Bucs' late lead disappears in overtime loss to Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) -- Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch made the plays to help the Seattle Seahawks pull off the greatest comeback in franchise history against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was just another ugly win during the best start in Seattle's history.
Steven Hauschka kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:11 left in overtime, and the Seahawks overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday.
Trailing 21-0, Seattle improved to 8-1, but it was far from easy against the winless Buccaneers.
Russell Wilson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 1:51 left in regulation to pull the Seahawks even. Wilson then led Seattle on a nine-play, 51-yard drive in overtime capped by Hauschka's winner.
Seattle tied the franchise record with its 12th straight home victory, which coincides with Wilson being a perfect 12-0 at home as Seattle's starter.
But after being pushed to the final yard on the final play last Monday at St. Louis, the Seahawks had to fight through another sloppy effort to knock off a double-digit underdog.
Tampa Bay fell to 0-8 for the first time since 1985 when the Buccaneers started the season 0-9. They pushed Seattle around at the line of scrimmage, watched Mike Glennon manage the game well and saw Mike James rush for a career-best 158 yards.
But Seattle's defense started getting stops in the second half, the Seahawks overcame two interceptions in the red zone and Lynch overcame a sore knee to have his best game of the season.
It was Seattle's first overtime home game since losing to San Francisco 33-30 early in the 2008 season. But they had already pulled out one major comeback that was capped in overtime earlier this season at Houston in a 23-20 win, and did it again on Sunday.
The previous best comeback for Seattle came in 1995 when the Seahawks fell behind 20-0 midway through the second quarter at Denver and rallied for a 31-27 victory.
Wilson finished 19 of 26 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He stood in against countless blitzes from the Bucs defense and made key completions in the second half.
Lynch finished with 125 yards on 21 carries. He missed time in the first half with a sore knee then returned to average 6 yards per carry.
Glennon was 17 of 23 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He managed the game almost flawlessly in the first half, but could not sustain drives in the second half and gave Seattle a chance to rally.
Glennon hit 10 of his first 11 passes, including touchdown passes of 12 yards to Tim Wright and 20 yards to Tiquan Underwood as the Bucs dominated the first half. Glennon's first two TD passes capped the Bucs' two longest touchdown drives of the season.
But Glennon and the Bucs failed to score after the opening drive of the second half and Seattle staged its rally.
James ran for a career-best 158 yards for Tampa Bay and threw a 2-yard TD pass to Tom Crabtree on a jump pass late in the second quarter to give the Bucs a 21-0 lead. Tampa Bay finished with 205 yards rushing.
Wilson was 15 of 18 passing in the second half and overtime and ran for a 10-yard touchdown.
He got started at the end of the first half by hitting Jermaine Kearse on a 16-yard touchdown just before halftime, then found Baldwin beating a blitz by the Bucs to pull Seattle even at 24.
Seattle also got an electric 71-yard punt return from Golden Tate to set up Hauschka for a 36-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Wilson also overcame two huge interceptions deep in Tampa Bay's end. The second came midway through the fourth quarter when on first-and-goal the Seahawks went away from Lynch and tried a play-action throw to Baldwin. The ball was tipped by Keith Tandy, who pulled in the interception.