Seahawks' Run Game Finally Takes Flight vs. Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks finally got the ground game going in their biggest game of the season so far.

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) runs for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

For most of the season, the Seattle Seahawks' run game has been one of the team's biggest flaws, and the lack of balance has had a direct negative impact on the offense as a whole.

Based solely on Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, though, one would not be able to tell that was the case.

In stark contrast to the rest of the season, Seattle's run game was a genuine asset in arguably its biggest game of the season. The Seahawks rushed for a season-high 176 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry, adding a dimension to the offense that has been sorely lacking all year.

“One, we had a great plan. Hats off to the offensive line, I thought they blocked their tails off," head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame. "I think what you're seeing is just continual progress on all of our processes and our guys getting on the same page. This is something that we need to build off of moving forward, but the guys did a great job.”

Perhaps the most important part of this performance is the fact that the Seahawks did it all without starting running back Kenneth Walker III, who missed the game due to a calf/ankle injury.

Instead, it was Zach Charbonnet who stole the show, rushing for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 59 receiving yards. He also had a 51-yard touchdown rush after Seattle's previous season-long rush was just 28 yards.

“Obviously, the next step moving forward is going to be continuing to build upon this," Charbonnet said. "Going into this week, taking it one day, one game at a time. We will definitely continue to get on the details and just build from here.”

As Macdonald said, the offensive line also deserves credit for this performance. The unit has been another notable weakness throughout the season, but more than held its own in both the run blocking and pass protection.

Since their previous season high of 158 rushing yards in Week 1, the Seahawks averaged 83.5 rush yards per game. Charbonnet and Seattle flipped that narrative in Week 14.

It just goes to show that this was arguably Seattle's most complete game of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

"That's something that we've been really focusing on," Macdonald said. "Trying to really play complementary football, all three phases together. This is a really good football team [the Cardinals] and if you're not careful, they can squeeze the life out of you with how they possess the ball, create explosives, and tilt the field positions. Those are battles, games within the game that you have to win in order to beat a team like this, and our guys did that."

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