Tampa Bay - 21, Seattle - 16
PETE CARROLL: This feels like a real opportunity missed. Coming here in this beautiful setting, all the buildup, and everything that the game could have been it was in hype.
The fans were extraordinary, and everything about this whole trip has been great. So the opportunity to win a game here would have been one to really cherish, and I'm sure that they will.
They played a really good football game. Tampa Bay did what they wanted to do, particularly early in the game they were able to keep us off balance. We have not been like that for a while.
So we had to regroup, particularly I don't think we converted a third down in the first half and didn't run the ball at all. So we came back to mixing things and doing things right and getting some momentum kind of a feel that was different. So you could feel the comeback was happening.
That's exactly what we would expect from our guys and this team and the leadership of this team, that we would get back in it. We took it all the way till there was a couple plays that happened there, I think early in the fourth quarter, that changed it.
They converted on -- we had Tom in the backfield. He gets out and throws the ball, and they make a big third down win. There was a couple plays like that that really changed the rhythm of the comeback that we were in.
Like I said, it's unfortunate. The team, we talked about how important it is to realize that we were right back in this game and that we weren't out of it, and we never thought that, and we didn't show that. That is the same kind of mentality that's going to help us finish this season and do something special with this year.
We don't think anything changes in that regard. Just on this night, they did a better job than we did.
Q. Geno had a stretch there those last two drives, the touchdown pass, what did you see out of him?
PETE CARROLL: I think the whole second half he was really on it, and he did a great job. We just went right back to really relying on him in the throwing game and didn't try to force the run.
We didn't run the ball very well at all during the course of the night, but we were able to go to Geno and the receivers and Tyler and DK and Dissly. Dissly had a big role in that, and Ken Walker did too with the check-downs and the things he did on the perimeter.
I thought Geno managed that really well and bounced us right back into the ball game.
Q. They got a lot of yards rushing against you guys today. What did you kind of see there?
PETE CARROLL: I was really disappointed. They have not been running the ball very consistently, so coming into the game, we were hoping we could just keep it under wraps and be able to deploy for the throwing game. They did better than we thought they would.
They finished running the ball in the fourth quarter, which kills me. That last drive, to not get the ball back and get our chance again, that's just not the way we expect to play or the way we ever want to put it out there. So that's unfortunate.
But give them credit. They mixed it well. I think the way they mixed their play passes with Tom, as they've always done, it's nothing new. We've seen it a million times. That was really effective to keep us a little bit off balance within the run game.
Q. Why were you not able to have more success on third downs on both sides of the ball?
PETE CARROLL: We didn't function well at all on either side, like you were saying. It was 1 for 9 or something and like 10 for 15 or something on the other side.
That spells what happened in the game, our inability to function there. Some change-up looks. We got late with a couple situations and didn't get exactly the way we wanted to get it lined up on offense.
Defensively they threw and caught it in spectacular fashion. Their guys making the plays, they've got great receivers, and they showed it tonight. They came through with guys hanging all over them with some terrific throws, and they kept converting, and that was the difference in the game.
Q. You touched on it a little bit earlier, but the atmosphere here, can you talk about that?
PETE CARROLL: What a spectacle. This is an unforgettable occurrence. To be in that stadium with them all connected like that, I don't know. It's obviously -- I was respecting the fact they must have done this a lot because they're really good at it. It is an unforgettable, really, experience and really feel lucky to have a chance to be here.
Q. You've been on the high part of the season for your team. Rookies playing well. Four-game win streak. (Indiscernible)?
PETE CARROLL: I would just say that it's really hard to win them all, to win every game. We got up against a team that played really well against us. We weren't able to overcome it.
We came roaring back and outscored them in the second half, had a chance to do that and come back and win the football game. It ain't over until you finish it.
Regardless of what it looked like or what you thought -- I don't think it had anything to do with the young guys playing. We did make a couple of mistakes tonight, but they were really fundamental things that shouldn't happen. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that they're young guys.
Q. This is the second time your team played in Europe. Do you feel any difference between the London game and this one?
PETE CARROLL: The London game and Munich? Yeah, I've never seen a crowd like this. I've never been in a stadium where a crowd was so much in unison and connected like they were.
We've been in loud stadiums and really louder maybe even, but never where everybody -- how do they do that? I don't know how they sing exactly the same like that, but it was really a spectacle.
Q. I would like to talk about Cody Barton. Today he made some play with the interception. From what you have seen in the last month, he's playing really well. He's one of the best players on defense.
PETE CARROLL: Cody has been playing really well. He has really improved in the last two, three weeks in particular. Today he had some really nice plays on the perimeter. The interception was a gorgeous play. Jordyn had a chance at one too. Unfortunately, we didn't get it.
But Cody has done a good job. He had to jump in at the other position for Jordyn tonight too. So we're really pleased. We need everybody to be continuing to get better, and Cody is on track to do that.
Q. This is a strong season already, but now you lost this game. What was the tactic about this game tonight, and what do you want to do for the next games coming up?
PETE CARROLL: We allowed them to do things they hadn't done. They ran the ball really well, and they played really well on third down. Those aren't things they've been really great at, and we were kind of hoping it wouldn't be like that.
