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On Sunday the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-9 for the second time in less than two months, and in doing so advanced to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. With the Hawks holding a one score lead with less than two minutes remaining, but facing a third and long, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer dialed up a deep pass to DK Metcalf that iced the game.
It was an excellent throw by Russell Wilson and a great catch by Metcalf, but the call may have been what was best of all. Or, rather, both calls, because the defense was set up to get punched in the mouth by a playcall Schottenheimer had made back in the first meeting in Week 12.
The game-sealing play for the #Seahawks came against a Cover 0 blitz from the #Eagles, and was a great playcall by them as a complement for something they ran against the same defensive call six weeks earlier. Great call by Schottenheimer in that situation. pic.twitter.com/i9m5jitQog
— Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) January 6, 2020
It’s no secret that I’ve been highly critical of Schottenheimer since his arrival in Seattle, but for this playcall he certainly deserves a ton of credit. The team needed a big play on third and long in order to maintain possession and prevent the Eagles from having one last shot at tying the game.