50 stats — good and bad — that sum up the 5-0 Seahawks

For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks are off to a 5-0 start. From Russell Wilson’s season-opening tear to the defensive struggles — and everything in between — here are 50 stats that place what’s transpired into context and help set the stage for what lies ahead:

LATE-GAME DRAMA

• The Seahawks are 15-3 in one-possession games since the start of last season, including 4-0 this year. Seattle has won three of its five games this season in the final 15 seconds, with either a go-ahead score or a game-sealing stop.

• After his late-game heroics against Dallas and Minnesota, Russell Wilson now has 34 career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime. That’s the most in the NFL since Wilson entered the league at the start of the 2012 season, according to Stathead.com.

• Over his nine-year career, Russell Wilson has thrown or run for 11 game-winning touchdowns in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime. He’s done so twice this season, with game-winning TD passes against Dallas and Minnesota.

• The Seahawks’ 94-yard game-winning touchdown drive against Minnesota was the third-longest go-ahead TD drive in the final two minutes of regulation over the past 20 seasons, according to Stathead.com. Russell Wilson accounted for all 94 yards on the drive.

THE HIGH-SCORING OFFENSE

• The Seahawks are averaging a league-high 33.8 points per game, which is a franchise record through the first five games of a season. The last Seahawks team to finish a regular season with the top scoring offense was the 2005 squad, which reached the Super Bowl.

• The Seahawks are ranked No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent. Seattle has finished a regular season with the top offensive DVOA twice — in 2015 (the year Russell Wilson went on a historic five-game tear during the latter half of the season) and 2005.

• The Seahawks have a league-best 88.9% red-zone touchdown rate, with 16 touchdowns in 18 red-zone trips. That’s the best mark in the league by nearly nine percentage points. And perhaps even more impressive: Seattle has scored 21 touchdowns in 26 trips inside its opponents’ 40-yard line.

WILSON’S RED-HOT START

• Russell Wilson has thrown a league-high 19 touchdown passes this season, which is the second-most through the first five games of a season in NFL history. The only quarterback with more was Peyton Manning, who threw 20 TD passes through the first five games of his record-setting 2013 campaign.

• Russell Wilson is averaging a league-high 10.3 adjusted yards per pass attempt, which is more than a yard ahead of the next-closest quarterback. (This stat measures a quarterback’s yards per pass attempt, while factoring in touchdowns and interceptions.)

• Russell Wilson has a league-high 85.4 adjusted completion percentage, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s nearly four percentage points better than any other quarterback. (This stat provides a more accurate measure of a quarterback’s completion percentage by accounting for instances such as dropped passes, throwaways and batted passes.)

• Russell Wilson has a league-best 7.7 completion percentage above expectation, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. That’s 1.6 percentage points above any other quarterback in the league. (This stat compares a quarterback’s actual completion percentage to his expected completion percentage, the latter of which is determined using the completion probability of each throw.)

• Russell Wilson has a league-high 143.0 passer rating on throws targeted 20-plus yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus. He has completed 13 of 22 such passes for a league-high eight touchdowns and no interceptions.

‘LET RUSS COOK’ TRACKER

• The Seahawks have passed on 60.9% of their offensive plays this season, which is the 11th-highest rate in the league, according to Sharp Football Stats. That’s a significant increase from their 54.3% pass rate last season, which ranked near the bottom of the league at 27th. (Note: Sharp Football Stats defines passing plays as plays in which a player either attempts a pass or is sacked.)

• The contrast is even more profound early in games, with the Seahawks sporting a league-high 63.8% pass rate in the first halves of contests this season. That’s up from Seattle’s 56% first-half pass rate last year, which ranked 27th.

• The Seahawks also have thrown considerably more often on first downs, especially early in games. Seattle has a league-high 62.5% pass rate on first downs in the first half this season. That’s up from a 47.6% pass rate in such situations last year, which ranked 19th.

