5 Seahawks takeaways from Super Bowl 51
By Keith Myers
Situational football is king
After an amazing catch by Julio Jones, the Falcons had the ball at the Patriots 22 yard line with under 4 minutes left in the game and an 8 point lead. Had they run the ball three times and kicked a FG, they would have won the game.
Instead they ran it only once. Then Matt Ryan was sacked for a loss of 9 yards. That was followed by a holding penalty and an incomplete pass. The Falcons not only failed to eat up the clock, but they also backed themselves completely out of field goal range.
That sequence cost them the game, and cost them the championship. Kyle Shanahan did a lot of great things this season with that offense, but that series was a terrible mistake that will haunt him.
Unfortunately, we see the Seahawks make these types of makes on a regular basis. End-of-half clock management is not a strength of Pete Carroll. Hopefully, watching one of his disciples make this mistake will help Carroll recognize the importance of clock management.