SEATTLE — Miracle worker? Don’t be silly.
Magician is more like it.
Or maybe wizard.
Or maybe prestidigitator, as if I didn’t have to look that one up in the dictionary.
Because when Pete Carroll and his Seahawks warded off the San Diego Chargers 27-20 on Sunday — Crucio! — you knew they had conjured up something special.
“All I’ve got to say is it was a great game, probably good for ratings,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck deadpanned.
But it wasn’t just the unlikely nature of the victory. It wasn’t as though the two kickoff returns for touchdowns or the two defensive stands in the final minutes were enough to explain what Carroll has brought to his team.
It’s just that, three games into his tenure as Seattle’s coach, Carroll has infused the franchise with a double-espresso-topped-by-a-Red-Bull jolt of energy. And it has permeated everything.
“I can’t imagine a stadium in this country being as crazy as that one,” Carroll said. “Cooperating with the fans was incredibly cool.”
Yes, Carroll really talks like that, and cooperation apparently was the theme of the week:
“This was a very good day of cooperation. It was important to us to show we could play against a team that has been a very, very strong team year in and year out.
“Also on this theme of cooperation, for the special teams to come through in such a big way …”
But that wasn’t all. For in addressing the idea of Aaron Curry and Marcus Trufant leaving the game with minor injuries, Carroll said: “We’re not going to lament about the guys who aren’t there. We’re going to rejoice around the guys who are there.”
And with that, it would be fair to note that Brother Carroll’s Traveling Salvation Show is 2-1 through three games.
Carroll, of course, turned enthusiasm into a cottage industry during his tenure at Southern Cal. And the question has been whether the atta-boy attitude will wear thin on professional players.
But for a franchise that has been nearly as bereft of excitement as it has of victories in recent years, the impact has been profound. It’s not a coincidence that it was the Seahawks who made the game-changing plays Sunday.
After San Diego erased a 17-0 deficit, pulling into a 20-20 tie and welcoming the arrival of momentum on its sideline, Leon Washington immediately returned a kickoff 99 yards for what proved to be the game-winner.
When San Diego drove within the Seattle 20 twice in the final three minutes, the Chargers were stopped once on downs and once on a game-clinching interception by Earl Thomas.
The kickoff return was Washington’s second for a TD in the game, making him the 10th player in NFL history to pull off the feat. The interception was Thomas’ second of the game, meaning the rookie has had an immediate impact.
Carroll will tell you it’s the players who make the plays. But it’s his attitude that dares them to risk doing great things on the football field. And the attitude is infectious.
“It’s absolutely essential for us to dominate at home,” Hasselbeck said. “For years, we dominated at home and people hated to come up here. Because we weren’t very good for two years, we kind of lost that.”
Now it has been found. As if a spell has been cast over the Seahawks.
Greg Jayne is Sports editor of The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4531, or by e-mail at greg.jayne@columbian.com. To read his blog, go to columbian.com/weblogs/GregJayne
