Letting Russ cook is allowing Seahawks to soar

Throughout the 2019 season the Seattle Seahawks were a team that defied the odds. Many fans and observers alike continually pointed to the fact that the Hawks kept winning close game after close game, finishing with a 10-2 record in one score games on their way to an 11-5 record. The team finished the regular season having scored just seven more points than they allowed, and played the majority of snaps during 2019 while behind on the scoreboard.

The fact that the Seahawks played 51.1% of their 2019 regular season snaps while losing is certainly interesting, and puts into perspective exactly how lucky they were to finish with double digits wins. The luck, of course, ran out against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round, with the 28-23 defeat beginning the offseason earlier than fans hoped.

The offseason, then, was a letdown for many fans. The Hawks did not keep Jadeveon Clowney, who after months of speculation finally signed with the Tennessee Titans on the eve of the season. That added to the team missing out on Everson Griffen, Clay Matthews and a handful of other potential free agent pass rush additions for whom many fans clamored.

However, in spite of what appears to many to be a failure of the Seahawks to fully address the pass rush during the offseason, it hasn’t hindered the ability of the Hawks to win games on the field, at least so far this season. Specifically, while as noted above, Seattle played the majority of its snaps in the first three quarters from behind during 2019, so far in 2020 the story has been quite different. To get right to the point, the Seahawks are near the top of the league in terms of average winning percentage entering the fourth quarter.

So, some fans may not like the way the Seahawks are steamrolling opponents with a powerful air attack led by Russell Wilson distributing the ball to Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Greg Olsen and David Moore, but the results so far are easy to see. The Hawks have the best record in the NFC following the first ever 5-0 start in franchise history, and will come out of the bye looking to increase the size of the its lead in the NFC West as they take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.