Seattle Seahawks 26, San Francisco 49ers, 23
PETE CARROLL: Really, really thankful for this football season for our team to get all the way to 12 and all that, to finish really with four straight wins which is something that doesn't happen very often, and we're real proud of just the way we finished. To get it done, it was hard. So this was a difficult day for us. We didn't play the way we wanted to on offense early on. Defense played great for a long time and then we let them get out on a couple big plays and they did some nice stuff. Their best player came through and made some great plays for them.
But all in all when it came down to it, we had to win in the fourth quarter and our guys did and that's what it took to finish this 2020 in the regular season, it's what it took to finish this four-game stretch that we were pointing to. We wanted to win four games and know what that's like moving forward. And we wanted to always see our guys come through and outlast the other guys and find a way to win a football game, even if it goes down to the last second. We did a lot of cool things there.
I think it was a really fantastic day for our receiving crew for Tyler Lockett to have his numbers, and he didn't even come close. He had to get seven for a record and he got 12 catches today. Had a fantastic day. Two great touchdown passes for us and just beautiful catches and just a beautiful season he had all throughout, and everybody should -- it's almost quietly, because he's just so consistently good, but he had a fantastic year and he's had a great year, and really proud for that.
Also DK set a record today, too. That was the 100 catches that Tyler and then DK set a record for yards and whenever you're messing around with Steve Largent and a great one like that and you can eclipse some numbers, it's a fantastic accomplishment in his second year as a receiver. Really exciting.
Two 1,000-yard guys in that room, too. Fantastic. Great seasons and they deserve all the credit for that.
The reason we won today, we didn't turn the ball over, again, that's how you do it. We're 12-0 this year when we're plus or even and that's a fantastic statement about taking care of the football and to get through another game and not give it up makes all the difference in winning and losing. So we wound up plus one for the day, great sack, caused a fumble.
That is such an important part of our football game and always has been and always will be and look at the games we didn't win, crazy.
Really fired that up we continue to be a finishing club and that we're finding ways to do it. We can match-up our numbers at the end of the season with anybody. It's something that's in the blood around here and I'm really proud of that. Finishing strong is always something that we love and here we go, here Thomas playoff time. The start to this finish begins this next weekend.
Q. Sorry to go here so quickly but I think Adams on the sideline looked pretty dejected. What injury update can you give us on his status? What did he hurt and how serious does it look?
PETE CARROLL: He hurt his shoulder and he was just so disappointed, more dejected about the fact he got banged up, I think it was on a pass rush and we'll see what happens. We'll see what that means for next week. I can't tell you. The early stuff from the trainers is that he'll play next week but we'll have to see how he does get through the week.
Q. Jarran Reed, what's his situation?
PETE CARROLL: He had an oblique strain that happened in early, middle of the game, and he went back in with it and played with it, pretty sore coming out, though. So have to see what that means. I don't have any forecast there.
Q. And Rashaad Penny?
PETE CARROLL: He cramped up. So he's fine.
Q. With Jamal, is that the same shoulder that he injured earlier?
PETE CARROLL: No. It's the other one. Other shoulder.
Q. What do you make of the day that Russell had?
PETE CARROLL: Great finish. We didn't get going. We couldn't get going early on. Such a slow start for us. But as he did last week, again, he had a great fourth quarter. Led the touchdown drives, throwing and running. Great plays. Great resolve through the whole thing to get it done.
It's what you count on from him because he's the real deal and he can do it and he did it again.
Q. You mentioned the slow start for the offense. What were you season from that side of the ball when they were scuffling to find it and what flipped the last couple drives?
PETE CARROLL: We couldn't start converting and we ran the ball better in the second half. We didn't run the ball very well early on. I don't know what our numbers were but just getting the mix, it's a really good defense, again, I know they are banged up but still they have been playing everybody tough. They have been hard. The defenses in this division are legit, including ours. It's a challenge every week. This is how it is.
Q. You mentioned going into the game with cramps and Chris Carson had to come out for a little while, too. How important was it late in the game trying to come back that you got some of those pivotal carries from Alex Collins being called up from the practice squad?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, thanks for bringing it up. What a great finish he had. That touchdown run was sweet. He knocked out some yards when we needed it in great fashion. Whenever Alex gets his chance he does stuff and he's a good football player and we're really lucky to have him. It was a great finish for him.
Q. First three quarters, Russell's deep ball accuracy wasn't there.
PETE CARROLL: He threw a couple balls away and a couple scramble situations where we kind of weren't going the same way on the same page, which happens sometimes. You know, they are all different plays. They weren't like just throwing go balls and we weren't hitting them. Every one was a little bit different in its own way, and he had to hurry on a couple of them, and the one to Noehy (ph) down in the corner, we were really excited about that play. He just had to get that ball up and down because of the rush. So we just didn't hookup on it.
