Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a 23-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams, it’s glaringly obvious that theSeattle Seahawks are in need of more production from the running back position. Even with the absence of Marshawn Lynch for eight games so far this season, Seattle was able to make up for the loss in production with rookie running back Thomas Rawls, who was putting together a season in which he is still ranked 12th in the league in rushing yards, despite having only started seven games.
Rawls went down in Week 14 with a broken ankle, and the drop in production was apparent, but seemed sustainable until Lynch was able to return, as the combination of Christine Michael and Bryce Brown combined for 127 yards on 25 carries for a yards-per-carry average over five, with Derrick Coleman adding 10 yards on five carries of his own. This success did come against one of the worst rushing defenses in football in the Cleveland Browns, and the hope that Seattle could possibly ride that platoon of backs slowly dwindled as they faced off against the Rams last week.
The Rams are not the greatest team against the run either, ranking 20th in the league in rushing yards allowed, but are tied for third in fewest rushing touchdowns given up and tied for 12th in yards allowed per carry. The Rams also have one of the toughest defensive fronts in football and play Seattle tough rather consistently.
Seattle was only able to muster 60 yards on the ground against the Rams, with Brown and Michael only combining for 15 yards on 13 carries, averaging just over one yard per attempt. The only real production they were able to come up with on the ground was through Russell Wilson, who gained 39 yards on six carries. The lack of production in their ground attack forced Seattle to become one-dimensional, running the ball 22 times compared to 41 passing attempts — a ratio that is rarely seen from the Seahawks’ offense, even throughout Wilson’s stellar last month.
If Seattle hopes to make a run for their third straight Super Bowl appearance, they would eventually have to face off against at least one of the league’s best rushing defenses in the Arizona Cardinals or the Carolina Panthers, who are both ranked in the top five at stopping the run; the problem being both are ranked in the top 10 in passing defense, as well. Meaning Seattle cannot afford to be one-dimensional in any aspect against these teams in the playoffs.
A bright spot is that head coach Pete Carroll stated Lynch might be able to return to practice before their matchup against the Cardinals to end the regular season, depending on how his workouts go at the beginning of the week. This would be a major boost for Seattle, especially if they are able to get a decent amount of production from him. Lynch has not been able to play since Nov. 15 and will likely have to get his legs under him, even with the amount of experience he has. If Lynch is able to return, Brown or Michael could both be valuable backup options for the Seahawks when needed.
One thing is for sure — Seattle will have to receive more production from their ground attack as the postseason rapidly approaches. If they are able to do that, their offense can continue to be as scary as it was prior to its lapses last week.
