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Letting Micah Parsons run free typically doesn’t end well for any team defending him. The Seattle Seahawks tried this strategy — and failed miserably.
On fourth-and-2 from midfield in a 41-35 game with 1:11 to play, the Seahawks dropped back to pass and decided to let Parsons run free off the edge. The result was an incomplete pass as Parson was on top of Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith instantly, and the Dallas Cowboys would go on to claim victory. It would be Seattle’s final offensive play of the game.
Leaving Parsons unblocked was the plan, even if it wasn’t the smartest move based on how the play was executed.
“It’s the design,” Geno Smith after the game, per a team transcript. “He had to squeeze, the right tackle had to squeeze right there versus zero (zero blitz), so he did the right thing.
“Micah came free. We knew that would possibly happen. Tried to get the ball around him and just wasn’t able to.”
Smith had to get rid of the ball quickly and the play was broken up. This was part of a Dallas defensive effort that allowed 35 points, yet no points in Seattle’s final three possessions — all turnovers on downs.
If Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas had gotten through the seam, a big gain could have potentially have been reached. Dallas read what Seattle was doing, thanks to Parsons disrupting the play as quickly as he did.
“We thought DeeJay could slip through there, and we could get him the ball in the flat,” Smith said. “Wasn’t able to get through there. Kind of got held up, and that’s kind of how the play went.”
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seahawks-purposely-left-cowboys-star-micah-parsons-unblocked-on-disastrous-final-play-geno-smith-says/
Author : Jeff Kerr
Publish date : 2023-12-01 14:05:47
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