Thomas Rawls has run the ball well since his return, but the Seahawks are still having trouble running the ball consistently.
Quarterback Russell Wilson mostly responded from one of the worst games of his career by throwing for 229 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on a poor decision late in the fourth quarter. But the Seahawks struggled to run the ball against the Rams, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.
That number is inflated because of the 26-yard run by punter Ryan in the fourth quarter. Otherwise the Seahawks didn’t do much on the ground.
The Seahawks have run the ball better with running back Thomas Rawls back in the lineup, but they haven’t run it consistently. Last week against Green Bay, Rawls averaged 5.6 yards per carry but the Seahawks had to go away from running the ball after falling into a deep hole. Before that, the Seahawks went away from the run game against Tampa Bay, and even coach Pete Carroll later conceded that was a mistake.
The point is that the Seahawks still haven’t established a consistent and successful rushing attack. The times they run it well. It seems like they don’t run it often enough, for whatever reason. And then sometimes like Thursday, they just can’t run it effectively.
Of all the differences between this year’s offense and the offenses of the past few years, I think that’s the most significant and the most troubling.