With Sam Darnold sidelined, Drew Lock threw what looked like a drive-saving downfield dart for the Seattle Seahawks as they sought their first score of the new NFL season against the New England Patriots Wednesday night.
But a borderline penalty on a failed tush push mitigated the effort, and the Seahawks came away from the drive without any points. The penalty also set the tone for what appears to remain a point of emphasis for NFL officiating.
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The sequence started on third-and-22 at Seattle’s 33-yard line. With Darnold out of the game with a hip injury sustained on the first drive, Lock dropped back on the third-and-long snap and looked deep dowfield.
He found Jaxon Smith-Njigba just short of the sticks with a laser between multiple Patriots defenders.
This set up and obvious go-for-it situation on fourth-and-goal near midfield with a 7-0 deficit late in the second quarter.
Go for it, the Seahawks did, with their version of the tush push made infamous by the Philadelphia Eagles. With their iteration, they lined up 251-pound tight end AJ Barner under center in a tight bunch formation. They appeared to get the first down in Patriots territory with a late push on the play.
But a whistle blew. And officials called an offside penalty.
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But this was called on the offense. Officials say right guard Anthony Bradford lined up over the line of scrimmage.
Here’s another look. It’s tough to tell from NBC’s overhead angle if officials got the call right.
Regardless, the result of the play was a five-yard penalty on Seattle, which resulted in another Seahawks punt, their fourth of the half.
They went into halftime without any points and a 7-0 deficit and Darnold ruled out for the rest of the game.
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