SEATTLE — The only thing that bothered Seattle’s Sidney Rice about catching a touchdown pass from fellow wide receiver Golden Tate was that it gave Tate a higher passer rating.
Rice completed a 25-yard pass last week against Minnesota, but it did not go for a touchdown. The fact that the 23-yard pass he caught from Tate on Sunday went for a touchdown means Tate stands higher in the system the NFL uses to rate passers.
Tate’s passer rating is 158.8, while Rice is at 118.8.
But Rice insists he would make the better quarterback.
“I’ve definitely got the better form,” Rice said. “His spiral was a little tighter than mine, but the better form and release, hands down, it’s me.”
The play was Seattle’s final touchdown in a 28-7 victory over the New York Jets at CenturyLink field.
The flow of the play was to the right side, and Tate came across the grain to the left and took a pitchout from quarterback Russell Wilson. He needed a second to find a grip on the wet ball before slinging an inartistic, left-handed toss to Rice, who was wide open in the back of the end zone.
“With the gloves I was wearing, when they get wet they’re useless,” Tate said. “When I got the ball I was trying to grip it and I couldn’t. I was having trouble. But, thankfully, Sidney was still selling his route, and by the time he started to get open I gripped it enough to throw it.
“I planned on it being a duck, so I kind of overthrew it a little bit and I almost threw it out the back of the end zone,” said Tate, who said it was his first completed pass at any level of football.
Tate and Rice both had outstanding games Sunday.
Tate caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Wilson on Seattle’s first possession. Rice had only one other catch besides the pass from Tate, but it also went for a touchdown, a 31-yard strike from Wilson that made the score 21-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Getting untracked
Seattle’s offensive line had a rocky first half as the Seahawks ran for only 52 yards and Wilson was sacked three times.
But Seattle’s offense got it going after halftime. Seattle ran for 122 yards in the second half, and Wilson was sacked only one more time.
“It was all us. We weren’t doing our jobs,” Seattle tackle Russell Okung said. “We came back in the second half and took more pride in our technique and the little things, and we bounced back.”
Starting left guard James Carpenter missed his second consecutive game because of a concussion, which moved John Moffitt into the lineup.
Family reunion
Sunday’s game was a reunion for brothers Marcus and Isaiah Trufant, not to mention assorted family and friends in the stands.
Marcus, a 31-year-old Seahawks cornerback, and Isaiah, a 29-year-old Jets cornerback, were meeting on the field for the first time as NFL players. It was an abbreviated meeting as Isaiah left the game in the first half with a knee injury, much to his brother’s concern.
“I wish he could’ve played a little bit more,” Marcus said. “You never want to see any of your family members get hurt or anything like that. But he’s tough. I think he’ll be all right.”
Otherwise, he said, the game “was one of those moments we’ll never forget. Two brothers in the NFL, getting to play on the same field. It’s a dream come true.”
Watching from the stands with the rest of the family was youngest brother Desmond, a senior cornerback at the University of Washington who played at CenturyLink on Saturday in Washington’s victory over Utah.
Asked who Desmond was rooting for, Marcus smiled and said, “His brothers.”
Tebow update
Celebrated Jets quarterback Tim Tebow was on the field for seven snaps. He ran the ball four times for 14 yards and completed three of three passes for eight yards.
Old friends
Seattle coach Pete Carroll is 2-0 this season against teams that he previously coached in the NFL. He coached the Jets in 1994 and the New England Patriots from 1997 through 1999. The Seahawks beat New England 24-23 in October.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