Q. What started clicking offensively? You touched on it but second straight week where you guys go two-plus quarters, or this one two-plus quarters, last week it was the first half and then a switch flips and it starts clicking. Is it as simple as converting third downs?
PETE CARROLL: I don't know, the games looked to me like there's a patience to it that nobody wants to see but we are feeling okay about it. We just have to make sure we come out of it and we get the points we need to win. I thought the defense played really good today throughout, and we got in that two-minute mode there and we played it too -- we gave too much to them and let them get down the field. It kind of distorts what happened in the game by those guys, and we just need to keep playing often.
It's a little frustrating. You guys, you're wondering about it but I'm not worried about it. We are going to keep playing and try to play really good football, not give it to them and play championship ball and see how far that takes us.
Q. When you added Dunlap, you mentioned with Benson it may help him, a little fresher and help him with another rusher much how much did you see that tonight?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, it really has. It's enhanced the whole group. And we've gone through sacks, three sacks, three sacks, what it seems like the last month or something like that. That's real consistency and I think since the 8th game, we've been the highest sack team in the NFL and you can see it. We've got four-man rush. It's exciting to see it continue to show up in the games. I do think it all fits together and Carlos is a force on the other side. He's right in the mug of the right hand of quarterbacks they can feel it.
Q. With Benson in particular, getting two sacks and the fumble, up to six sacks for him this year, what has he meant to you?
PETE CARROLL: Wish we just would have had him all year. He missed some time with us. He's a really savvy football player. He has good stuff good, moves and things and you just need to give him his turns. He's just been a real good, positive addition and we've been really lucky to have him.
Q. It seemed like you preserved Chris Carson a little bit and you took him out for caution and give penny a chance and how much is there still left that you're saving for the pops?
PETE CARROLL: Well, we wanted Penny to play more and we just wanted to get him going. Obviously we did because he cramped up; he needs the work. But whether we had Carlos or whether, you know, we had Alex, we knew that we were okay there and so Chris had a couple things that happened during the game that just needed a break and all that. So we just looked after him through the game and we were happy to play Rashaad. We wanted to see him play. And then Alex wrapped it up.
Q. The blitz pick up on the go ahead touchdown by Carson, probably an overlooked aspect of his game?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I didn't see that, so I really can't comment. But I know Chris is a stud blocker. He steps in whenever he has to and I know everybody is fired up about the protection. I just didn't see it myself so I can't tell you. Yeah, you can count on Chris. He gives it up where he needs to and he's been very, very consistent.
Q. And then is this where the defense, where you wanted it to be going into the playoffs?
PETE CARROLL: I'm thrilled about the fact that we've just continued to crescendo. We have continued to play solid football and keep the points down. I'm ready to play anybody, doesn't matter who we play. And whatever it is, it is, and our guys are going to ball and do a nice job. They are really excited about where they are and where they came from and to be out of that mess. We feel like we're just getting rolling. I'm really fired up for Bobby and K.J. and the guys that have been around playing, to see the turn, because those guys really led the turn and it's great that it happened.
Q. How much not being worried about the offense is just due to the fact that over time in the second half of the season, offenses in general seem to cool down?
PETE CARROLL: Offenses, or the defense is improving. What we have witnessed newer own team, we have seen us get so much better on defense and look, we went right through our division near the end and Washington was really loaded up, too. It's been hard. It's just been really challenging. We have worked really hard to not get desperate and not take shots where we don't need to to try to force the issue and make sure that we did the things that you need to do to win and that's continuing to find the balance that we need, and also take care of the football. These teams, they are explosive seems and they will take the ball off you in a heartbeat if you give them a chance. Russ did a fantastic job of not letting that happen.
Q. Do you think the lack of explosive plays over the back half of the season is enforcing more calculated risks?
PETE CARROLL: No. Enforcing -- say it again?
Q. Maybe encouraging Russ a shot to take more calculated risks because of how much offenses cool down and how much defenses pick it up.
PETE CARROLL: I don't want to comment too much about that at this point because everybody is going to try to figure out how to beat us now. We've just got to hit them when we get our chances and continue to keep working it. We're always looking. We're always hunting. This is an explosive mentality in this program and when it doesn't happen, we get frustrated, too, because we want it to happen that way. We're just trying to win the games. We tried to finish the season winning four games in a row and get that knocked out and see where that takes us.
I'm really excited about going forward. I'm not worried about whatever you guys are worried about and all that. They got to play us and we got to do stuff and they got to stop us in the fourth quarter and he's been pretty dynamic then.
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