What was once at the beginning of the NFL regular season a one-dimensional offensive attack for the Seattle Seahawks has gradually transformed into a two-dimensional one now that Mike Macdonald and Klint Kubiak have opened up the runways for Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
Both Walker and Charbonnet have played significant roles within the Seahawks' offense game plans of late to close out the regular season, and you could argue that had they not had their roles expanded — Walker, especially — the Seahawks may not have closed the season out on top of the NFC.
With a zero-touchdown outing from Sam Darnold, Seattle had to rely on a combined 171 yards on the ground and 59 in the air from their pair of running backs, and it paid off massively with the Seahawks defeating their NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers, 13-3.
Now, the main priority going forward in Seattle is not to get away from what's working, and their rushing attack is working in all the right ways.
Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet have proved the Seahawks should have used them more all season long
Walker and Charbonnet's mid-to-late-season push eventually resulted in essentially some career-celebratory numbers for each. For Charbonnet, Seattle's No. 2 back, he did have a career year all around. His yards per season have increased in all three seasons he's been in the league, and this year was his best with 730 rushing yards and 12 overall touchdowns.
For Walker, his rookie season is still his best, but he has not rushed for over 1,000 yards after that year again until this year, where he finished with 1,027 yards (he tallied 1,050 in his rookie year). On top of that, his average yards per carry tied his rookie mark (4.6).
Through nine weeks of the season, Walker was not on his way to these numbers, and because of Darnold's amazing performances, Seattle was not using Walker all that much.
It's fair, considering how explosive the Seahawks' offense was without a strong run game to start the season. However, after their first nine games and a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold began to struggle and turn the ball over repeatedly, so Macdonald decided to go to Walker and run the ball more often. Suffice it to say, the decision has brought nothing but benefits to the offense.
When it's counted the most — the last three games of the season — and with the NFC on the line, Walker and Charbonnet have each posted a 100-yard game. Walker had his against the Rams in that incredible overtime win three weeks ago, and Charbonnet had his against the Carolina Panthers last weekend. Charbonnet has also reached the end zone four times in the past two games.
That stat further displays the Seahawks' newfound reliance on the run game, considering that Darnold has thrown just four touchdowns in Seattle's last four games, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has caught just one touchdown since the Seahawks beat the Atlanta Hawks five weeks ago, when he had two in that game.
The yards, touchdowns, and general offensive contributions coming from Seattle's run game are working well in their favor, but from a more technical standpoint, it's helped the Seahawks with the clock, which was very evident against the 49ers.
With the playoffs next up (after a much-deserved week off), the Seahawks will only do themselves a disservice if they move away from what's working. Right now, Walker and Charbonnet are what's working, and it could be a catalyst for a Super Bowl run.