new life into the drive.
Wilson and Co. nearly made the most of the second chance and marched all the way to the Green Bay 17, but a third down pass to Doug Baldwin fell just short, and Steven Hauschka was called in to kick a field goal to put the Seahawks ahead 3–0.
The Packers again had no answer for the Seattle defense on their ensuing drive, and the Seahawks forced another Tim Masthay punt. But it was on that punt that Earl’s return mishap occurred.
As ET III was fielding the punt, the gunner being blocked by Sherman backed his way into Earl just as the ball arrived, causing the ball to pop loose. Head coach Pete Carroll relayed ET’s side of the story afterward, but also admitted that No. 29 should’ve waved his hand for the fair catch.
“Earl felt like he didn’t get a clean shot at catching the ball,” Carroll said. “He really should’ve fair caught that ball. He’s so aggressive with it and he got vulnerable that second time. We’ll work on it and get better.”
Sherman agreed with ET, insisting that a flag should have been thrown on the play.
“He hit him before the ball got there,’’ Sherman said. “That’s usually a penalty but in this game it wasn’t.’’
Carroll believes that Earl will become more comfortable with time returning punts, but No. 29 stated that he won’t stop trying for the big play if he believes it is open.
“I was really just being me. Being aggressive and playing with no fear,” he said. “I can’t control what happened.’’
Green Bay recovered the fumble at the Seattle 34 and six plays later, the Packers scored a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. Though it momentarily put them behind in the game, the Green Bay touchdown also proved to be the wake-up call that the Seahawks needed.
On the ensuing Seattle drive, Wilson completed consecutive 33-yard passes—the first to Percy Harvin and the second on a nifty zone-read pass to Ricardo Lockette for a touchdown that put Seattle back on top 10-7.
Green Bay responded with a long 12-play drive that pushed the Seattle defense back into the red zone for a second time. This time the Seahawks bent but did not break. Earl was in perfect coverage on a 3rd-and-goal play that fell incomplete and limited the Packers to a game-tying field goal to make it 10-10 with 6:52 left in the half.
Seattle answered immediately with a six-play, 69-yard drive capped by a nine-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch to give the Seahawks a 17-10 lead with 3:41 left in the half. Seattle carried that lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, the Hawks got a chance to extend their advantage when Byron Maxwell picked off Rodgers on his first pass of the half. Maxwell ran the ball back to the Packers eight-yard line, but this time it was the Green Bay defense that stiffened, and limited Seattle to a field goal that put them ahead 20-10 early in the third.
The Seahawks defense tacked two more points onto that margin late in the third when Michael Bennett sacked and stripped Rodgers at his own three-yard line. The loose ball bounced into the end zone, where Green Bay’s Derek Sherrod fell on it and was touched down for a safety that made it 22-10. After the game, Earl praised the stellar work of the Seahawks defensive unit from top to bottom. As a group, the Seattle defense limited Green Bay to just 255 yards of total offense.
“Everything counts,” Earl said, praising his defensive unit. “We’re all tied on a string. We had a good week of preparation and when you do that, it gives you the right to be confident. That’s why we’re always just having fun out there, enjoying the moment, and really being engaged as to what’s happening.”
Following the safety and subsequent kick, the Seattle offense began their drive near midfield and executed a balanced nine-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in Lynch’s second touchdown run of the game. The extra point put the Hawks on top 29-10 early in the fourth.
Green Bay answered Seattle’s score with their best drive of the night against the Hawks, a 10-play, 82-yard drive into the end zone to cut Seattle’s advantage to 13, 29-16. But a failed two-point conversion attempt, with ET again in coverage in the end zone, left the Pack two full scores from the lead.
The failed attempt for two ended up of little significance as the Seahawks answered Green Bay’s second touchdown with their fourth. Wilson engineered a 13-play, 80-yard drive that soaked up seven of the remaining nine-and-a-half minutes in the game.
When Wilson found fullback Derrick Coleman for a 15–yard touchdown to cap off the drive, the contest was out of Green Bay’s reach. ET III and the Seattle defense did not stop the pressure though, as Earl applied two of his five key tackles on the Packers’ final drive of the game. Earl also nearly capped off the game with an interception on 3rd-and-13, but the Rodgers pass bounced off his pads and to the ground.
Earl Thomas hits so hard
— Slaw Daddy (@DA__BATMAN) September 5, 2014
.@Earl_Thomas loved your intensity tonight. Cant wait to see how explosive youll when you get some INTs this year. #LOB #GoHawks
— Lucas Hohn (@LAHohn_Sports) September 5, 2014
After the near pick, the ball still went back to Wilson for a few kneel downs that allowed Seattle to celebrate a tremendous season opening win.
After the game, viewers got a unique look into the competitiveness of No. 29 when he explained his competitive thought process to ESPN’s Sal Palantonio.
“That was just the first championship game out of the way,” Earl said, referring to the night’s win. “Now it’s on to number two. Every week is a championship game, so when the real thing comes, my mind is already too gone. It’s another opportunity to show the world who I am. We do a great job and it’s going to be hard to beat [us].”
Earl also gave credit after the game to the Seattle fans and all those in the organization who supported his teammates throughout their championship run last year and through the first game of their title defense on Thursday.
“It’s just a great experience,” he said. “I’ve dedicated this whole week to the training staff, the guys that help, the people that serve food. I love this environment here in Seattle. There’s no better place.”
#12s were sooooo loud tonight!! Great start to the championship season ..Thank you #12s!!
— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) September 5, 2014
NEXT UP
The Seahawks will look to keep up the momentum next Sunday when they take on Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, a team that they beat 41-14 in the second week of the preseason.
Seattle hasn’t faced San Diego outside of the preseason since Week 3 of 2010—Earl’s rookie year. That contest was a coming out party for No. 29, who logged his first two career interceptions, along with a pair of pass deflections and six tackles in a 27-20 win.
In that game, Earl became just the second rookie in Seahawks history to have two interceptions in a game.
Kickoff for the nationally televised contest is set for 4:05 EDT on Sunday and can be viewed on FOX.
RELATED LINKS
- Earl Thomas on Seahawks win (ESPN.com, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seahawks start season with 36-16 win against Packers (Seahawks, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seahawks send Green Bay packing (Seahawks.com, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seahawks dominate Green Bay 36-16 to begin 2014 (Associated Press, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Have Mercy, Percy Harvin is here (ESPN.com, Sept. 5, 2014)
- Three Things: Seattle 36, Green Bay 16 (ESPN.com, Sept. 5, 2014)
- Seahawks defense could be even better (News Tribune, Sept. 5, 2014)
- Seahawks play like champs in opener, roll Packers, 36-16 (News Tribune, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Blasting Packers ‘start of new beginning’ for Seahawks (News Tribune, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Hawks prove they’re looking for more, not living in past (Seattle Times, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Thomas has adventurous first game as Seahawks’ punt returner (Seattle Times, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seahawks stick to their tried and true philosophy (HeraldNet, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Notes, quotes from Seahawks 36, Packers 16 (HeraldNet, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seahawks dominate Green Bay 36-16 to begin season (HeraldNet, Sept. 4, 2014)
- Seattle routs Green Bay 36-16 (Field Gulls, Sept. 4, 2014)