The Wizard of Scorigami: Pete Carroll
The next NFL season is on the horizon and with it comes more opportunities for the rare and bizarre achievement of Scorigami.
Scorigami is the term coined by sports writer and video producer Jon Bois for an instance when an NFL game’s final score has never occurred before.
(Click here for all those uninitiated to have Jon explain)
Given the odd nature of American Football’s scoring, there are many sums of points that are quite difficult to accrue with teams only being able to score in chunks of 3, 6, 7, in weirder cases 8 and 2, and weirdest of all potentially 1 point (this has never happened in the NFL).
The phenomena of Scorigami has become a cherished pastime of mine during the NFL season to track, monitor, and pray for. With only so many finite possibilities, it can be easy to spot when Scorigami may be afoot in a particular contest.
I even predicted Scorigami once. At halftime of the Bengals and Patriots game in week 16 of 2022, the score sat at 22–0 Bengals and I announced that Scorigami is afoot! After a first half involving:
6–0
one missed extra point kick
12–0
a failed 2 point conversion to make up for said kick, by the Bengals
15–0
Field goal
The game ended in a 22–18 win for the Bengals where the Patriots had:
22–6
Pick-6 capped off by the missed extra point
22–12
Kendrick Bourne touchdown cemented with a failed 2 point conversion
22–18
A long Jakobi Meyers TD catch with the cherry put on top being yet another missed extra point kick
This is a wonderful example of how strange and zany a football game can be in order for Scorigami to be achieved.
And there is no coach in NFL history who had such an appetite for the peculiar and unorthodox as Pete Carroll; the mastermind of the Seattle Seahawks developed one of the best defenses the NFL will ever see and always produced an offense that if not good was always entertaining, for 14 years.
He was the bane of my existence as a San Francisco 49er fan who just happened to move to the Pacific Northwest right as the Seahawks were rising to power. I hated the man and his team largely in part because goddamnit they were better than us.
Yet as his tenure in Seattle began to wind down, and in particular with the departure of Russell Wilson, I began to appreciate my arch-rival and his Seahawks. Putting spite aside, they were an incredibly fun and wacky team to watch — much like their baseball counterpart Mariners, but without the depressing and soul crushing ineptitude.
By this time, Pete Carroll had built his amazing portfolio of Scorigami’s. He is the NFL coach in the modern era who has the most games ending in Scorigami under his command. All of which happened in their own bewildering fashion.
This year we are without Carroll in his role of head coach of the Seahawks. With the dawn of this first season without Coach Pete,I would like to give thanks, commend, and appreciate his achievements with Seattle by recounting the tales of Caroll’s Scorigamis and all the weird and wild ways they happened.
Scorigami #1
TheOnlyLossigami
December 19, 2010
In his first season with the Seahawks, Carroll wasted no time putting himself in the annals of Scorigami history.
A rather conventional affair in the first half in this battle of the birds. They traded TDs and FGs but the Falcons go into the half up 7 after a touchdown at the death. No turnovers, no weirdness.
Then
The Seahawks had the ball for a total of 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the third quarter, and they spent nearly that whole time giving the ball back to the Falcons.
The fumble on their first drive, on their first play, went into their own end zone and was recovered by the Falcons for a touchdown.
Off the turnovers, the Falcons took complete control of the game. With all lost and the Seahawks already on their way out of the playoff picture, Pete Carroll turned to Clipboard Jesus, Charlie Whitehurst, to bring us home in this contest.
The final scoring drive for the Hawks is capped off with a QB sneak touchdown by the perennial back-up and all time “Keep Getting Them Checks” great.
Then, in maybe an effort to feign they were not giving up, the Seahawks go for 2 and convert! Yeah baby hey we’re only down 16 with 8:29 left in the game THIS AIN’T OVER!
The Seahawks gained 14 yards total there after.
The Falcons bled out the clock in return and there you have it: 34–18. Scorigami.
If the Hawks had not gone for 2 and just kicked an extra point, 34–17 had occurred 48 times.
If the Hawks failed on their 2-point conversion, 16 games had ended 34–16 one of those games being the week before between the Packers and 49ers!
Every other possible score, given the Falcons stay at 34, would not be Scorigami. Oddly enough, this 34–18 score has now been achieved 2 more times, both coming in the 2012 season. And we haven’t seen it since.
This first Scorigami for Pete demonstrates his amazing ability to thread the needle to find it, this being the only time Pete Caroll will do so in a losing effort.
Scorigami #2
CompleteDestructionigami
December 9, 2012
Ah, Scorigami against a bird team in December? C’mon Pete get a little more creative.
