All signs point to dynamic duo in the Seahawks backfield

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SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 15: Rashaad Penny #20 of the Seattle Seahawks runs the ball past Blake Martinez #50 of the Green Bay Packers in the first half at CenturyLink Field on November 15, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

As the running game goes, so go the Seahawks

So, running is good. In Seattle’s 10 wins, Russell Wilson passed for 1,906 yards, just under 191 per game. In their six losses, he rang up 1,187 yards, just under 198 yards per game. There isn’t much correlation between his passing yards and victory, is there? To look at the best-case scenario, I’ll toss out his 60-yard performance in the win against the Vikings. Wilson actually gained one more yard on the ground in that game; crazy. Anyway, removing that anomaly, Wilson averaged 205 yards passing per win. Still, the rushing yardage sets the tone for Seattle far more than the yards through the air.

Yeah, I know what’s coming. You’re recalling the great words of Dwayne Johnson as you read this, practically shouting, “It doesn’t matter what you think!” In this case, you’re right, because it doesn’t matter if Wilson throws for 60 yards or 452 yards, as long as he wins. And that’s precisely the point.

It doesn’t matter if Wilson throws for 200 or 300 yards. What matters is that he doesn’t turn the ball over and that he throws touchdowns. Last year was Wilson’s career-best in that department. Not only were those 35 scoring tosses his best total (by one), but his touchdown percentage was easily his best ever. His previous best percentage was 7.0 percent, in 2015. Last year, he found the end zone on 8.2 percent of his attempts. Not only that, but his touchdown to interception ratio was also a career-best, 5.0 scores to picks.

All of which brings me back to Carson and Penny. No, I didn’t forget them. Why did Wilson enjoy so much success last year in the stat that matters most? Defenses had to respect the run. One reason that Wilson had a perfect passer rating when he targeted the phenomenal Tyler Lockett was the threat of the Seahawks running attack. Carson was often bashing the opponent, while Penny got in his licks slashing through opposing defenses. As I wrote earlier, there’s good reason to expect much more of this in 2019.

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