Closing Thoughts: Seahawks Atone For 2018 Playoff Loss in Win Over Eagles

Russell Wilson was only asked to throw three more times than in last year's playoff loss, but an altered approach allowed the franchise quarterback to shine in a wild card win over Philadelphia.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll kept his word this year, sort of.

In the wake of last year’s aggravating loss to Dallas in the wild card round, Carroll admitted that perhaps his conservative approach against the Cowboys held back his team, and specifically his quarterback, costing them a playoff win. He vowed that he and his staff would evaluate their approach going forward, and even pointed out that they stuck to the run a bit too much for his liking in 2018 and preferred a run-pass mix closer to what it was during the teams two Super Bowl runs in 2013 and 2014.

Sunday in Philadelphia the numbers were about the same, but the approach was just different enough to secure a 17-9 victory over the Eagles. As a result, Seattle moves on to face Green Bay at Lambeau Field in this weekend’s divisional round.

First, let’s talk numbers. Last year in Dallas, quarterback Russell Wilson completed 18 of 27 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys. The bulk of the criticism from fans and the media centered on the mere 27 attempts despite the fact the team couldn’t get anything going at all on the ground, averaging just three yards per rush.

Yesterday in Philly, Wilson again completed just 18 passes on 30 attempts against the Eagles. Not a huge difference, right?

Wrong.

Wilson’s 325 total passing yards, including 160 yards to rookie sensation DK Metcalf, spoke to a significantly different approach from Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. It was how Wilson used his 30 attempts that made the difference in this game.

There were more first down passes and a wider variety of throws. In fact, Wilson may have used his available arsenal of receivers better than at any other time this year. Spreading the ball around to all of his backs and receivers, Wilson was consistent and accurate, and benefited from surprisingly effective pass protection behind his injury-riddled offensive line.

But the biggest change from last year to Sunday was the Seahawks aggressive approach. Just when you thought Carroll would go all Carroll-like and clamp down on the game plan, try to milk the clock, and hope to steal a road playoff win against an equally injury-depleted Eagles team forced to play most of the game without quarterback Carson Wentz, he took the gloves off and let Wilson do his thing.

On the Seahawks opening drive of the second half, Wilson came out throwing. A five-play drive featured four passes, the final one being a 53-yard bomb to Metcalf for a game-altering touchdown.

Then, while nursing an eight-point lead with 1:56 remaining, I’m sure many Seahawk fans were cursing under their breath as Schottenheimer called two straight running plays. The net result was zero yards and only a few seconds expired as the Eagles used all of their saved timeouts to stop the clock.

We’ve seen this movie before, right? Carroll gets too conservative at end of game, Seahawks have to punt it away and the opponent gets one more chance at a game-tying final drive to send the game into overtime?

Not this time. Instead, it was Wilson firing yet another long pass to Metcalf, who hauled in the 36-yarder for a first down, allowing Seattle to run out the clock and secure the win.

The improved approach on offense was necessary, given Seattle’s complete inability to run the football against the Eagles. Travis Homer and Marshawn Lynch combined for just 19 yards rushing. Wilson himself was much more effective, picking up 45 yards on nine carries himself.

The most stark contrast between this win and the loss in Dallas last year could be seen on third down. Seattle converted eight out of 15 third down attempts Sunday compared to just two of 13 in the loss to the Cowboys.

Last year it was run-run-pass. This time, play calling was less predictable and much better as a result.

This was an encouraging sign. Against a Philadelphia defense that was at or near the top of the league in just about every defensive category while playing at home this year, Seattle won by putting the onus on its best player and Wilson responded. Meanwhile, the defense was just good enough - and really rose to the occasion with some key stops in the red zone and on third and fourth downs - another stark contrast to the Dallas loss when missed tackles were the culprit on Dak Prescott's eventual game-clinching touchdown run a year ago. 

Six weeks ago, after the Monday Night Football win against the 49ers, I thought this was a team capable of making a Super Bowl run. Devastating injuries to so many key players have clouded the picture since then, but now the Seahawks are one of only eight teams remaining. Winning at Lambeau Field in January is always a tall task, but as we’ve seen so many times from this team, you can never count them out.

Especially if they continue to learn from their sins of the past.