Brock: A similarity Seahawks offense has to Super Bowl teams

The Seattle Seahawks had a prime opportunity to continue to show their commitment to running the football on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, and they did exactly that.

Where Seattle Seahawks now stand in NFC playoff picture

With the defense delivering a dominant performance in a shutout win, Seattle leaned heavily on its run game, running 32 run plays to 30 pass plays.

Running the ball more often is something the Seahawks stated they wanted to do coming into the season, and the results through 12 games show they’re following through with it.

According to TeamRankings.com, Seattle is fourth in the league with 29.9 rushing attempts per game this season. It’s a big jump from last year when it was 29th at 22.5 rushing attempts per game.

During his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted the Seahawks’ commitment to running the football and how it compares to when they made back-to-back Super Bowls during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

“There is a commitment to it because they fully believe that it complements their system, and it complements their special teams, and it complements their defense and it protects against some of the giveaways that have been a problem this year,” Huard said. “That’s what they believe.”

Two things that stand out to Huard about Seattle’s rushing attack this season are the impact of a fairly even usage at running back between Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet and the continuity the offensive line has had with four players starting all 12 games.

“Their two running backs look as healthy and strong and fresh as anybody in the league,” Huard said. “… There’s been continuity at least in four of the five spots (on the offensive line).”

The Seahawks’ rushing attempt numbers this year are close to what they were in 2013 and 2014. They averaged 31.8 rushes per game in 2013 and 32.7 in 2014, which were both second in the league.

“I think they believe, too, when it gets really ugly in the weather in December and January – and we saw some really ugly January playoff runs to a Super Bowl in ’13 and ’14 – you better be able to run it and win the line of scrimmage,” he said.

Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Observations from Seattle Seahawks’ 26-0 shutout of the Vikings
• Undrafted rookie QB Brosmer overwhelmed by Seattle Seahawks
• Stacy Rost: Takeaways from Seahawks’ win over Vikings
• Seahawks Instant Reaction: Defense dominates in shutout vs Vikings
• Seahawks make a flurry of roster moves, including Quandre Diggs’ return

Related

Salk: What Sam Darnold’s injury means for Seahawks season2 words describe NFL debut of Seahawks rookie RB Jadarian PriceThe latest on Seahawks QB Sam Darnold’s hip injuryDaniel Jeremiah: Seahawks’ O-line can be among NFL’s bestA telling stat for the Mariners’ offensive issues this yearWhy Daniel Jeremiah expects Seahawks to handle Patriots again