Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson (10) celebrates after catching a seven yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson in the second quarter against the Houston Texans at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington on October 29, 2017. The Seattle Seahawks came from behind in the last 21 seconds to beat the Houston Texans 41- 38. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI |
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SEATTLE -- Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson passed for a career-best 452 yards and engineered another late comeback as the Seahawks spoiled Houston rookie phenom Deshaun Watson's big day with a 41-38 win over the Texans on Sunday.
Wilson hit tight end Jimmy Graham on an 18-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left, capping off an 80-yard drive over the final 1:39, for his fourth touchdown pass of the game. Graham and Seattle wide receiver Paul Richardson both scored twice on a day when Houston's Watson also passed for four touchdowns.
Watson was 19-for-30 for a season-best 402 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw three costly interceptions in the loss. Houston (3-4) had a chance to put the game away after cornerback Marcus Williams intercepted a Wilson pass deep in Texans territory with 2:49 left, but Watson and the offense couldn't get a game-clinching first down.
Wilson and the Seahawks took over at the Seattle 20-yard line with 1:39 left. Wilson then completed three consecutive passes, including a 48-yarder to Richardson, and hit a wide-open Graham over the middle to put Seattle (5-2) ahead for good.
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman had two interceptions, including the game-clincher with seven seconds left on Watson's final pass of the day. Safety Earl Thomas also had an interception, which he returned 78 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Wilson completed 26 of 41 passes and four touchdowns in the win.
The two teams, each of which had pass defenses ranked among the NFL's top 10 going into the game, combined for 813 passing yards in the back-and-forth game.
Watson's 72-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins with 4:49 remaining gave the Texans a 38-34 lead, then Williams intercepted a Wilson pass at the Texans' 12-yard line with 2:49 remaining.
In a fourth quarter that featured five lead changes, Seattle got the final word on Graham's second touchdown of the game and his fourth in three games.
Watson gave Houston a 31-27 lead when he threw his third touchdown pass of the game, a 2-yarder to running back Lamar Miller, with 9:09 remaining. Seattle responded with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Graham less than four minutes later, putting the Seahawks ahead 34-31 with 5:37 left.
On the first play of Houston's next possession, Watson threw a flat pass to Hopkins, who cut inside and broke up the middle of the field for a 72-yard touchdown.
Seattle appeared to squander its final chance to respond, but the Seahawks got the ball back and drove down the field for the comeback win.
NOTES: As expected, the Texans staged an anthem protest after owner Bob McNair made some controversial comments at an owners' meeting last week. All but about 10 Houston players knelt during the national anthem, with arms locked. Seattle had about a half-dozen players seated on the bench during the anthem. Seahawks DE Michael Bennett, one of the players who was seated on the bench, later celebrated a sack by taking one knee. ... The Seahawks' first offensive touchdown came after Seattle challenged a ruling of an incomplete pass on third down, resulting in a rare sack-and-fumble for a first down. QB Russell Wilson's apparent incompletion was overturned when replays showed that LB Jadeveon Clowney hit the quarterback's arm and forced a fumble that traveled 20 yards before Seattle TE Luke Willson recovered for a first down at the Houston 20. ... Texans LT Duane Brown, who ended his contract holdout earlier in the week, made his season debut Sunday.
