The Seattle Seahawks have to fly home from Dallas tonight knowing that they lost a game they could have won. Now at 6-6 and losers of three straight games with the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles next on the schedule, this is a team that might find itself out of playoff relevance sooner than later.
Seattle’s last offensive play of the game was the biggest frustration in a series of second-half issues. With 1:11 left, the Cowboys up 41-35, and the ball at the 50-yard line, the Seahawks decided to leave Dallas edge terror Micah Parsons unblocked. The result of that, on fourth-and-2, was an incomplete pass to running back DeeJay Dallas, and the end of the game.
Wait … leaving Micah Parsons unblocked? Somebody screwed up, right? Well, as Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith explained after the game, that was by design.
Geno Smith says the #Seahawks’ last play was by design: right tackle pinches down vs 0 blitz, Micah Parsons unblocked off the edge, and he just couldn’t get the pass over him to RB DeeJay Dallas in the flat.
Parsons unblocked with the game on the line? That was the scheme pic.twitter.com/YJq0HWqVxH
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) December 1, 2023
Basically, the Seahawks got too cute here. They slid their line away from Parsons and expected their team’s third-string running back, to work across the formation to pretend to block Parsons and release to the flat. The Cowboys had a Cover-0 blitz dialed up as Smith said, and there was no way that Dallas was going to get there in time.
Ben Solak of The Ringer did a great job of explaining it, and threw in a successful example of this play run by Notre Dame for good measure.
Here's why Micah Parsons was unblocked on that game-winning pressure (it was by design)
And if you're like "Micah Parsons was unblocked by design?!?!??!"…yeah I agree pic.twitter.com/Sv9pZ3wjCp
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 1, 2023
Now, why do you not want to try this strategy against Micah Parsons? Because he’s the fastest pass rusher at any level of football.
On 4th & 2, with just over a minute left in regulation, Micah Parsons pressured Geno Smith in 1.4 seconds. This was Parsons' league-leading 46th quick pressure of the season, 13 more than the next closest player.#SEAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/KXRiTQPWaO
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 1, 2023
So, it was yet another dominant rep by Parsons, but in the end, Seattle offensive coordinator Shane Waldron outsmarted himself, and that was your ballgame.
