A touchdown-saving play from Kam Chancellor has guided the Seattle Seahawks to a narrow 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions at CenturyLink Field.
Neither side was able to get on the scoreboard in the first quarter due to the dominant displays of both defences as Russell Wilson and Matt Stafford struggled to fire.
Wilson broke the deadlock for the Seahawks in the second quarter when he dodged three Lions defenders on the pass-rush and threw to Jermaine Kearse to drive his side towards the redzone. Wilson displayed composure in the pocket again to loft the ball to Doug Baldwin to register a 24-yard touchdown.
The Lions responded when Stafford drove his team the length of the field, but the Seahawks defense repelled them out of the endzone, forcing Matt Prater into a 41-yard field goal.
Seattle looked like striking again just before the break, but back-to-back sacks from the Lions defense knocked them away from the endzone, but Steven Hauschka restored their seven-point advantage with a 51-yard kick.
In the third quarter, Wilson continued to face pressure as his offensive line wilted under durress from the Lions' pass-rush, which quelled his side's attacking momentum, but Hauschka was still able to extend their lead to 10 points with a 52-yard field goal.
However, the pressure finally told on Wilson when he was sacked by Ezekiel Ansah and fumbled the ball, but Seattle's defense held out to stop the visitors from reducing the deficit.
Wilson fumbled again later in the fourth quarter when he was hit by Caraun Reid, who gathered the ball and returned it for a 27-yard touchdown to bring his side within three points.
Detroit drove the length of the field in the dying minutes of the game in the attempt to win the match. Stafford found Calvin Johnson who dived for the goalline, but he was denied the score when Chancellor knocked the ball out his hands and out for a touchback, which won the contest for the Seahawks.
Pete Carroll's men moved to 2-2 in their season with the win, while the Lions remained winless in their four matches.
Simon Sinclair