METCALF’S RISE TO STARDOM

• DK Metcalf is among the league’s top receivers in several statistical categories. The second-year wideout is first in yards per catch (22.5), second in receiving yards per game (99.2) and fourth in receiving yards per target (12.7). He also is tied for third in touchdown receptions (five), despite playing one fewer game than the other two receivers ahead of him (Adam Thielen and Mike Evans).

• DK Metcalf has surpassed 90 yards receiving in all five games this season and has caught at least one touchdown pass in four of the five games.

• Among all receivers in NFL history through their first 21 career regular-season games, DK Metcalf is 25th in receiving yards (1,396) and tied for 19th in touchdown receptions (12), according to Stathead.com. Metcalf also is first and second in those categories, respectively, among all receivers in Seattle franchise history through their first 21 career regular-season games.

• DK Metcalf (496) and Tyler Lockett (342) are both on pace to finish the regular season with more than 1,000 receiving yards. The only time in franchise history that Seattle has had two 1,000-yard receivers was in 1995, when both Joey Galloway and Brian Blades accomplished the feat.

OFFENSIVE LINE IMPROVEMENT

• The Seahawks are ranked 12th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-block grading. Since Russell Wilson took over at quarterback in 2012, Seattle has never finished the season above 18th in that metric. And in five of the previous seven seasons — including last year — the Seahawks ranked a dismal 30th or worse.

• The Seahawks are ranked fourth in Pro Football Focus’ run-block grading. Seattle hasn’t finished in the top half of the league in that metric since 2014, when it finished 13th.

• Duane Brown is ranked seventh out of 61 offensive tackles in Pro Football Focus grading, among those with a minimum of 200 total snaps. The veteran left tackle is ranked 11th in pass-blocking and 13th in run-blocking.

• Damien Lewis is tied for 10th out of 62 offensive guards in Pro Football Focus grading, among those with a minimum of 200 total snaps. The rookie third-round draft pick out of LSU is ranked fourth in run-blocking, but is 53rd in pass-blocking.

• Mike Iupati is ranked 15th out of 62 offensive guards in Pro Football Focus grading, among those with a minimum of 200 total snaps. The veteran left guard is ranked 14th in pass-blocking and 17th in run-blocking.

DEFENSIVE WOES

• The Seahawks have allowed 370.4 passing yards per game, which is the most in NFL history through the first five games of a season.

• The Seahawks have allowed 471.2 total yards per game, which is the second-most in NFL history through the first five games of a season, trailing only the 1950 Baltimore Colts.

• The Seahawks are tied for 28th in the league in both yards allowed per play (6.2) and net passing yards allowed per attempt (7.5).

• The Seahawks have allowed 27.0 points per game, which is tied for 18th in the league. If Seattle’s defense continues allowing points at this rate, it’d be the worst mark in franchise history since the team’s inaugural 1976 season, when the Seahawks yielded 30.6 points per game.

• The Seahawks rank 26th in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent. The only Super Bowl champion to finish worse than 21st in defensive DVOA was the 2006 Indianapolis Colts. The 2006 Colts finished No. 1 in offensive DVOA and No. 26 in defensive DVOA, which mirrors Seattle’s current rankings in both categories. (Note: DVOA’s database goes back through the 1985 season.)

THE STRUGGLING PASS RUSH

• The Seahawks have just seven sacks from defensive linemen this season. Their other two sacks came from star safety Jamal Adams, who has missed Seattle’s last two games with an injury.

• The Seahawks have created pressure (either a quarterback hurry, knockdown or sack) on 21.4% of quarterback dropbacks, according to Pro Football Reference. That ranks 22nd in the league.

• The Seahawks rank 28th in Pro Football Focus’ pass rush grading.

• The Seahawks have zero players ranked in the top 90 of Pro Football Focus’ pass rush productivity rating, among all defenders in the league with at least 50 pass-rush snaps. The rating measures pressure created on a per-snap basis, weighted toward sacks.

SOME POSITIVES ON DEFENSE

• The Seahawks’ defense has forced 10 turnovers this season (seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries), which is tied for fourth in the league. Seattle’s 2.0 takeaways per game is tied for first with the Patriots and Browns. The Seahawks have forced at least one turnover in every contest, including multiple turnovers in four of their five games.

