|
 And every time Harvin pleaded, Carroll said no.
With less than a minute left in the first half, Carroll relented and
gave Harvin a shot at the kind of game-changing play the Seahawks
waited an extra three months to finally see. Against his former
team, Harvin made certain to deliver in a 41-20 win over the
Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
"It was something I wanted real bad and not just because I wanted to
make a big play, but I'm a kick returner so I wanted to get back
there and get a feel for the kick returning again," Harvin said. "It
was a chance to make a big play and he came to me and I was able to
make it."
Harvin's 58-yard kickoff return late in the first half set up
Russell Wilson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 10
seconds left in the second quarter, and the Seahawks rolled to their
franchise-record 13th straight home win.
Harvin made his highly anticipated Seattle debut after missing the
first 10 weeks of the regular season following hip surgery. While he
was mostly a decoy offensively, he provided two of the biggest plays
as the Seahawks improved to 10-1 and stayed on top of the NFC
heading into their bye week.
Harvin pulled in a juggling third-down conversion for 17 yards in
the second quarter that led to Marshawn Lynch's second TD run and
gave Seattle the lead for good. Then came his kickoff return at the
end of the half that helped give the Seahawks take a 24-13 lead at
the break.
Harvin's two touches were athletic and impressive, and a brief peek
at what the best team in the NFC could be adding for their final
five games.
"The glimpse of us having the firepower all over the field, that's
what we've been waiting on this whole season," Baldwin said.
After the game, Harvin revealed the hip surgery wasn't his only
procedure in the past year. Harvin had an appendectomy late last
fall and a tumor was discovered in the appendix.
"He's an extraordinary football player, but he's a better
competitor," Carroll said. "That's what we love about him."
Wilson and Lynch wouldn't let Harvin's debut take the entire
spotlight.
Wilson had two touchdown passes, each showing off his unique skills,
while Lynch had two touchdowns running and one receiving. Coming off
consecutive games rushing for more than 100 yards, Lynch was held to
54 yards on 17 carries.
Wilson was done early in the fourth quarter after completing 13 of
18 passes for 230 yards and a career-best passer rating of 151.4.
His TD pass to Baldwin at the end of the half was dropped into a
tiny throwing window just over the outstretched arm of Minnesota's
Xavier Rhodes.
[to top of second column] |
Then he added a second TD in the fourth quarter
when he backhanded a pass between two Vikings' defensive linemen
to a wide-open Lynch for a 6-yard TD.
"A little shortstop, second baseman flip. A double play," Wilson
said.
Seattle put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter
turnovers on poor decisions by Minnesota QB Christian Ponder. He
threw behind Adrian Peterson and was intercepted by Bobby
Wagner. Three passes later, Ponder threw into the belly of
Walter Thurmond and he returned the interception 29 yards for
his first career touchdown.
Ponder finished 13 of 22 for 129 yards, one TD and a lost
fumble. Peterson was held to 65 yards on 21 carries after
running for 182 against Seattle last year.
"Defense played well. As an offense, specifically me, we need
more," Ponder said.
Harvin's big moment was the result of Seattle being aggressive
at the end of the first half. Seattle used a timeout and Joe
Webb's poor decision to step out of bounds to force Blair
Walsh's 45-yarder to cut the lead to 17-13 with 48 seconds left
in the half.
Catching the ensuing kickoff 4 yards deep in the end zone,
Harvin sprinted untouched through the middle of the Vikings'
coverage before Marcus Sherels pulled him down from behind at
the Minnesota 46.
From there, it took Wilson only 36 seconds to find the end zone.
After a run by Robert Turbin and completions of 12 and 10 yards
ate up Seattle's final two timeouts, Wilson dropped a perfect
pass to Baldwin and just beyond the reach of Rhodes for a 24-13
halftime lead.
NOTES: Harvin was given a chance to return after Jermaine Kearse
suffered a concussion in the first half. He was Seattle's only
injury, Carroll said. ... Seattle also welcomed back starting
offensive tackles Breno Giacomini and Russell Okung for first
time since September. ... Minnesota WR Greg Jennings (Achilles')
was a surprise inactive after being listed as probable.
___
AP NFL website:
http://www.pro32.ap.org/
[Associated
Press; TIM BOOTH, AP Sports Writer]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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