Three things from the Seahawks’ 20-6 win over St. Louis

You win some, you learn some.

That was a motto Doug Baldwin recited earlier this season, and while the Seahawks may not have lost many recently – just once in their past 10 games, in fact – there remain plenty of things we’ve learned about this team plus a few we’re still trying to figure out.

Three things we learned:

1. There isn’t a player on Seattle’s team tougher than Russell Wilson.

In the three years he has been Seattle’s quarterback, there hasn’t been a single time he has come off the field injured or one play in which he has been all that slow to get up. Now, he’s bringing some of that pain upon himself given his propensity to extend plays and his reluctance to throw the ball away. But you never see him writhing on the turf after getting flattened, either. Not even after that first-half interception against St. Louis that was ill-advised but also under duress. You can debate whether Wilson should be more judicious or even more decisive, whether it’s getting the throw off early in the play or throwing it away, but you can’t question how the Seahawks’ quarterback has stood up to the hits he takes. He has been a champ about that.

2. Turnovers trump yards every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Actually, it was three times on Sunday since that’s how many turnovers the Seahawks forced in their comeback win. The Seahawks outgained St. Louis 189 yards to 66 in the first half yet trailed 6-0 in large part because they were intercepted once, lost a fumble and also committed a turnover on downs. In the second half, the Rams actually outgained the Seahawks 179-165 yet Seattle outscored St. Louis 20-0 over the final two quarters because of turnovers. The first of those turnovers – Jordan Hill’s interception off a screen play – set up Seattle’s first touchdown. The second turnover – Bruce Irvin’s interception of a ball knocked away by Bobby Wagner – resulted in a touchdown while the third turnover came on a fumble that Earl Thomas forced to prevent the Rams from scoring a touchdown.

3. Seattle has the best closing kick in the NFL.

That’s true both in terms of games and the schedule. The Seahawks won nine of their final 10 regular-season games, the best mark of any team in the league during that time. But look closer at how Seattle finished the second half of games during the second half of its schedule. Seattle outscored its final 10 opponents 116-23 in the second half, which makes Sunday’s comeback against St. Louis so very fitting as the Seahawks erased a 6-0 halftime deficit with 20 consecutive points.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. Do yards provide a more accurate reading of Seattle’s defensive prowess?

The Seahawks allowed the fewest points in the league for the third successive year. This season they allowed 254 points, more than either of the previous two years. But anyone who has watched this team knows that doesn’t tell the whole story. Seattle allowed 21.8 points over the first eight games and 10 points over the last eight. Yards allowed might be a more telling metric in this case. Seattle allowed an average of 267.1 yards, 30 yards fewer than any other team. In fact, it was the fewest yards allowed by any NFL team in the five seasons since Pete Carroll returned to the NFL in 2010. And instead of trusting the numbers, how about listening to Seattle’s locker room. “Defensively, I already think we’re better than last year,” Irvin said.

2. What’s going to happen when the Seahawks face a more potent offense?

Of Seattle’s final eight games, six were against teams that ranked No. 20 or worse in total offense this season. And of the two games against opponents that were better than average in yards gained, one deserves an asterisk because while Philadelphia finished No. 5 in total yards, the Eagles were piloted by backup quarterback Mark Sanchez when they faced Seattle. Dallas and Green Bay are a different cut of meat altogether when it comes to their offensive prowess. That’s not to question Seattle’s bona fides. The Seahawks have proven capable of not just beating but bludgeoning a potent offense as they did to Denver in the Super Bowl or to Green Bay in Week 1, but as impressive as Seattle’s defense has been to close the season – holding five of the final six opponents to fewer than 10 points – the caliber of competition must be kept in perspective.

3. Will this offense be Seattle’s undoing?

To say Seattle could have won Sunday’s game without its offense is probably an exaggeration. However, it wasn’t much of one. While it’s unrealistic to expect a defense to hold up for twice as many plays as normal, the Seahawks’ defense not only scored as many touchdowns as their offense, but that offense was responsible for allowing as many points as the Seahawks’ defense. Marshawn Lynch’s fumble in Seattle’s half of the field set St. Louis up at the Seahawks’ 34-yard line. Three plays later, the Rams were still at Seattle’s 34 and had to settle for the second of their two field goals in the game. So far, Seattle’s defense has been more than enough to compensate for an offense that is at times erratic and often haphazard despite ranking in the top 10 in the NFL in total yards.

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