Another week, another roller-coaster victory for the Seahawks.
By this point, these white-knuckle rides have practically become the norm for Seattle.
The Seahawks’ wild 38-31 win over Dallas on Sunday afternoon marked the second consecutive week that they held on with a game-sealing defensive play in the closing seconds. Dating back to the start of last season, Seattle is now 13-3 in one-possession contests.
And with the way they’ve been playing, the Seahawks could be in for plenty more high-scoring nailbiters this fall.
Seattle has the second-highest scoring offense in the league, but also a porous defense that’s allowed a historic amount of passing yardage through the first three weeks. Is that a sustainable formula for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, especially given the Seahawks’ mounting injury concerns on defense? Only time will tell.
But with Russell Wilson leading a high-powered offense and just enough timely plays from its defense, Seattle has made it work so far. The Seahawks are 3-0 for just the second time in the Pete Carroll era, and the first time since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2013.
Here are some storylines and takeaways — both good and bad — following the Seahawks’ latest narrow escape:
WITH RUSS COOKIN’, THIS OFFENSE IS ELITE
Led by Wilson’s exceptional play, Seattle’s offense is off to one of the best starts in recent NFL history.
The Seahawks are just the eighth team in league history — and the sixth since the 1970 merger — to score at least 35 points in each of their first three games. Seattle’s franchise-best 111 points through three weeks is the seventh-most of any team since 2010 and is tied for the 23rd-most in league history.
Seattle ranks second in the NFL this season at 37 points per game, which is a full six points ahead of the next-closest team. The Seahawks are third in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), which calculates a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent. Seattle has scored touchdowns on all nine of its red-zone trips and on 15 of its 35 total possessions (42.9%).
At the center of it all is Wilson, who became the only quarterback in NFL history to throw 14 touchdown passes through the first three weeks of a season. He has completed a scorching 76.7% of his passes for 925 yards, and his only interception came off a dropped ball. He’s averaging a league-high 11.3 adjusted yards per pass attempt, which is nearly a yard ahead of the next-closest quarterback. He’s also rushed for 90 yards at an average of 6.4 yards per carry.
Wilson and Seattle’s offense weren’t quite as sharp Sunday as they were in their first two games. Wilson had several uncharacteristic off-target throws, which could be partially attributable to a Dallas pass rush that sacked him four times and appeared to leave him a bit less comfortable in the pocket. Seattle’s offense, meanwhile, benefited from a short field on two of its touchdowns and stalled in the second half with three consecutive punts.
And yet, that’s all just nit-picking.
Wilson still turned in yet another massive performance, completing 27 of 40 passes for 315 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He would’ve had another touchdown pass if not for DK Metcalf’s careless goal-line gaffe in the first quarter, which wiped away what would’ve been a 63-yard score. Had Metcalf held onto the ball, the Seahawks very well might’ve scored 30 first-half points.
And even after Seattle’s offense fell into a rut for most of the second half, Wilson did what he’s done so often over the course of his nine-year career, rallying the Seahawks with a game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes. It was his 33rd career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, which is the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2012.
Seattle’s receiving corps and offensive line also deserve credit for the offense’s red-hot start. Tyler Lockett and Metcalf have provided Wilson one of the best receiving duos in the league. The Seahawks’ offensive line ranks 19th in pass-blocking by Pro Football Focus — which is still below average, but a marked improvement from the 30th-or-worse rankings the unit finished with in five of the past seven seasons.
However, the biggest difference this season continues to be Seattle’s willingness to “let Russ cook.” That three-word rallying cry has been popular among Seahawks fans who have wanted their team to allow Wilson to operate a more pass-oriented and aggressive attack, especially early in games. And so far, Seattle has certainly altered its approach from its usual establish-the-run mantra of years past.
Seattle’s pass rate of 61.2% in the first half of games this season ranks ninth in the league, according to Sharp Football Stats. That’s a considerable uptick from last year’s 56% first-half pass rate, which ranked 27th.
And the contrast is even more pronounced on first downs. The Seahawks rank second in the league with a pass rate of 63.8% on first downs in the first half. That’s up from 47.6% in those situations last year, which ranked 19th.
