Seahawks are first team in two years to win without converting a third down

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The Seahawks failed to convert on a single third down on Sunday night, which ordinarily spells certain defeat. But they still won.

Seattle went 0-for-7 on third downs in its 27-26 win over Minnesota, making the Seahawks the first team in the NFL this season to fail to convert a single third down in a game.

It’s rare that a team goes through a game without picking up a first down on third down, but it’s extremely rare to win a game when failing to convert a third down. It never happened in 2019 and only happened once in 2018 — when the Seahawks beat the Cardinals 20-17 despite going 0-for-10 on third downs.

Last night the Seahawks made up for the lack of success on third downs with three quick touchdown drives on which they never even faced a third down, and two successful fourth downs on their final drive of the game, including a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to win it.