Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos in Russell Wilson’s homecoming game.

SEATTLE — It was only a matter of time, after all.

Russell Wilson’s return to Lumen Field was inevitable, how could it not be? How could a Super Bowl champion quarterback’s reunion with the only team he had ever known not come to a spectacular conclusion?

Wilson orchestrated so much late-game magic over the course of 157 starts and 10 seasons; how could it not have been for Pete Carroll and the boisterous Seattle crowd, who for the first time had to play defense?

With 20 seconds remaining, Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett, making his head coaching debut, decided to send Brandon McManus out for a 64-yard field goal attempt rather than give Wilson and the offense an opportunity to convert and make McManus’ job simpler.

Before the game, McManus informed the coaching staff that his range extended to the left hash line at the 46-yard line. Denver arrived at that precise location, which was on the periphery of the seasoned kicker’s range but near enough that Hackett believed it was the Broncos’ best opportunity to score.

Hackett remarked, “We were right on the line, but he had plenty of distance.” “Brandon tried his hardest. That field goal is difficult to hit. I believe he is quite capable of doing that, although I clearly wish we were much closer. Because we were in field goal range but on fourth down, it put us in that awkward situation.

For a new head coach, there is no room for doubt in that situation. The offense or the field goal unit must decide.

“At that point, we had been adjusting fourth-and-six just a little bit. We weren’t transporting it in large pieces. Despite the fact that the lone bad play on the drive was a 4-yard loss on a throw to the flat, Hackett said that “I guess we had just given up a sack immediately before that.” “I wanted to make sure that we occasionally took a chance when we had the opportunity and we felt confident in (McManus),” the author said.

McManus has a career-long of 61 yards, and as of Monday, he was 1-of-4 from 60 yards or more. Lumen Field’s record-setting field goal was 56 yards long.

McManus remarked, “I knew there was a high chance we might kick it. I must create them. I assured them that I could kick that.