The Seahawks rode a wave of sacks to a win over the Giants in Week Four, but the pass rush went against them this Sunday in Cincinnati.
Seattle drove the ball into the red zone with just over two minutes to play, but sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard put an end to their hopes of scoring the touchdown they needed to move into the lead. The Bengals were not able to pick up a first down to ice the game after the two-minute warning as Joe Burrow fired incomplete to Tee Higgins on third down, however, and the Seahawks got the ball back on their 40-yard-line with 1:39 left to play.
Geno Smith hooked up with Tyler Lockett for a 36-yard gain that put the Seahawks just outside the Bengals’ 10-yard-line, but had a pair of incompletions under pressure to set up a fourth down with 41 seconds left to play. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill hit Smith as he tried to deliver a pass that fell incomplete to seal a 17-13 home win.
The Bengals defense allowed the Seahawks to drive 75 yards for a touchdown to open the game, but the visitors had just two field goals from there. Smith threw a pair of interceptions, including one that led to an Evan McPherson field goal that stretched Cincinnati’s lead to four points in the fourth quarter. The other pick came just outside the end zone after Tre Brown had picked off Joe Burrow early in the third quarter.
The Bengals offense also started quickly with Burrow throwing touchdowns on their first two possessions, but they picked up just five more first downs the rest of the way. They finished with 214 yards and Ja’Marr Chase accounted for 80 of them on six catches.
Smith was sacked four times overall and those breakdowns as well as his turnovers combined to sink Seattle’s hopes on Sunday afternoon. They are now 3-2 and will return home to face the Cardinals next week.
The 3-3 Bengals will have next week off and then they will travel to Santa Clara to meet the 49ers in Week Eight.
