With Russell Wilson banged up, can the Seahawks’ offense find its footing vs Saints?

The Seahawks’ game in New Orleans will be billed as a test of strengths.

It’s the size of Seattle’s biggest weakness that will be the most important measurement, though.

If the Seahawks can’t score against a Saints team that is giving up 32.5 points per game, most of any team in the league, then who will Seattle score against? If the Seahawks can’t run the ball against a New Orleans defense that has allowed a league-high 11 rushing touchdowns, when can you expect this ground game to get traction?

Those questions about the Seahawks’ offense are the biggest uncertainties in the trajectory of their season.

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Seattle’s defense is great. Not just good. Great. The unit was on the field for 90 snaps on Sunday night in Arizona, a game in which the Cardinals had the ball inside Seattle’s 30 on five different occasions, and the Seahawks didn’t yield a touchdown.

It’s the second time this season that Seattle’s defense has held the opponent without a touchdown. The Seahawks haven’t won either of those games. At this point, it’s not about the caliber of those opposing defenses but Seattle’s underlying inability to put up even a bare minimum of support when facing anything other than a poop-butt defense like the 49ers. Or the Jets. Or the Falcons.

It looked like the Seahawks’ offense had found its stride over the last three games, but then the Seahawks went to Arizona and their deficiencies were laid bare. Again.

Hard to tell what’s more concerning for the Seahawks at this point: a) Is it the injuries – plural – to quarterback Russell Wilson, or b) the uncertainty at left tackle? Wilson has one healthy appendage at this point, having suffered a sprained right ankle, a sprained left knee and now a sore throwing arm due to a strained pectoral muscle. At left tackle, the Seahawks are likely to be without Bradley Sowell, which leaves them preparing to start George Fant, a converted basketball player who is playing football for only the second season since the eighth grade.

And amidst all that uncertainty, the Seahawks need to show improvement.

After all, this is about the time of year that Seattle begins to find its footing. At least that has been the case in each of the past five seasons, and even as we critique the Seahawks’ offensive struggles, it’s important to put them in context. Seattle’s clunker in Arizona was about par for the course.

It happened in Wilson’s rookie season in 2012 when Seattle was held to six points during a Thursday night loss in San Francisco in Week 7. It happened the next season, too, during the best year in Seattle’s franchise history. The Seahawks beat St. Louis 14-9 on Monday night in Week 8 despite having only 135 yards of total offense in that game.

Remember last year’s game at Dallas? That was a Week-8 white-knuckler that Seattle won 13-12, so before we go and pronounce this a full-fledged emergency, it’s worth remembering that the Seahawks have tended to scuffle their way through the first half of the season on offense under Pete Carroll.

And every time, the Seahawks found their footing in the second half of the season, which is exactly what they must do now. Even with an injured quarterback. No, especially with an injured quarterback they must gain traction, which is why fullback Will Tukuafu was re-signed this week to supplant C.J. Spiller.

The Seahawks must get things going on the ground.

Seattle is averaging 82.7 yards rushing per game, which ranks 27th in the league. Only five teams are worse. The Seahawks are averaging 3.1 yards per carry, lower than every team other than Minnesota.

Some of that is because Wilson is not a threat to run. He has gained 33 yards on the ground total through six games, which is less than what he averaged in a single game last season. The fact that he’s Seattle’s second-leading rusher is just as telling.

And now the Seahawks head to New Orleans to face a Saints team that is once again known for its offense, averaging the third-most points in this league.

Three years ago, the Saints’ offense became Exhibit A for the strength of Seattle’s defense, the Seahawks holding New Orleans to a single touchdown on Monday night. It was a compelling piece of evidence that was like an opening argument in a case that concluded with an even more decisive verdict: the Seahawks’ first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Seattle’s defense is going to be tested Sunday. There’s no doubt about that. The Saints have scored 30 or more points in four of their six games this season.

But the most important measurement is not how many points the Seahawks allow, but how many they score. It’s not about Seattle’s offense carrying its weight but its ability to stay afloat against a team that is allowing the most points in the league in a city that is actually below sea level.

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