Mike Davis back for the Seahawks, which should be just good enough

The running back carousel continues for the Seahawks as Mike Davis is expected to return to the lineup Sunday night. Set your hopes on medium.

Ordinarily I’d be thrilled to see Mike Davis in the Seahawks backfield. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch. Ordinarily, I’d be puzzled, and wondering why the guy they relegated to the practice squad after leading all preseason rushers was playing at all. But if you pay too much attention to the preseason you’d think that Russell Wilson can’t run at all. Six carries for ten yards; what a slouch!

But this hasn’t been an ordinary season at all for Seattle. Their returning – but often injured – studs Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise have done little (125 yards) and next to nothing (23 yards) so far. I’m not dogging them. It’s hard to play your best when you’re playing hurt all the time. One of their splashiest off-season signings has been a bellyflop. Sadly, Eddie Lacy has only managed 2.6 yards per carry this season. Yes, it’s partly on the offensive line. But there’s still a chance Seattle will see their seventh round draft pick return to action before the season is over. Chris Carson might still lead all Seahawks running backs in yardage when he gets back, even though both Rawls and Lacy have played in twice as many games.

Here’s hoping Mike Davis is the guy who passes him. Why? Because Davis is the one back other than Carson who has shown any consistent explosion and drive. In case you forgot:

Yes, that’s what the Seahawks need in their backfield. I know Thomas Rawls has done it, and hopefully he can do it again, but he hasn’t this year. Whether it’s because he’s still not really 100 percent, or because as Tom Cable said, he’s just trying too damn hard, he isn’t getting it done. For now, it’s up to Mike Davis.

More from 12th Man Rising

• 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
• Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency 
• Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
• 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
• 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson

Seahawks shouldn’t expect miracles this Sunday, though

Well, from Russell Wilson, of course. I mean don’t expect a 100 yard game from Davis. Not against the Philadelphia Eagles. They have the NFL’s best rush defense, and are giving up just 65 yards rushing per game. That’s not great when you have the league’s 20th best rushing offense. I know your’e shocked. How could the Seahawks be that high. right? Those yards include Russell Wilson’s contributions, of course. Without the MVP candidate, Seattle would have 731 yards on the ground. That would that easily be last in the league. The gap between the Seahawks running backs and the current last place team, the Cardinals, is the same as the gap between the Cardinals and the 29th worst team. In other words, the Seattle ground game has been less than good.

And Sunday night they face off against a team that just held the Chicago Bears to six yards rushing. Yes, six total, and they only made it into positive numbers on a Mitch Trubisky 11 yard scramble in the fourth quarter. No, the Bears aren’t good. They are the NFL’s eighth best rushing team though. And that’s after the Eagles snuffed them out. The Bears running backs had totaled 1,143 yards coming into that game. That’s 114.3 yards per game not including their quarterback. Through ten games, the Seahawks running backs managed 666 yards. Hey, they did it, not me. 67 yards per game against a team that gives up 65 against the league, and is getting better, is not a recipe for success.

Related Story: The key to beating the Eagles is right here

I don’t expect Mike Davis to have a great game. I do expect him to have a good enough game to establish the threat of the run. Seattle needs to feed Davis the ball just as they did against Atlanta. He showed he can be the man in just eight touches. In a full game, he can do more than enough to keep some pressure off Wilson, so DangerRuss can keep up his magic act.