Seattle Seahawks Peaking at Just the Right Time
Things haven’t gone all right early for the Seattle Seahawks, but true to form, they’re hitting their stride when it matters most.
The Seattle Seahawks had their best win of the season in Week 10, going into Foxboro and knocking off the New England Patriots, 31-24. The win, which gave the team a comfortable advantage in the NFC West, was a team effort. Their offense moved the ball efficiently, defense forced turnovers (and had a game-saving goal line stand), and special teams helped generate great field position.
Seattle’s season got off to a subpar start, going 4-2-1 in their first seven games. That had some fans panicking. But over the past two games, the Seahawks have taken off. Teams want to be playing their best football in November and December and that’s exactly what Seattle is doing. Perhaps even more favorable for the Seahawks, though, is that they’re actually getting better.
For one, the Seahawks are beginning to get healthy. Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor returned from a lengthy absence in Week 10, running back Thomas Rawls (who averaged over five yards per carry last year) is expected to play this week for the first time since Week 2, and defensive lineman Michael Bennett—the team’s best pass rusher—should return within the next three weeks.
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Perhaps the biggest positive sign, though, is that quarterback Russell Wilson is get healthier each week. After battling through ankle and knee injuries early in the year, Wilson is finally starting to look more like himself. He’s still wearing a brace on his knee, but he seems to be moving around better. Not unrelated, he’s turned in his best games of the season in the past two weeks. Wilson went through a tough stretch in October, but that was directly correlated to him nursing the injuries. Now that he’s back to nearly full strength, the rest of the league better watch out.
Besides getting healthy, the Seahawks are also getting better play from their offensive line. The line really struggled in both pass and run blocking in September and October. But over the past few weeks, they have shown significant improvement. The running lanes are starting to open and Wilson is finally beginning to have time to throw.
The Seahawks are 2-0 in the month of November, but if you’ve followed football for the past few years, you know that this is the status quo. With Wilson starting, Seattle is 14-3 in November and 15-3 in December over the past five seasons. In every other month, the team is just a combined 23-14-1. Their remaining schedule includes games against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers, so Seattle’s superb late-season success should continue.
The Seahawks have made the playoffs the past four seasons and have won at least one playoff game in each of those years. This team simply knows how to play their best football when it matters the most. The Dallas Cowboys may have the best record in the NFC, but no one in the conference can compare with Seattle’s playoff experience and pedigree. The Seahawks are peaking (again) at the right time and could very well parlay this into their third Super Bowl appearance in the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll-era.