Posted on October 28, 2018, by Travis Pulver
Expectations were not extremely high for the Seattle Seahawks coming into this season. There were still doubts about the offensive line. With all the turnover on defense, there was no telling what the ‘Legion of Boom’ was going to look like. Unless someone stepped up, there wasn’t much hope for the running game either.
It may still be too soon to say it, but after the way the Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions Sunday—these guys might be alright after all.
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The Seahawks usually lean on Russell Wilson and the passing game to get the offense going. While Wilson did have a great day throwing the ball, it was the running game that won the day. Chris Carson led the way with 105 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. But as a team, they had 176 yards on the ground.
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“We were really able to play right within the framework of how we want to do it,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said after the game. “We were able to get the football, and we had no turnovers today — we took advantage of that — and run the heck out of the football….”
With the running game working as well as it did, it wasn’t hard to get the play-action working in the passing game. Wilson didn’t end up throwing the ball very much, but when he did, he didn’t miss.
Well—he missed three times. He connected on 14 of 17 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’re very versatile. I think we can do whatever we want right now,” Wilson said after the game.
That certainly seemed to be the case late in the game when rookie punter Michael Dickson decided to go rouge. Punting from his end zone, the plan was for him to run around and take some time off the clock before stepping out. But at one point, he saw a gap and decided to go for it.
“He went against all traditions and everything, but he saw the situation, and he took advantage of it,” Carroll said. “It was truly a surprise.”
Matthew Stafford got the day off to a good start with a drive that took almost half of the first quarter. But then the offense couldn’t find the end zone again until early in the fourth quarter. At that point, the Seahawks had already put up 28 points.
The defense did its part the rest of the way and held Seattle to three-and-outs on their next two drives. But turnovers by Stafford ended the Lions next two and any shot they had at a comeback.
With the loss, the Lions fall to 3-4 and fall into last in the NFC North. They will have a challenge on their hands next week when they travel to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings.
The win moves the Seahawks over .500 for the first time this season with a 4-3 record. Next up for them is a home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.