The more aggressive approach has put the ball in the hands of Seattle’s best player more often, and Wilson has taken advantage of the increased opportunities with a historic season-opening tear that’s produced the best offensive start in franchise history.
THE DEFENSE IS OFFICIALLY A CONCERN
The Seahawks surrendered 450 passing yards to Matt Ryan and the Falcons. They gave up 397 passing yards to Cam Newton and the Patriots. And the ugly trend continued Sunday, with Seattle’s defense getting torched by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys for 461 yards through the air.
The Seahawks have allowed a whopping 1,292 passing yards through the first three weeks of the season, which is an NFL record by a wide margin.
Yes, there are some caveats that have inflated those numbers. With double-digit leads in the second halves of all three games, Seattle has played a considerable amount of prevent defense, which tends to concede underneath yardage in an attempt to limit big plays. Also, all three of the Seahawks’ opponents feature strong passing attacks. And of course, a rash of injuries on defense has been another contributing factor.
But none of that offsets the reality that Seattle’s pass defense has been pretty horrific so far.
Those struggles were on full display Sunday, as the Seahawks surrendered big plays with regularity. Seattle gave up nine completions of at least 20 yards, including three long touchdowns of 40-plus yards.
A particularly troubling stretch occurred on back-to-back Dallas touchdowns in the second half. Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin got beat twice on a quick three-play drive the spanned the length of the field, giving up a 52-yard completion on a vertical sideline route and a 42-yard touchdown pass on an intermediate crossing route. Then on the ensuing Dallas possession, Seattle cornerback Tre Flowers got beat on a vertical sideline route for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
The biggest question mark entering the season was the Seahawks’ pass rush, and those concerns have proved valid. Seattle’s pass rush ranks 31st in the league, according to Pro Football Focus grading. And the Seahawks rank 28th in sack rate, with sacks on just 3.1% of their blitzes, according to Pro Football Reference.
But despite a lackluster pass rush, Seattle’s secondary was supposed to be a strength. So far, it’s been a major disappointment. The Seahawks rank 19th in pass coverage, according to PFF grades. Neither of Seattle’s starting cornerbacks — Griffin and Quinton Dunbar — are ranked among the top 50 cornerbacks by PFF. And Tre Flowers, who started in place of the injured Dunbar on Sunday, is ranked a dismal 85th among all cornerbacks.
The Seahawks did force the Cowboys into three turnovers, including two that led to scores. Late in the first half, Griffin intercepted Prescott to set up a Seattle touchdown. On the opening snap of the second half, Jarran Reed hit Prescott’s arm to force a fumble that Benson Mayowa recovered to set up another touchdown. And in the game’s closing seconds, recently promoted practice-squad safety Ryan Neal intercepted Prescott in the end zone to seal the victory.
Also, the Seahawks’ run defense quietly had another strong performance, limiting star running Ezekiel Elliott to just 34 yards on 14 carries. Seattle has allowed just 3.0 rushing yards per attempt this season, which ranks third in the NFL.
But neither the forced turnovers nor the run defense’s success are nearly enough to overshadow the Seahawks’ major struggles in defending the pass. Seattle ranks just 23rd in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA this year, which would be its lowest ranking in a decade if the season ended today.
WILD AND WACKY, EVEN FOR SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks have played in plenty of bizarre games over the years. But even by their standards, this one was pretty unusual.
There was Metcalf’s goal-line gaffe that wiped away a sure touchdown. There was the Cowboys’ fumbled kickoff return that led to a safety on the ensuing play. There were two missed extra points (one of which was blocked) by typically reliable Dallas kicker Greg Zuerlein, who entered with a streak of 74 consecutive made PATs. And all of that happened in just the first half, which lasted a marathon one hour and 45 minutes.
The second half was also full of drama and momentum swings, with Seattle’s win probability at one point fluctuating from above 96% to under 48% in a span of less than nine minutes, according to ESPN. Seattle and Dallas finished the back-and-forth shootout with a whopping 934 combined yards of total offense, including 787 yards through the air.
And, perhaps fittingly, the wild contest ended with a game-sealing interception in the end zone by a safety who was on Seattle’s practice squad just 24 hours prior.
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