This Scorigami was really the coming out party for the Legion of Boom defense and how terrifying the combination of Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch was. Pete Carroll exacted a public execution of the floundering Cardinals. This game literally ended Cardinals QB John Skelton’s career; he never played again after this.
I think the most impressive and weirdest part of this game is that Russell Wilson only threw 13 passes THE ENTIRE GAME. The Hawks’ leading receiver was TE Anthony McCoy with 105 yards off 3 catches. It was the best game of his entire career and — y’know what this game also ended his career as he had 2 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown for the rest of his career, which basically ended after this season.
Scorigami, where careers are ended and dreams die.
Scorigami #3
THEScorigami…igami
February 2nd, 2014
He did it. In the goddamn Super Bowl.
You have most likely watched this game. Scorigami was a mere formality once that football flew over Peyton Manning’s head into their own endzone.
The Legion of Boom suffocated one of the best offenses we have ever seen, Malcom Smith had a pick-6 and that earned him Super Bowl MVP for whatever reason, Percy Harvin ran back the opening 2nd half kickoff, and the Seahawks not only win their first championship but do it in Scorigami fashion. This was also the first Scorigami for Pete Carroll outside the confines of his home field in Seattle.
It is incredibly important to note, though, if the Broncos do not convert their 2-point conversion or if they just kicked a field goal because who gives a shit it’s 36–0; 43–7 or 43–6 both occurred in 1920 and 1921 respectively.
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Scorigami requires precision, albeit surrounded by absolute mayhem.
Scorigami #4
JustShowingOffigami
September 4th, 2014
Hot off their Super Bowl victory, Pete and the Hawks come right back 7 months later and put together another Scorigami against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Without doing the extensive research required, Pete Carroll most likely has the distinction of having Scorigami achieved in twice in, technically speaking, the fewest games; technically, the Hawks crafted Scorigami twice in a 3 game span.
This Scorigami should mainly be credited to the Packers, who lost a fumble that resulted in a safety (Déjà vu), and then failed a 2-point conversion to give themselves the rare 16 points. Meanwhile, Stephen Hauschka’s leg contributed 10 of the Hawks’ 36.
Scorigami is not always exciting as it unfolds, but it is always weird.
Scorigami #5
NoFuckingWayigami
November 29th, 2015
This edition of Pete Carroll Scorigami, which again came at home at CenturyLink Field, can be boiled down to just a few key points.
This game featured FOUR 2-point conversion tries, only one being successful; that try coming in the 2nd quarter for the Steelers.
With 3 minutes left in the game, the Steelers had just kicked a field goal to make it 32–30. The Steelers need to force a punt to have a chance for Chris Boswell to kick his fourth field goal of the day to win the game.
The Seahawks run the ball on first and second down, gaining no yards. They remain at the 20 yard line, 3rd and 10. If the Steelers stop them short of the first down, they will let the clock go to the 2-minute warning.
Russell Wilson drops back, finds Doug Baldwin crossing the middle of the field right at the line to gain, Baldwin shrugs off two defenders and… Tail lights. Dojo. Play the fight song (in the words of the great Scott Van Pelt)
Haushka kicks the extra point. 39–30. Ben Roethlisberger tries to force the ball down the field, is picked off, and the game ends.
If Doug Baldwin had been tackled at any point, the Seahawks most likely would have taken knees and the game would have ended 32–30 which had happened once before. Maybe they kick a field goal, 35–30 had been achieved 6 times before.
Missed extra point maybe? 38–30, 5 times before.
They go for 2? 40–30, once before in 1981.
Incredible, improbable, Scorigamible.
Scorigami #6
Ninersigami
September 25th, 2016
What can I say about this game. The Seahawks took on the oh my god I have to remind myself about the one season Chip Kelly was the head coach of the 49ers. The Hawks easily found themselves up 30–3 come the end of the 3rd quarter. They even put in Trevone Boykin for the final quarter and he slung a 16 yard TD to Doug Baldwin to make it 37–3.
Then, in gargbage time, Carlos Hyde found the end zone three times. Twice for touchdowns and once for a 2-point conversion to give the Niners 18 points and the only silver lining of this farce, Scorigami.
Scorigami #7
Casualigami
October 1st, 2017
Ahhh, I loved this era of Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Russell Wilson was still playing at a high level, but otherwise the offense was a carousel. They had a three headed monster of Eddie Lacy, Chris Carson, and J.D. McKissic at running back. They watched Blair Walsh whiff a 27 yard field goal that would have ended the Seahawks’ season the 2 years ago and thought “Man, we gotta get that guy”. Blair Walsh would retire as a Seahawk as this 2017–2018 season was his last.
