The Seahawks were 6-3 entering Week 11, seemingly in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot.
But now the club has lost two in a row and three of their last four dating back to Week 9. That’s ratcheted up the urgency for Thursday night’s game against Dallas, especially since Seattle will play San Francisco and Philadelphia in Week 14 and 15, respectively.
“This is an enormous opportunity for us,” Carroll said Wednesday, via Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune. “Now, look at the schedule; I know what’s coming. Every one of those games are enormous opportunities for us to figure in, in our division and still battle for all of that, that’s there. The NFC games, huge. Because it’s a Thursday-to-Thursday, and what happened last Thursday, it’s a big opportunity right here.
“I don’t want to miss this.”
Coaches rarely admit to looking forward at the schedule as opposed to taking things week-to-week. But taking on arguably the top three teams in the conference four weeks in a row apparently makes things different for Seattle right now.
So, Carroll said, coaches have emphasized the importance of Thursday’s contest.
“I think it’s really obvious,” Carroll said. “We’ve made the point. We’ve practiced accordingly.”
The Seahawks should have the benefit of a much healthier quarterback Geno Smith, who played last Thursday despite suffering an elbow injury during the Week 11 loss to the Rams.
“It’s as tough as a match-up as we can get,” Carroll said, “and we have to step to it and take it on and make sure that we do everything we can to get it right.
“Can’t miss this opportunity.”
We’ll see if the raised urgency pays off with a victory against Dallas tomorrow night.
