The replays may show the ball flying 29 yards into the hands of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But anyone who was watching knows that ball sailed right off into history.
It doesn't matter if Drew Lock ever throws a pass as the Seahawks quarterback again. Monday night, he forever etched his name into this organization's lore.
Seriously, what odds were you giving Lock — starting for just the second time since 2021 — when he took over on Seattle's 8 with 1:52 to go? What percentage — and it may start with a decimal point — did you give the backup to pull it out with his team down four against the reigning NFC champs?
The first 58 minutes of that prime-time contest was a monument to mediocrity — at least as it pertained to the home team's QB. Then came the final drive of the Seahawks' 20-17 win over the Eagles, when Drew locked up his Emerald City legacy.
"Nobody will forget that game," said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. "What an event."
Let's start with the stakes: If Seattle (7-7) loses Monday night, it probably says sayonara to its season. The Hawks still would have had a mathematical shot at the playoffs if they swept their final three opponents on their schedule, but they would have needed an army's worth of assistance.
Oh, and they were near five-point underdogs vs. Philly for a reason. Seattle's four-game losing streak entering Monday was its longest since Carroll took over as head coach before the 2010 season, and with starting quarterback Geno Smith out for the second consecutive game, the outlook was bleak.
Especially after the first drive.
The Eagles (10-4) looked the part of the team that bullied their way to the Super Bowl last January, when they won their first two playoff games by a combined 55 points. They used 15 plays on their first possession to march 75 yards into the end zone — bulldozing through a Seattle squad that entered the game 28th in total defense. Then they went up 10-0, and though the Seahawks rallied to tie it at 10-10 in the third quarter, it wasn't due to the prodigious play of their second-string signal caller.
Before that last possession, Lock's day was mostly defined by a string of short completions, a drive-killing intentional grounding and an overthrown deep ball intended for an open Tyler Lockett.
The night had this sort of "yeah, the Seahawks lost again — but what did you expect with Geno out" feel? Then, Lock went legend.
Down 17-13 with 1:47 left, Lock connected with DK Metcalf for an 18-yard pass on second down to move it to the Seahawks' 26. Back-to-back completions — one for 5 yards to Noah Fant and another for 6 yards to Metcalf followed, providing another Seattle first down. Two plays later, on third-and-10, Drew found Metcalf for a third time that drive — this time for 34 yards to the Eagles' 29.
This is when the belief meter at Lumen Field was officially activated. This is when the country collectively moved a good 18 inches forward on its couch cushion.
Was this going to happen?
Three plays later — again on a third-and-10 — we got the answer. Lock placed a kissed-by-the-gods pass to Smith-Njigba in the right corner of the north end zone to give the Seahawks a 20-17 lead with 28 seconds to go.
It was Drew's signature moment in the NFL — and he let the world know how he felt. First with a not-safe-for-work message delivered straight to the camera, and then — after Julian Love's interception sealed the game for Seattle — to ESPN's Lisa Salters.
"Amazing won't do it justice. Amazing won't do it justice," said Lock, who praised as many teammates as he could during that postgame interview. "It takes a special group to rally around a guy that has come into his second game of the year. ... You wonder, 'Can I do this still?' I haven't been out there on the field, that's the human nature of it. You get back out there last week and I'm like, 'You know what, I'm the man still, I can go do this.'"
How about that last play call?
"I'll remember that last play call for the rest of my life," said Lock, who finished 22 of 33 for 208 yards. "I said, 'Hey Jax, if you're one-on-one, I'm throwing you this pill.'"
It's not just Lock that is going to remember that for the rest of his life. Regardless of how the Seahawks season ends up, that one's going down as a Seattle all-timer.
Drew Lock may not be at the top of the Seahawks' depth chart. But that moment? That won't soon be topped.
