Playing in Seattle usually brings the best out of the Seahawks and the worst out of the visiting team.
The Jets offense has certainly lived up to its end of the bargain, but the Seahawks offense hasn’t been much better in the first half of Sunday’s game. They have been better, though, and that’s why Seattle has a 14-7 lead at the half.
Russell Wilson started the game with a long touchdown pass to Golden Tate and scrambled to the foot of the goal line to set up a Marshawn Lynch touchdown, which mitigates two turnovers that have kept the Jets within the striking distance. The Jets scored their touchdown when Muhammad Wilkerson scooped up a Wilson fumble, caused on a sack by Mike DeVito, and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown and Lynch also fumbled to give the Jets another chance to put points on the board.
They couldn’t do it, though, as Mark Sanchez threw a brutal pass that Richard Sherman picked off at the goal line to end that scoring chance. Sanchez had Dustin Keller open for a moment (and had Stephen Hill open in the back of the end zone), but he threw the ball late and Sherman came up with what might have been a pick six if he didn’t step out of bounds. Jeremy Kerley later muffed a punt to give the Seahawks the ball before Lynch was able to punch the ball in.
Sanchez was 5-of-14 for 65 yards in the first half and got sacked three times by an aggressive Seahawks defense. Wilson was 6-of-10 for 104 yards, numbers that look a bit better than the Seahawks’ offense did for most of the first half. It was enough to get his team halfway home with a lead, though, so we imagine Pete Carroll will take more of the same in the second half.