The Seattle Seahawks beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road Week 1 and they did it in a stadium without fans. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most NFL teams are playing in front of no audiences for at least the first few games of the season. So is there any truth to home-field advantage?
Coach Pete Carroll talked about the atmosphere and notching a win at an empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
“It was different but it didn’t matter – it didn’t matter to the game,” coach Pete Carroll said during his press conference after the win. “You know, like I say, we were on the road and we didn’t have a crowd screaming at us, either, but like way back when, I always felt like this was going to work out okay because the guys don’t really – they don’t play for the fans on game day. They play the game the way they are supposed to, and there was enough juice and energy there that, you know, it was really fun.”
Granted the “crowd noise” that was pumped into the stadium and broadcast made a huge difference to the viewing audience but Carroll and the players were just glad to be back on the field and playing the game of football.
“It was really a fun game, and locker room was cool before the game, at halftime and after the game, you know, all that good stuff that we love to — we share all the energy, the build up of the game and the finish,” Carroll continued. “It was all there. It’s more exciting, I guess, there’s more atmosphere, of course, but when these guys are playing, they have got to go. The competition on the field was really, really good, both sides.”
The Seahawks will get their next shot to play in front of an empty stadium when they return home Week 2 to face the Patriots for “Sunday Night Football” at CenturyLink Field. Perhaps Seattle will realize just how important the 12s are when the Seahawks take on Cam Newton in primetime.
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