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The Seahawks played what Pete Carroll correctly called, in my view, their 'most complete' game this season and beat the Falcons 33-10 to move to 9-1. The Falcons move to 2-7 on the year and have been foundering amidst major injuries to key players and that's surely something that has to be taken into account. However, if anyone is going to say Seattle took advantage of a injury-depleted Falcons team, I think it's worth pointing out that Seattle administered this authoritative blowout without starting Pro Bowl LT Russell Okung, All Pro C Max Unger, starting RT Breno Giacomini, starting WR Sidney Rice, and starting DE Red Bryant. Starting CB Brandon Browner left early in the game and oh, Percy Harvin is still due back very soon. Depth is key in the NFL, and Seattle's depth was fully apparent in this one.
- Seattle finished with 490 yards of offense; 211 yards rushing and 279 through the air, and went 9-15 on third downs (60%). All in all, Seattle's best game offensively this year, and a cobbled together and rotating group of offensive linemen managed to protect Wilson better than the previous several games - it showed. Wilson's stat line was 19-of-26 (73%) for 287 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. That's 11.0 yards per attempt, for those keeping track at home.
- Marshawn Lynch rushed 24 times for 145 yards, at 6.0 YPC. Remember when Seattle's run game disappeared against the Rams? Yeah, well, it's back. I had had the thought at the time that Seattle would see that game as a wakeup call of sorts - similar to what the Niners went through early in the year as they got away from their identity - and had guessed that we could look back at that game as a turning point of sorts. Too early to call it, but it's looking good thus far.
The Niners had an identity crisis early in the year but have gotten back to their bread & butter - beating up on teams with the run.
— Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) October 30, 2013
I wonder if Seattle will look back at this Rams game & have a similar reaction. Seattle handed off to RBs 12 times on Monday
— Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) October 30, 2013
The Hawks finished with 5.0 YPC on 42 total rushes, for 5.0 YPC in Atlanta after going for 198 yards on 35 carries against the Bucs - 5.7 YPC - and that was in a game that they were behind almost the entire time.
This re-dedication to the run was exemplified Seattle's third/fourth quarter scoring drive that put Seattle up 33-10. On that drive, Seattle went 80 yards on 8 plays before Marshawn Lynch punched it in behind a Michael Robinson lead block.
10 of those plays were runs, including first, second, and third down once Seattle had a first and goal from the 8 yard line.
- The loss of Sidney Rice seems to be a distant memory as Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin, and particularly Golden Tate have emerged as a potent trio of receiving options. Tate is becoming a star right before our eyes, and led the way with 106 yards on 6 catches, including a toe-touch one-handed grab in the corner of the endzone. Tate added 55 yards on punt returns.
- Steven Hauschka remains a very solid, dependable kicking option for the Hawks. He stoically put four field goals through the uprights, including a 53-yarder.
- Seattle got sacks from Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, and had a few others negated by roughing penalties. The pass rush harassed Matt Ryan all day but had some issues finishing. Still, Ryan finished 23 of 36 for 172 yards passing with one touchdown. Overall a solid performance by the defense, and they only surrendered 10 points.
- Steven Jackson finished with 11 yards rushing on 9 carries. The Falcons had 16 carries for 64 yards. Evidently the Seahawks concentrated on their run defense this week after giving up more than 200 yards in each of the two weeks prior.
More soon.
Injuries - Brandon Browner (groin) and Tony McDaniel (hamstring) both left the game with injuries. The severity of both are unknown, but I'll give my very amateur opinion on Browner's - he looked very gimpy and could barely walk off the field. This doesn't bode well - and groin injuries can be very slow healing and chronic. There's a chance he could miss a significant amount of time.
Read more from Field Gulls:
Xs & Os: Breaking down schematics & strategy
The Numbers Game: Analysis of statistics & the salary cap
The Offseason: News & notes on the Seahawks' offseason
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