The Kansas City Chiefs rolled into Lumen Field this past weekend, and our Seattle Seahawks absolutely shut them down, taking a dominant 20-3 victory! What a performance by our guys! While we are all still buzzing from that win, it’s worth taking a peek around the league to see how hard winning truly is. Over in Green Bay, the Packers are deep in the “woulda coulda shouldas” after their latest game. They had a few big missed opportunities on offense that really stand out, especially in the passing game, like the 4th down to Golden in the flat and that incomplete pass to Jacobs just before a blocked field goal.
Love’s Crucial 4th Down Gamble That Didn’t Pay Off
Let’s dive into one of those plays: a critical 4th & 4 with 4:20 left in the second quarter. The Packers lined up in 11 personnel, running a funky Quad Bunch Nub formation. This meant they had three receivers bunched on one side, a tight end in-line on the opposite, and even running back Pierre Strong and wide receiver Matthew Golden in some unconventional spots. Jordan Love didn’t waste time, quick-snapping the ball, clearly trying to catch the Lions defense off guard, a tactic they apparently used quite a bit in that game.
They were running a version of Mesh, with Tucker Kraft and Pierre Strong on dueling drag routes and Savion Williams pulling up on a Sit route. Christian Watson was stretching the field with a corner route, and Golden was running a flat route. Usually, you’d read the vertical option first, then the mesh point, and finally the flat. But this Quads formation was designed differently. The bunch receivers were supposed to create a “wall of commotion” for the flat route, kind of like a “Mesh Traffic” concept. The whole thing hinges on the defense getting tangled up, leaving Golden wide open.
Love was focused on DJ Reed at the snap, and it initially looked like Reed was going to get caught in that wall, which would have been a walk-in touchdown for Golden. But man, Reed made an incredible play. He avoided all contact, kept his speed over the wall of bodies, fired off Watson’s hip, and drove straight down on Golden. A truly nice rep by Reed. If he gets even a slight bump, that’s six points for the Packers. If Love had been able to wait just a split second longer, he might have seen Reed breaking and could have shifted his read, potentially finding Strong on the backside. Unfortunately for Love and the Packers, Strong would have been the fifth read on that play, making it incredibly tough to work back to him. There’s even talk about a slightly different version of the play, with Golden aligning away from the bunch and releasing through the line, which would have created even more traffic for the defense and has been seen from the Packers before.
Every Play Matters In The NFL Trenches
That 4th down play highlights just how razor-thin the margins are in the NFL. Every read, every defensive movement, every second counts. While the Packers are left dissecting these “what-ifs,” it’s a stark reminder of the precision and execution needed to win games in this league. It makes you appreciate even more what our Seahawks pulled off, not just winning, but dominating 20-3 against the Chiefs. That kind of performance doesn’t happen by accident; it’s about making those critical plays when they matter most. Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Acme Packing Company.
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