Three things from the Seahawks’ win over Arizona

A deadline was blown earlier this week, and it’s not like we’re the type to point fingers here at 710Sports.com, but it was Danny O’Neil’s fault.

Yup. He just flat-out didn’t get the assignment done on time, but he did get it done and while it may be four days late and more than a few dollars short, we thought you might enjoy this.

Three things we learned:

1. It’s not wrong to call Marshawn Lynch the best back in the NFL.

You can argue the point, but you can’t say it’s wrong. Not when you consider the guy has now rushed for more than 1,200 yards in four successive seasons with the Seahawks. When he signed his current four-year deal with Seattle, the perception was that Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson were the top two backs in the league, their deals a cut above the rest, while Lynch led the next tier of backs. A year later, Johnson is cooked, Peterson isn’t playing, and while Lynch may not have the most rushing yards in the league, no one has been better than him this season. His 79-yard touchdown run showed everything that makes him so uniquely tough, from his combative style of initiating contact to his incredible balance on the sideline to his extreme defiance in being tackled.

2. Time to stop talking about Seattle’s finishing touch.

Sprinters don’t finish any better than the Seahawks did last week in Arizona. Neither do race-car drivers. Or executioners. OK, that last one is kind of grisly, but then again, Seattle was merciless in the way it finished off Arizona in the desert Sunday with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. If Lynch’s 79-yard touchdown run – in which he broke four tackles – didn’t strip the Cardinals’ defense of whatever dignity it had left, then Russell Wilson’s 6-yard scramble in which he stiff-armed a linebacker and left cornerback Antonio Cromartie hugging air certainly did. Seattle scored as many touchdowns in the final quarter of that game as it has allowed – total – over its past five games.

3. Paul Richardson is going to be a factor down the stretch.

The second-round pick was at the margins of the wide-receiver rotation for the first five weeks while Percy Harvin was still on the team. He saw his playing time increase significantly after Harvin was traded, and now his production is spiking with 10 receptions in the past three games. But it’s not just his total catches, but the timing. He had a crucial grab on Seattle’s field-goal drive to end the first half in Philadelphia. A big catch over the middle against San Francisco in which he got drilled by safety Eric Reid and later scored his first touchdown. With Jermaine Kearse nursing an injured hamstring, Richardson might be about to become a critical component in Seattle’s offense.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. Is Seattle again the NFL’s sharpest buzzsaw in December?

In 2012, Seattle won its final five regular-season games, and not only that, rolled up 150 points in a three-game span, including a 42-13 whupping of the 49ers. Last year, Seattle was 13-3, tied with Denver for most victories in the league, and while the Seahawks lost two of their last four games, they were clearly the NFC favorite entering the playoffs. This year, the Seahawks have not only won eight of their past nine games, but they’ve allowed just 33 points over the previous five games.

2. How in the world was Russell Wilson left off the Pro Bowl roster?

I know, I know, this isn’t something from Sunday’s game, but come on. This season he became the first NFL player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game. He’s on pace to have the fifth-highest rushing total for a quarterback in any season and he’s going to set a career-high in passing yardage this season. There aren’t five players more valuable to their team than Wilson is to Seattle let alone six quarterbacks in the league who should be chosen ahead of him for the Pro Bowl. His ability to create huge gains out of what appear to be broken plays while not turning the ball over might be the single most impressive accomplishment in the NFL.

3. Should we worry about Steven Hauschka?

His track record would say not to. He has been as consistent as a kicker could be since coming to the Seahawks in 2011. He had never missed more than one kick in any game since entering the league in 2007. Well, he missed three on Sunday in Arizona, and while all of those kicks were from significant distance – 47 yards or more – it was indoors and after pushing two to the right, he pulled the last one to the left in a classic over-correction. While coach Pete Carroll chalked it up as a fluky game, there’s still that nagging possibility that the kicker might have it in his head at this point. I’m not saying it’s time to worry about him, I’m just saying there’s a little pang of concern.

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