This ultimately meaningless game was a classic Scorigami concoction:
Blair Walsh opened up scoring with a 44 yard field goal
Colts 0–3 Hawks
Russell Wilson is then sacked in the endzone for a safety
Colts 2–3 Hawks
Justin Coleman picks off Jacoby Brissett, houses it
Colts 2–10 Hawks
Former Seahawk Robert Turbin punches in a TD, but the Colts go for 2 and fail(SCORIGAMI ALARMS GOING OFF)
Colts 8–10 Hawks
Brissett to Donte Moncrief (great football name)
Colts 15–10 Hawks
Russell Wilson scrambles for a TD, converts 2-point (Why they did this in the 3rd quarter I have no idea)
Colts 15–18 Hawks
The Colts ultimately only scored one more field goal while the Hawks put up 4 touchdowns unanswered, one of which being a Bobby Wagner 21 yard fumble return.
46–18. Supremely entertaining, from two teams that would miss the playoffs.
Scorigami #7
IWasThereigami
December 2nd, 2018
This Scorigami holds a very special place in my heart, because I was there. Kyle Shanahan was in his second season, still shaping the slop of clay discarded by Chip Kelly into a real football team. The Niners were all kinds of injured. The beautiful Jimmy Garoppolo’s season was over and in his place was Nick Mullens, who I despise for no real reason.
I knew the Niners were going to lose this game. But holy shit, it’s 27–3 and the Hawks scored 16 seconds into 3rd quarter, seriously?
The bright spots in the game came from former UW Husky Dante Pettis, who had two touchdown catches in the 2nd half, one of which being a 75 yard boat race. The latter TD was bizarrely a bipartisan celebration as the game was firmly in hand for the Hawks, so the 69,000 in attendance gave it up for the local alumnus.
This moment in the game brings us to the topic of all the weirdness that went down for Scorigami to be possible.
As mentioned, this game was basically over 16 seconds into the third quarter. Nick Mullens, to his credit, had 414 yards passing. With about 4 minutes left in the game the Niners were on the Seattle’s 2 yard line with the score at 37–16. Mullens drops back and throws an ill-advised pass over the middle which was met by Bobby Wagner. He proceeded to run it back 98 yards for a touchdown.
Which brings us to the man of the hour.
The Seahawks, in all of John Schneider’s brilliance, had Sebastian Janikowski as their kicker. Like the guy who kicked for the Raiders for 17 years, took a year off, and then said ‘yeah screw it’ and came back at 40 years old to kick for the Seahawks. And yes, this was his final season. His career had to be sacrificed to the Scorigami gods to make this possible.
Janikowski, out of his 6 extra point attempts, missed 2. Those 2 misses were the crux of Scorigami being possible.
After Bobby Wagner’s pick-6, Janikowski lumbered out there and missed the extra point wide left. Which left the game at 43–16.
44–16 had happened twice, in 2015 and 1967.
If he had made both? 45–16 occurred thrice.
I knew what was at stake when Janikowski set up for that final extra point. Imagine how insane I looked as I jumped up and down, fist pumping in my Niners gear.
I got chirped at a lot while leaving the stadium, and to every comment I gleefully responded “Yeah it was Scorigami though!!”. It made the witnessing the massacre worth every second.
Scorigami #8
TheFinaligami
October 2nd, 2022
This brings us to the end. Pete Carroll for the only time other than the Super Bowl against the Broncos achieved Scorigami at a stadium other than at home in Seattle. A high powered offensive barrage with the Lions.
6 of Carroll’s 8 Scorgamis were with Russell Wilson at the helm of the offense, all of which were home games besides the Super Bowl. In Pete Carroll’s swan song, he broke new ground.
Geno Smith captained the Seahawks to 48 points and although the Lions were within 3 points towards the end of the game, a Rashaad Penny 41 yard dash with 2:14 left in the game cemented the win for the Hawks, putting them up 48–38. If the Lions never scored again, that score line would have been Scorigami. Alas, the Lions did put up a TD with 1:06 left.
48–45 and while Coach Pete would last one more season, this was his final addition to the beautiful pasttime of Scorigami.
Pete Carroll will be remembered for his success in the Pacific Northwest. He should also be remembered for his flair for fun and wacky play calling. Although I was suppose to despise him as the head coach of my archrival, it is impossible for me not to commend him for being a great coach and an amazing personality in the NFL. It won’t be the same without him, but football must go on; Scorigami as well, but we may never see another craftsman of Scorigami like Pete Carroll again.
