But in Seattle’s 26-6 romp of the Detroit Lions Saturday night, Rawls continued to stamp out his own identity by doing something his predecessor had never done: rush for more than 160 yards in a single playoff game. Assuming they make the kick, it would’ve been 6-6 very late in the game.
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Seattle running back and MI native Thomas Rawls torched the Lions for 161 yards and one touchdown.
OK, now raise your hand if you predicted that Paul Richardson would deliver the catch of the year. But it definitely appears that Richardson had a good hold on Wilson’s facemask, which went uncalled. In the first half against the Lions, due mostly to the effort of Rawls, Seattle was able to achieve that. The Seahawks neared the red zone as the two minute warning came, but facing fourth down again, opted for a field goal and Hauschka made it a 10-point lead for Seattle. The next Seahawks’ play was wiped out by an illegal shift, but not before Tavon Wilson rang Jimmy Graham’s bell.
The Seahawks’ offense has been inconsistent this season, but Carroll wants to have some kind of balance.
Replays show that Richardson could have been penalised for a face mask penalty, but it was missed.
He nearly single-handedly set up Seattle’s offense for its first score of the game midway through the second quarter. And somehow, Seattle was thoroughly unimpressive in victory, looking far more like the team that was down 31-7 to Carolina in last year’s playoffs rather than the one that went to back-to-back Super Bowls in the two years before. That’s a total of 175, or two fewer rushing yards than they posted Saturday vs. Detroit.
The Lions finished the season on a four-game losing streak and did not beat a team that made the playoffs all year.
Another Matt Prater field goal early on in the third was all the Lions managed, as Stafford finished with the worst playoff appearance of his career (18 of 32 passing, 205 yards).
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Thanks to Detroit’s inconsistency, the Seahawks are moving on to a divisional date with the Atlanta Falcons, who hold the upper hand after sneaking out a 26-24 win in Seattle on October 16.
