Other than the folks who were actually on the turf in Lumen Field, the stars of Week 3’s matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the host Seattle Seahawks were the ones in the stands.
As they often do, Seattle’s fierce and faithful fans played an integral role in throwing off their visitors. Due, in part, to the deafening levels of noise, the Panthers committed a total of eight false-start penalties in what would be a 37-27 victory for the Seahawks.
So, since the organization probably didn’t have about 68,000 game balls on hand, they gave props to their 12’s with this video tribute:
Did we REALLY make a false start video?
Of course we did. This one is for YOU, @12s. pic.twitter.com/JU6bIRnQjf
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 25, 2023
Those eight false starts were the most by any team since 2011, when the Chicago Bears pulled off nine at Ford Field in a loss to the Detroit Lions. Half of those infractions were charged to left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, with right tackle Taylor Moton picking up two and left guard Chandler Zavala and tight end Tommy Tremble getting one apiece.
The Seahawks’ video only added insult to, well, insult—as Panthers head coach Frank Reich had a few select adjectives for the performance right after the defeat.
“Comin’ in, we knew the environment would be tough—good football and a tough place to play. The number of penalties was totally inexcusable, pathetic,” he said in his postgame presser.
“That starts with me, as an offensive coach. That starts with our offense coaches—getting our players ready. And that starts with our players. Unacceptable. It’s like we never played in the noise before.”
Fair play, 12’s.