Seahawks up 24-7 at halftime; a few first-half notes

The Seahawks were dominant in the first half… Well at least until their backup defense came in for San Diego’s final drive.

Seattle scored on all four of its possessions, two on touchdown runs by Russell Wilson, who was brilliant. Wilson completed 11 of 13 attempts for 121 yards and a 105.4 passer rating, and rushed for 33 more yards and the two scores. Wilson also showed some of his signature elusiveness to avoid hits.

Here’s a few more things that stood out:

—Christine Michael is the focus of a lot of hype because of his explosive running ability, but Robert Turbin right now is playing better. Turbin, along with Wilson, was the star of the first half, rushing for 81 yards and a score on 12 carries. That included a 47-yard run with his team pinned deep in its own end, which eventually led to a field goal.

—Speaking of Michael, he fumbled for the second time in as many games. Neither fumble led to a turnover, and in fact he recovered his own fumble after a nice run in this game, but for a guy trying to earn more carries, being careless with the ball is the worst thing Michael can do when he plays for a coach who preaches, “It’s all about the ball.”

—Cliff Avril and O’Brien Schofield both were a handful for San Diego’s line. Schofield and Benson Mayowa could well be battling for one roster spot, and right now Mayowa has some catching up to do.

—A week after committing 13 penalties in Denver, the Seahawks were called for only a three for 25 yards in the first half.

—Before the Seahawks put their backup defense on the field, they allowed just 42 yards and 3 first downs.

—Conversely that backup defense that Pete Carroll wanted to see improve? It allowed a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took only 3 minutes, 21 seconds late in the half.

—Earl Thomas as a punt returner appears to be a bit of an adventure so far. He had one return for five yards, let one punt go and fair caught one.

—Rookie right tackle Justin Britt struggled at times, particularly on Seattle’s second drive, after which he got an earful from OL coach Tom Cable.

—Percy Harvin will be a big part of Seattle’s offense. That’s not a surprise, but what perhaps was unexpected was how much he played in this game, catching four passes for 31 yards while playing most of the first half. Last week he was on the field for just one play even though many starters played well into the second quarter.