Doug Baldwin's official stat line in Saturday night's shellacking of the Detroit Lions: 11 receptions on 12 targets for 104 yards and a TD.
In reality, he had only 11 targets. The touchdown catch he swiped from teammate Jermaine Kearse.
"I feel terrible about it," Baldwin told NFL Network's Steve Wyche after the game. "That was for Jermaine. It was a last-second call, we switched it up. We were just running toward the end zone. Fortunately enough, we scored. Unfortunately, that target was supposed to be for Jermaine."
While Thomas Rawls was the engine that moved the Seattle offense, Baldwin was the third gear. The No. 1 wideout was uncoverable, moving the chains on third down with regularity. His mind-meld with Russell Wilson is off the charts.
Baldwin has 10-plus catches in two of his past three games. The 28-year-old receiver set the Seahawks franchise record for career postseason receptions Saturday night with 50 catches (passed Darrell Jackson, 41 career postseason receptions).
Before swiping the TD from Kearse, Baldwin had one of the most ridiculous catches you see -- which is saying a lot with teammate Paul Richardson doing his best Odell Beckham impersonation, twice. Baldwin got his hands under a low, inside-breaking throw, somehow kept the ball from hitting the ground and pinned it against his butt. After being initially ruled an incomplete pass -- because physics would seem to have required the ball to hit the ground -- the call was correctly changed to a catch.
"He makes the tough catches," cornerback Richard Sherman said afterward, via SeattlePI's Stephen Cohen. "He even catches with his butt sometimes. There's nothing he can't do. That's why they pay him the big bucks."
With Rawls getting back on track and Baldwin getting open with ease, the Seahawks finally have their offensive formula back to balance heading into what should be a shootout in Atlanta.
