INDIANAPOLIS — The scheme was drawn up earlier in the week. It worked perfect Sunday for Jermaine Kearse.
His touchdown helped, too.
Kearse had another big day for the Seahawks when he blocked a punt and caught a 28-yard touchdown pass Sunday during Seattle’s 34-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
During the week, special teams coach Brian Schneider lined Kearse up in a specific punt-block scheme. Sunday, Kearse found the expected hole in the first quarter when he squirted through the middle of the Colts’ offensive line.
Once Kearse was free, he was able to hammer the attempted punt down with both hands at the 15-yard line. The ball bounced to the right corner of the end zone where Jeron Johnson recovered it for a safety.
That wasn’t Kearse’s only big play. He caught his second career touchdown pass when he jumped and snagged a 28-yard pass from Russell Wilson in the second quarter. Kearse has four catches this season and two touchdowns.
He left Indianapolis dissatisfied, however.
“It does feel good, but, my ultimate goal, I want to win,” Kearse said. “I made those plays, but at the end of the day we lost.”
Kearse is still receiving limited snaps behind receivers Doug Baldwin, Sidney Rice and Golden Tate. Rice had one catch for eight yards Sunday and has just 10 catches in five games.
Kearse has four catches this year on four targets and is averaging 22 yards per catch.
“Jermaine made an unbelievable catch on that go ball down the sideline,” Wilson said. “He’s really got great hands. He’s really shown up all season, all preseason, all season. He continues to uplift his game. We’re excited for him.”
Kearse, in his second season out of the University of Washington, is also handling kick returns for the Seahawks. He continues to add to his value.
“That was a very big game for him,” head coach Pete Carroll said. “It was a great block for us. He just continues to do really good things. He’s making a lot of plays and contributing in a lot of ways. He’s been a really nice factor for us.”
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