• The Seahawks have allowed 3.9 yards per carry, which ranks seventh in the league. Seattle ranks ninth in Football Outsiders’ run defense DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent.

• After surrendering at least 6.5 yards per play in each of their first three games, the Seahawks allowed 6.1 against Miami and 5.4 against Minnesota. And after yielding at least 7.8 yards per pass attempt in each of their first three contests, the Seahawks allowed 6.8 against Miami and 5.9 against Minnesota.

• The Seahawks’ defense got burned for seven plays of 30-plus yards over its first three games, including four such plays against the Cowboys. But over its last two games, Seattle hasn’t allowed any gains of more than 26 yards.

• The Seahawks’ ability to minimize big plays in the last two games coincided with a significant reduction in blitzing. Seattle blitzed on 37.5% of opponent dropbacks over its first three games, but on just 18.2% of dropbacks over its last two games.

THE LEAGUE’S TOP LINEBACKER DUO

• The Seahawks have two of the top seven linebackers in the league, according to Pro Football Focus grading. K.J. Wright is ranked second and Bobby Wagner is seventh.

• Among all defenders with at least 200 total snaps, K.J. Wright is ranked 15th and Bobby Wagner is ranked 26th in Pro Football Focus grading. The only other Seattle defender in the top 100 is Jamal Adams (98th), who has missed the last two games with an injury.

• K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner each have three pass breakups, which ties them with two others for the league lead among all linebackers. Wright is one of just two linebackers with three pass breakups and an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS HAVE BEEN SPECIAL

• The Seahawks are ranked fourth in Football Outsiders’ special teams DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent. Seattle has finished 20th or worse in that metric each of the previous three seasons.

• Michael Dickson has averaged 49.6 yards per punt, which ranks fourth in the league. The third-year punter also has a league-high 17 punts inside the 20-yard line.

• The Seahawks’ offense has been so efficient in the red zone that Jason Myers has attempted just two field goals all season. But he’s made both, including a 55-yarder against Miami. Myers also is a perfect 21-of-21 on extra points and ranks eighth in the league with a 73.3% touchback rate on kickoffs.

THE MOST SURPRISING CONTRIBUTOR

• Ryan Neal, a safety who was promoted from Seattle’s practice squad just one day before making his first career defensive appearance in Week 3, made the game-sealing interception in the closing seconds against Dallas and intercepted another pass the following week on the opening series against Miami. With those two picks, Neal has more interceptions this season than both the Cowboys and Texans, whose defenses have just one apiece. Neal is one of just 23 players in the league who have intercepted multiple passes this season.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Seattle’s three NFC West division rivals are a combined 11-7 and have an average 10.7 ranking in Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings, which calculate a team’s success on every play based on situation and opponent. The 10 non-divisional opponents on Seattle’s schedule are a combined 16-42, with an average 23.8 DVOA ranking.

• The five opponents Seattle has faced thus far are a combined 9-20, with an average 19.8 DVOA ranking. Miami has the best record (3-3) and DVOA ranking (11th) of those five teams.

• Seattle’s next five opponents (Arizona, San Francisco, Buffalo, the Rams and Arizona) are a combined 19-11, with a 12.2 average DVOA ranking.

• After that, Seattle has a four-game stretch against four of the six worst teams in the DVOA rankings. Those four opponents (Philadelphia, the Giants, the Jets and Washington) are a combined 3-20, with a 30.0 average DVOA ranking. The Seahawks then close the regular season against the Rams and 49ers.

SUPER BOWL ODDS

• According to FiveThirtyEight’s simulations, the Seahawks are projected to finish 12-4. They have a 94% chance to reach the playoffs and a 68% chance to win the NFC West. They have a 42% chance to earn the NFC’s top seed and lone first-round bye, with the next-closest competitor being Chicago at 15%. And the Seahawks have a 12% chance to win the Super Bowl, trailing only defending champion Kansas City at 19%.