So for us, we have to go back to making sure we respect the running game and do the things we have to do to stop that, and then we've got to make our plays on third down.
We really didn't get close to Tom tonight. We had a whole rush plan and a concept we were going with, and we couldn't get to him. So he had his second opportunities to find his receivers, and he did a great job of it. I thought he played really, really well tonight.
Q. Coach, there was a report earlier today about your eagerness to keep the two quarterbacks, Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Is there a possibility those talks with those will happen before the end of the season?
PETE CARROLL: That's a really good question. We're not there talking about that yet. We're in the middle of the season, and we're doing the things we need to do.
But there's a conversation that's coming. We understand that. Really, really pleased with our guys and think they've done a great job. Geno's having a fantastic season. He showed it again tonight. And we really like Drew also, so we'll see how that goes.
I don't have any updates for you on that.
Q. What did you think was the issue with your running game today? Also, what do you think of the field?
PETE CARROLL: The field was hard on everybody. It was really -- it was slick, I guess you could say. Everybody, both sides of the ball, I think in all positions, it had some effect.
But remember that it's the same. It's not a factor that anyone is more behind it. It was just hard on everyone, and you could tell. I wish the field was firmer.
Q. Did you get an explanation on them picking up the flag in the end zone with the illegal block on the pass?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure. The explanation is that even though it was offensive pass interference, the philosophy is, when it's away from the play, you don't call it.
Q. Even though we've seen many, many flags away from it?
PETE CARROLL: So that's why they picked it up. It was a hard night. It was a hard night. There was a lot of stuff that we'll go back and look at and see, and maybe we'll feel differently about it. I don't know. But it was a hard night.
Q. The Seahawks are one of the home market teams. Could you imagine coming back to Germany pretty soon, maybe next two to four years?
PETE CARROLL: If the league gives us a chance to do it, we'll be wide open for it. This was a great event for us.
Having it come the week before the bye is really valuable. It's a total different experience if you didn't have that. I wouldn't want to do that if it wasn't with the bye. But it's just competitively such a challenge.
Yeah, we're wide open. I would love for us to be able to extend the relationship with the fans here in Germany. They were great to us. It's just as classy as it could possibly be. Everything about it was first class.
Let me say this. We were with a lot of people that were part of the group moving us around, security people and all that. The kindness was obvious. People were so good to us and so thoughtful and ahead of everything and really made this a really wonderful trip.
I say that, now we got to get to the airport and get out of here too (laughter).
Q. Pete, Geno Smith's fumble, it looked like he took off running. That was a called pass play, right?
PETE CARROLL: Yes.
Q. What happened on that?
PETE CARROLL: Really, I couldn't see it. I couldn't see what happened. I know he turned up, and he was going down to get down, and it got knocked out. Huge turnaround. We really were with another great opportunity right there, and those are crushers.
Q. We've seen that one of the main powers of the offense is the set of tight ends. In the first half we hardly saw them. The second half, they made some plays. What happened?
PETE CARROLL: We didn't convert enough to get enough chances. It was all part of the plan. You saw we started making our first downs, and we spread the ball like we wanted to. We love getting the ball to those guys. You saw why. Will is really a good catcher and runner. Noah is as well as Colby. It's a great position group for us.
No one got going in the first half. We didn't get enough opportunities. It's the same old story. When you don't convert on third down, you can't see the plan and see what it's all about. So that was unfortunate.
Q. What happened with Dee Eskridge, and what happened to Jordyn on those couple plays?
PETE CARROLL: Dee got hit, got whacked on the hand. Nothing broken. It blew up on him, so we couldn't get him back in the game. Jordyn had cramps. Just cramped up from a hydration issue. We were very fortunate coming out of the game.
Q. (No microphone)?
PETE CARROLL: I don't know about that one, sorry.
Q. Does anyone have jet lag? Or how do you deal with traveling for a long time?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, it is a challenge. It's a real challenge. We could feel it each day. We weren't all exactly the same because guys didn't respond exactly the same. Some guys were able to sleep on the plane. Some guys weren't. Some people woke up in the middle of the night. A number of people, 4:00 seemed to ring the bell. A bunch of people woke up early.
The way we scheduled it, it did not seem like it factored in at all. We felt pretty good about it, but we felt like we needed all those days we took. I think we left on Wednesday to get it going.
But I think we managed that quite well. I don't think it was a factor.
Q. Do you think that playing abroad is an opportunity to improve the team building?
PETE CARROLL: Oh, yeah, there's no question about it. Whenever we get a chance to travel together, there just is opportunities. Everybody's hanging. That's why I'm in favor of these kinds of things.
That's why, when we travel across the country, because we're all the way on the west side of the country, we always go for two-day trips, and it gives us a chance to take more out of the experience.
I think, as the season wears on, we become closer, and it's just a natural fact that it happens. So this is why I'm not opposed to doing what we're doing.
You can't travel any farther. We're as far away as you can get, but our guys attitude-wise made the most out of it, and we'll continue to have a good outlook on it to get everything we can out of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports