Carroll: Where Seahawks’ offense is at as they enter final 2 games

After a rough midseason stretch that saw them lose four in a row and five of six, the Seattle Seahawks have won two games in a row and get back over .500.

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The Hawks have just two games remaining this season and are currently holding the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC.

The first of Seattle’s two final games is this Sunday at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also 8-7 and fighting for a playoff berth.

During this week’s Pete Carroll Preview on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM, head coach Pete Carroll discussed the state of the Seahawks’ offense and also shared some quick thoughts on what challenges the Steelers provide.

Offensively, the Seahawks have come away with game-winning drives en route to 20-17 wins each of the last two weeks.

While the overall numbers may not have been pretty during last week’s win in Tennessee, one stat stood out to Carroll.

“We had a great third-down game last week. We were over 50% conversion, we hit five of the six in the second half and the last four straight in the winning drive,” he said.

Third downs have been a big problem for the Seahawks not just this season, but over the last few years on offense. Getting more conversions there would go a long way towards the Seahawks’ chances of winning.

“That’s a huge factor for us,” Carroll said. “If we can keep that going, then this will really assist our chance to play good football across the board.”

“It lets you have the chance to have continuity and stay on the field and rest the defense. And (when you have) more opportunities with good players, you’re gonna make things happen,” Carroll later said. “That’s the key focus for us right now. We would love to run the ball better and we would love to be doing some more stuff there, but as long as we can stay really consistent and be efficient, that gives our guys a chance to make plays. And you can see it takes 60 minutes to win a football game and we’re ready for all of that.”

As far as the Steelers go, Carroll pointed immediately to their physicality. But he also noted that while Pittsburgh wants to run the ball on offense, that the Steelers also rely on explosive pass plays, which was especially the case last week.

“They know that they have to attempt to get the ball down the field, so they take their shots. It was really, really clear that what happened against Cincinnati last week was (they won) because of the explosive plays,” Carroll said. “They hit an 80-something yarder and a 60-something yarder and they had a couple picks. They just really changed the game in the field position in a way that really helps a team that likes to run the football. The running teams always hope to be explosive in the throwing game because you need those chunks, and they have a good look good format.”

“Their statistics aren’t really that high up in the league, but they don’t give up a lot of points and they’re the leading turnover team in the NFL, and they’ve blocked three punts this year. So they have other ways that they win like good football teams do, so they pose a lot of problems,” Carroll later added.

Listen to The Pete Carroll Preview at this link or in the player near the top of this story. 

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