TALKING POINTS
The Seahawks couldn’t have made a bigger statement heading into the playoffs. Seattle completed the regular season by going on the road and stomping an Arizona team that had won nine straight and was considered by many to be the best in the NFL.
The main question regarding the Seahawks heading into Sunday’s game was whether last week’s 23-17 home loss to St. Louis was an aberration following five weeks of dominating football, or if ut was a regression to the first half of the season. Clearly it was an aberration.
This was domination by Seattle in all facets of the game. Offense? The Seahawks’ first eight drives consisted of four touchdowns, three field goals and a missed field goal. Defense? Seattle held the NFL’s No. 1 offense to 232 yards and six points. It looked more like a game between a top-seeded team and a team getting the first pick in the draft.
Seattle finished the season 10-6 and now awaits the result of Sunday night’s game between Minnesota and Green Bay to learn its playoff fate. If Minnesota wins, the Seahawks are the NFC’s sixth seed and head to Minnesota next week. If Green Bay wins, the Seahawks are the fifth seed and head to Washington. But no team is going to want to see Seattle on its schedule.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson continued his late-season romp, going 19-for-28 for 197 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He finished the season with 4,024 passing yards, breaking the franchise record of 3,966 set by Matt Hasselbeck in 2007. He finished with 34 touchdown passes, breaking the franchise mark of 32 by Dave Krieg in 1984. He finished with a passer rating of 110.1 to lead the NFL, and it’s the 15th-best mark in NFL history. Wilson’s last seven games (24 TDs, one interception) was one of the greatest stretches by a quarterback in NFL history.
And what about the defense? Seattle finished the season allowing 277 points, edging Cincinnati by two points to lead the league in scoring defense. That’s the fourth straight season the Seahawks had the NFL’s best scoring defense, the first time that’s been done in the Super Bowl era.
Now it’s onto the playoffs and Seattle, unlike the past two seasons, will have to reach the Super Bowl by going on the road. That doesn’t seem so daunting, considering the Seahawks have won five straight road games.
Also noteworthy:
– Tyler Lockett had a fantastic day returning punts with four for 139 yards, all in the first half. That included returns of 66, 31 and 27 yards, as well as a 22-yarder that was brought back because of a penalty. The 139 yards set a franchise record, besting the 106 yards by Charlie Rodgers in 1999. The returns also gave Seattle a massive advantage in the field-position battle.
– Seattle’s first three touchdowns? They were scored by Bryce Brown, Will Tukuafu and Chase Coffman. Could a more unlikely trio have been picked? It’s an indication of how smoothly the Seahawks’ offense is running right now, that anyone is capable of scoring.
– Running back Christine Michael had another big day with 102 yards on 17 carries. It will be interesting to see how things unfold with Marshawn Lynch reportedly set to rejoin the team Monday. Lynch has been rehabbing in San Francisco from abdominal surgery, and it’s unknown whether he’ll be ready to hit the ground running.
– Kicker Steven Hauschka had an interesting day. He hit a pair of 52-yard field goals and finished the season 6-for-6 from 50-plus. However, he also missed a 40-yarder, and he missed his fourth extra point of the season.
– The only injury announced was to cornerback Jeremy Lane (oblique strain), who didn’t play in the second half. Earlier in the game Lane had an interception. The last time Lane played at University of Phoenix Stadium he also had an interception — then suffered a broken arm and torn ACL during the return in last season’s Super Bowl.
TURNING POINT
Arizona gave itself a chance to stay in the game early when, after Seattle took a 10-0 lead, the Cardinals marched 80 yards on 12 plays to score a touchdown and get within 10-6. However, the Seahawks responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive of their own, taking a 17-6 lead and re-establishing their authority on the game.
BOX SCORE
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