The person in charge of updating the NFL record book is going to have a busy week thanks to the Seahawks' 50-17 win over Buffalo on Sunday, which put Seattle in some elite scoring company.
The win over the Bills, combined with Seattle's 58-0 Week 14 win over Arizona makes the Seahawks the first team since the 1950 New York Giants to score 50-plus points in consecutive games. To put that in perspective, 61-year-old coach Pete Carroll wasn't even born the last time it happened.
The Seahawks' 108 combined points over the past two weeks is tied for the third-highest total in NFL history over a two-week span. Seattle is tied with New England, which scored a combined 108 points in consecutive wins over Indianapolis (59-24) and the Jets (49-19) earlier this season. Before 2012, no team had scored over 108 points in consecutive games since 1950, when the Los Angeles Rams set the all-time record with 135 points in consecutive games.
You want more? The Seahawks combined winning margin of 91 points over the Cardinals and Bills is the biggest combined winning margin over two weeks since the Bears beat the Chicago Cardinals (53-7) and Lions (49-0) by a combined 95 points in 1941.
Enough record talk though, let's get to the grades -- where there will be more record talk:
Doug Baldwin celebrates with Russell Wilson after one of Wilson's three rushing touchdowns on Sunday. (US Presswire) |
Offense: A+
It was hard to tell if Sunday's win over Buffalo was a game or just one big Russell Wilson highlight film. Wilson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another -- all in the first half -- and didn't throw an incomplete pass until the second quarter. If three rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown seem like a lot for a first half, that's because it is. With his four touchdown performance, Wilson became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for three touchdowns and pass for a touchdown in an opening half. Wilson's three rushing touchdowns were the most by a quarterback in a half since Daunte Culpepper did it with the Vikings in 2000. Wilson's record-setting performance slightly overshadowed Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries (11.3 ypc). Previous game's grade: A-
Defense: A
The defense misses out on the A+ because Buffalo scored 10 points in the final 1:10 of the first half -- hey, we grade hard here -- but other than that, the Seahawks defense did little wrong. DE Chris Clemons tallied 2.5 of the team's 3 sacks to give him 11.5 on the season, marking Clemons' third season in a row with double-digit sacks. Clemons also forced a Ryan Fitzpatrick fumble in the third quarter that DE Bruce Irvin almost turned into a touchdown. Irvin stumbled his way down field before being tackled by Bills WR T.J. Graham. Later in the third quarter, S Earl Thomas did what Irvin couldn't do: score a touchdown. Thomas picked off Fitzpatrick and zig-zagged his way across the field for a 57-yard pick-6. Don't forget, the Seahawks did all of this without suspended starting CB Brandon Browner and injured defensive backs Marcus Trufant and Walter Thurmond. Previous game's grade: A+
Special teams: A-
A fake punt up 30? Some might consider that running up the score; I consider it amazing coaching. On fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter, FB Michael Robinson took an inside handoff from upback Chris Maragos and rumbled 29-yards for the first down. The Seahawks got a 23-yard field goal on the drive, giving them 50 points for the game. The special teams wasn't perfect though. Kicker Steven Hauschka had an extra point blocked in the third quarter, marking the second time this season the Seahawks have had a PAT blocked. Before 2012, the Seahawks hadn't missed or had an extra point blocked since 2005. Hauschka went 3 for 3 on field goals though. There was another special teams snafu in the third quarter when Leon Washington's 86-yard punt return for a touchdown was called back because of a penalty. The Seahawks didn't really need the points, but they're always nice to have. Previous game's grade: A
Coaching: A
The coaching staff is taking the zone-read option to another level. According to ESPN Stats, the Seahawks ran the zone-read 11 times against Buffalo for 119 yards and two touchdowns. On non-zone-read plays, Seattle ran the ball 12 times for only 57 yards and a touchdown. Besides the zone-read, Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell continued to get creative with the playbook. The Seahawks called a flea-flicker in the second quarter that turned into 44-yard completion from Wilson to Golden Tate. And then of course, there was the fake punt. Ethical or not, it worked and now the 49ers have to plan for it next week. Previous game's grade: A
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Seahawks blogger John Breech follow@JohnBreech and @CBSSeahawks.