3 Nathaniel Hackett mistakes that screwed Broncos on final drive

1. Atrocious use of timeouts, only using one before the 64-yard field goal try

Even if the Seahawks are never going to be great again under Carroll, his time in Seattle is synonymous with eking out nail biters and his team playing its best ball in the 11th hour of games. While Carroll coincidentally replaced Hackett’s father Paul at USC two decades ago, one coach looked like a hall of famer, while the other looked to be in over his skis. The moment was too big…

As far as where Hackett could have used his two other available timeouts, we can argue about that all day. While using one before the 64-yard field goal attempt was the right time to call a timeout, to come out of the break and actually attempt it was bonkers in itself. One of the two remaining timeouts should have been saved for after presumably converting on the fourth-and-5.

Perhaps using the other on the play that was the final one before the two-minute warning would have sufficed. The other component is Denver looked a bit lost after Seattle had to use an injury timeout on Cody Barton with 1:13 left in the game. Hackett seemed uncomfortable throughout much of the night, whereas Carroll lives for these defining moments. He just added another one.

The worst part in all this is it was not a two-minute drill, as Denver had the football with 4:02 left.