There's a lot to unpack from the Seattle Seahawks' historic comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Before we lose sight of it, let's savor the continuing remarkable performance of their special teams unit.
According to the ultra-genius AI computations presented on Thursday Night Football, the Seahawks only had a three percent chance of pulling off the win after falling behind in the fourth quarter. I'm not mocking that estimate because I thought it was too low. I actually figured they had zero chance at that point.
Let's get real, 12s; through their glorious fifty-year history, the Seahawks had a 0-172 record when trailing by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter. They were down by 16 points, so they needed at least two touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions, just to tie.
Seattle Seahawks special teams saves the day again
And they were trailing the Rams, arguably the best team in the conference. At least, they were to that point. Apparently, the guys on the Seattle sideline aren't big fans of history.
It wasn't Jason Myers' turn to save the day this time. Thankfully, the Seahawks didn't need six field goals from their star kicker this time. In fact, he barely scored at all, as head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak went for two on three separate scores. Remarkably, the Seahawks scored on all three, including one of the wildest two-point conversions ever seen.
That doesn't mean Myers wasn't a major contributor. He kicked off six times, and the Rams' best starting position on those six returns was at the 29-yard line. Compare that to the Rams' kicker, Harrison Mevis, who gave the Seahawks the ball at the 35-yard line on all eight of his kickoffs. It's a small advantage, but significant.
We can't overlook what Michael Dickson did, either. Yes, the Rams did reel off a 31-yard return on one of their chances. But that was the only punt return they had out of five off the foot of the NFL's best punter. By the way, Dickson also dropped three of those inside the Los Angeles 20.
Speaking of punt returns... the one special teams play no one will forget is Rashid Shaheed's beautiful 58-yard return that gave life to the Seahawks after they'd fallen behind by that nearly insurmountable score. It was only his second special teams score in three weeks, so I guess those draft pick investments have paid off. Shaheed just gave Seattle another reason to open the bank vault.
Overall, it looks like the hot seat we all saw for special teams coach Jay Harbaugh last season has changed into one of the cushiest, most comfortable in the league. After the performances of his unit this season, the challenge may be keeping him in Seattle.