Seattle Seahawks Leon Washington returns a punt by Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bosher, right, in the second half of a NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks’ chance at a historic comeback against Atlanta came up short.
Short and to the left, to be more precise. That was the result of Steven Hauschka’s game-winning field-goal try. His 61-yard attempt, the longest in franchise history, landed with a thud in the end zone to give the Atlanta Falcons a 30-28 victory.
“We just didn’t pull it off,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s about as much as you can take out of a game (when) you get beat.”
It was a game that was closer than anyone could have expected after a first half in which the Falcons had the ball twice as long as the Seahawks and Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan had more rushing yards than Seattle’s entire team. The Falcons lead bulged to 20 points early in the third quarter, and CenturyLink Field grew so disquietingly silent you could hear the echoes of three straight losing seasons.
Hard to imagine that by the end of the second half, the Seahawks would be gnashing their teeth about two timeouts used on defense and debating whether to try a historically long field goal or go for it on fourth-and-eight.