BOTHELL -- Some manufactured chaos at the end of the game featuring a non-existent onside kick recovery helped create some late drama as the Green team rallied to defeat the Blue team, 23-20, in the Seahawks' mock game scrimmage at Pop Keeney Stadium.
An 11-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Jazz Ferguson on the final play of the contest vaulted the Green team to the victory. It was the second of two touchdown connections on the day for Smith and Ferguson, who also hauled in a 42-yard touchdown off a deflection from cornerback Tre Flowers.
Ferguson, an undrafted rookie from Northwestern State, finished the session with four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns to lead all performers. The Seahawks were unhappy with Ferguson during the offseason became he joined the team heavier than they had anticipated. He's since cut weight and put together his best day of camp.
"He came back 12 pounds lighter than he was at mini-camp, so he got the message. He’s competing, did a nice job today, made some nice plays," Carroll said.
The Green team was made up of Seattle's second- and third-team units while the Blue team primarily consisted of the starters. The Blue team held a 20-3 advantage in the "third quarter" as a running clock was maintained throughout outside of two-minute situations. Russell Wilson led a quartet of scoring drives for the Blue team after returning from an absence Friday stemming from the death of his grandfather.
Wilson completed 11 of 17 passes for 158 yards with Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny each polishing off touchdown drives with 17- and 1-yard runs, respectively.
"I thought both the runners on the blue team did really well," Carroll said.They got good space; they made some good things happen. Chris had a couple really nice runs as well. Rashaad is doing great. Rashaad came back with his weight in a place where his body fat was way down from what it was before. He had a great off season, he’s stronger and faster than he’s been. He looks really, really good right now. We are really excited about it."
Penny had six carries for 26 yards and a touchdown and had two catches for 25 yards on the day. Carson had three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 26 yards. Carson took a shotgun hand-off and bounced the run outside to the right for the first touchdown of the day.
Tight end Jacob Hollister was a workhorse during the scrimmage due to a lack of able players at the position. Ed Dickson sat out due to a bothersome knee. Will Dissly was limited as he eases back in from a patella tendon tear last year. Tyrone Swoopes (ankle) and Justin Johnson (Achilles) were both waived/injured and Seattle added two tight ends off the street to add depth to the position in Wes Saxton and Jackson Harris.
"We brought in two guys yesterday and they played half the scrimmage, I don’t know how the heck they did that," Carroll said. "I was actually dogging the other tight end how come it takes you six months to get here and these guys did it in one day. They did great today, and Coach [Pat] McPherson deserves a lot of credit for getting those guys coached up. They didn’t sleep last night."
Hollister and Nick Vannett were the only two regular options to be available during the mock game. Hollister made the most of the chances with four catches for 47 yards, matching Ferguson for most catches on the day.
"Jake continues to do good stuff," Carroll said. "His mobility stands out, he’s catching the football really well, we like moving around. You can see he played all kinds of different spots today, so he’s doing a nice job.”
Smith found Gary Jennings for 28 yards, Ferguson for a 42-yard touchdown and the final 11-yard touchdown to Ferguson to help carry the Green team from behind. Smith completed 5 of 10 passes for 87 yards and added one rush on a scramble for five yards. Paxton Lynch "started" for the second-team unit and completed 7 of 11 passes for 91 yards.\
But the biggest highlight of the day didn't count. On the second-to-last play of the game, Smith fired a pass high of Saxton for an incomplete pass. However, the ball caromed off the crossbar of the goalposts and went directly to defensive tackle Poona Ford, who caught the ball at the 2-yard line. Ford then took off running and ran, mostly uncontested, for a 98-yard touchdown.
"He’s going to do that again sometime, he looked pretty good," Carroll said.
Injury Updates:
-- TE Ed Dickson has been bothered by a knee injury that led the Seahawks to get an MRI done to assess the situation. The team is giving him a break for a few days to see how the issue progresses.
-- WR DK Metcalf did not participate in the mock game due to an oblique strain sustained on the final play of practice on Friday. The issue is considered to be minor and Metcalf could be back to practice as early as Monday.
-- LB Cody Barton has been held out of the last two days of work due to a first-degree groin strain. Barton will be sidelined a few more days and his availability for the preseason opener against the Denver Broncos is in question.
-- DT Jarran Reed did not participate in the mock game due to what Carroll said was possibly a banged knee. The absence is expected to last more than a day or two.
-- RB/KR J.D. McKissic did not participate due to a mild foot sprain sustained when a player fell on the back of his foot in practice this week.
-- DNPs: CB Davante Davis, DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder), DE L.J. Collier (ankle), G Mike Iupati (foot), LB Justin Currie (hamstring), S Lano Hill (hip), S Jalen Harvey, G Phil Haynes (PUP/sports hernia), DT Demarcus Christmas (PUP/back).
Mock Game Stats (Unofficial):
Passing:
Russell Wilson: 11 of 17, 158 yards
Paxton Lynch: 7 of 11, 91 yards
Geno Smith: 5 of 10, 87 yards, 2 TD
Rushing:
Rashaad Penny: 6 - 26 - TD
Chris Carson: 3 - 21 - TD
Russell Wilson: 2 - 21
C.J. Prosise: 4 - 7
Travis Homer: 3 - 8
Geno Smith: 1 - 5
Bo Scarbrough: 3 - 2 - TD
Receiving:
Jazz Ferguson: 4 - 69 - 2 TD
David Moore: 2 - 48
Jacob Hollister: 4 - 47
Keenan Reynolds: 2 - 42
Gary Jennings: 2 - 37
Chris Carson: 2 - 26
Rashaad Penny: 2 - 25
Amara Darboh: 1 - 18
Nyqwan Murray: 1 - 10
Jaron Brown: 1 - 8
Jackson Harris: 1 - 6
John Ursua: 1 - 4
Sacks:
Mychal Kendricks (Lynch)
Barkevious Mingo (Lynch)
Austin Calitro (Wilson)
Quinton Jefferson (Wilson)
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 02: Rashaad Penny #20 of the Seattle Seahawks avoids a tackle by Antone Exum #38 of the San Francisco 49ers for a touchdown in the third quarter at CenturyLink Field on December 2, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)