Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns and Chris Carson continued to roll in the Seahawks' win. Here are our observations from Detroit.
The Seahawks are rolling.
Pete Carroll’s team is officially 4-3, having just secured its two most emphatic victories of the season against the Lions and Raiders.
Here are three impressions from Seattle’s 28-14 victory at Detroit.
Russell Wilson spreads the love
What more could you possibly want from Russell Wilson? The Seahawks’ veteran quarterback completed 10 consecutive passes to kick off Sunday’s game, the most in his distinguished career. In all, he completed 14 of 17 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Moreover, those three touchdown tosses went to three different receivers — Tyler Lockett, David Moore and tight end Ed Dickson.
Those three, by the way, have been particularly impressive. Lockett — who received a contract extension this offseason — has hauled in six touchdowns in his team’s seven games. And after being targeted just once and failing to catch a pass in the first three games this season, Moore — a 2017 seventh-round pick — has four touchdowns in his last three games, all but replacing veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
After wasting away on the non-football injury list for the first six games this season, Dickson made a memorable Seahawks debut on Sunday, catching a pair of passes for 54 yards and a score.
But the common denominator is Wilson (who also ran for 15 yards). In his last five games, Wilson has thrown 11 touchdown passes with just one interception. That’s the work of a franchise quarterback.
Chris Carson continues to roll
Is it possible the Seahawks currently have the NFL’s premier running game? They certainly have one of the top young running backs in the game. Carson — a 5-foot-11, 222-pound second-year runner — piled up 25 carries for 105 yards and a 7-yard touchdown on Sunday. He also added a pair of catches for 19 yards.
Carson — who missed the majority of his rookie season with a broken leg — has piled up three 100-yard rushing games already in 2018.
The Seahawks entered the game ranked seventh in the NFL in rushing (127.8 yards per game) and 14th in yards per carry (4.3). They added 176 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry on Sunday.
Seahawks rushing defense steps up
The Lions rushed for an astronomical 248 yards and 7.1 yards per carry in a win over the Miami Dolphins last weekend. Their impressive rookie running back, Kerryon Johnson, contributed 158 rushing yards and 8.3 yards per carry.
It would be reasonable to assume, then, that Johnson and Co. would have similar success against a Seahawks defense that entered the game ranked 24th in the NFL in rushing defense (120.7 yards per game) and 25th in opponent yards per carry (4.7).
That was not the case.
In the Seahawks’ win over the Lions, Detroit rushed just 13 total times for 34 yards, for an average of 2.6 yards per rush. Johnson carried eight times for 22 yards.
Of course, the Lions’ low rush totals were also due to the fact that the Seahawks offense piled up early points. Seattle also forced and recovered two fumbles and Justin Coleman nabbed a late interception in the win.