Seattle Seahawks Steamroll San Francisco 49ers
Somehow, some way, the Seattle Seahawks were one point underdogs in this game. Heading into this critical Sunday Night Football match with their divisional arch rivals, the Seahawks were 9-0 against the spread in their last nine home games and 14-2 against the spread in their last 16 home games. The Birds have clearly got something going at CenturyLink Field, and their powers were on full display against the Niners last night in a 42-13 beat down that wasn’t even as close as that lofty score indicated.
Rookie quarterback sensation Russell Wilson has guided the Seahawks to score 150 points over the past three weeks, a mark tied for second in NFL history over that short span. Every year around this time, a team seems to get hot and ride that momentum straight through the playoffs; think of the New York Giants two Super Bowl runs, or the Packers sneaking in as a six-seed and winning it all in 2010. Seattle has all the makings for that kind of late-season success this year. “You look back at a couple of the past Super Bowl winners, they were wild cards who got hot,” Seattle linebacker Leroy Hill said. “I’m feeling a certain way. We’re hot right now.”
The Seahawks moved to 10-5 with the victory and clinched a wild card berth in the process. However, they’re not playing like a wild card team; Wilson tossed four touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the NFL, and flat out made them look slow and old as he scrambled out of their grasp play after play. Wilson only scrambled for 29 yards on six carries, but it felt like so much more as he eluded sacks time and again and converted them into positive plays. “He made guys look silly out there,” Seahawks defensive end Red Bryant said. “This is the National Football League. He’s a handful, and I’m glad I don’t have to play him.”
Wilson also completed 15 of 21 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns, and finished the day with a 115.3 passer rating. Wilson may have solidified his name in the Rookie of the Year discussion, too; since Week 2, he trails only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in total QBR across the league. His only incomplete pass in the first half of this game was a deflected screen pass that Patrick Willis intercepted.
It’s hard to overstate just how badly Seattle whooped up on the Niners. Marshawn Lynch scored twice, quickly, in the first quarter, and early in the second defensive back Richard Sherman blocked a field goal and returned it the distance. Just like that, the Seahawks were up 21-0 and never looked back.
“We beat some pretty good teams and there’s no way we thought we were going to beat this team like this. They are a great team. They showed that last week on Sunday night football,” Sherman said. “They are an amazing team with a lot of weapons on offense, a great defense so it was a blessing that we were able to get this done, but we expect a different result if we play them again.”
The Seahawks were an astounding 11 of 13 on third down and have scored 23 touchdowns on their last 33 red zone possessions. If they keep playing like this, there isn’t a team in the NFL that can stop them, and it starts with Russell Wilson, whose 25 touchdown throws is only one shy of Peyton Manning’s rookie quarterback record.
“It’s just the way we’re playing right now,” Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor said. “I guess the world is just seeing it now. We’re still not going to get any respect just because of where we are and who we are, but who cares?”
The NFL is officially on notice. The Seahawks are for real, and only getting realer by the week.
