17 plays, 79 yards and 5:35 minutes. The final drive that Russell Wilson and the Seahawk’s offense engineered put away the Dallas Cowboys in this game, shutting the door in the 4th quarter by possessing the ball for over a total of 11:03 minutes across two long drives. The Seahawks faced a 1-pt deficit, and had turned the ball over on consecutive drives, once on a screen pass for an INT and another having a FG blocked in the 4th quarter. Russell Wilson demonstrated his unique abilities as a runner and as a passer to convert 3/4 third downs on that final drive, as compared to 2/8 over the rest of the game. Wilson has shown time and time again the ability to elevate his game in the 4th quarter, and this is typically when you see him put his body in harm’s way to pick up extra yardage.

The following is a break-down of some of the key plays on this drive.

1st and 10 at SEA 15

(6:41 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short right to T.Lockett to SEA 26 for 11 yards (B.Carr)

The Cowboys appear to be playing zone coverage in a 4-under zone, and #39 Carr bails out as soon as the play starts. Typically in this game situation, some cornerbacks will bail out deep in fear of giving up a long completion. In this case, Tyler Lockett runs a simple hitch route 6 yards down the field. Lockett’s speed and proven ability to get open deep can further alter the mindset of the opposing defensive player’s mind in this game situation. Furthermore, this type of defensive coverage typically opens up shorter routes for WRs to get open on.

#42 Church bites hard on Graham’s vertical route, and provides a larger cushion for Lockett to catch the ball and proceed up the field for an 11-yard gain.

1st and 10 at SEA 26

(6:21 – 4th) M.Lynch up the middle to SEA 30 for 4 yards (S.Lee)

2nd and 6 at SEA 30

(5:47 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass incomplete deep right to C.Matthews

Marshawn Lynch is off-set right and Wilson takes a play-action pass from the shotgun. Baldwin tries to run a drag route behind the line of scrimmage, but bumps into Nowak and the timing of this play is thrown off. You should be able to recognize this play, Seahawks run this a lot with many different players. Russell Wilson rolls out right and attempts to hit Matthews down the sideline. Ultimately, this was an inaccurate pass on the run that could’ve been intercepted. Wilson uncharacteristically missed some throws on the run throughout the course of this game.

3rd and 6 at SEA 30

(5:38 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short left to J.Graham to SEA 38 for 8 yards (S.Lee; B.Church). Pass complete on a “slant pattern”.

The Cowboys defense is playing man coverage with a 3-man rush. #55 LB McClain is spying Wilson in the MOF to ensure he doesn’t evade and convert with his legs. The Seahawks have trips receivers to the (L). Jimmy Graham is aligned as a WR on this play, something that the Seahawks have been using to greater efficacy in recent weeks. #42 SS Church is playing Graham off-coverage, while Lockett is being pressed by #24 CB Byron Jones. Lockett makes a great rubbing motion preventing Church from stopping Graham’s momentum. Graham runs a slant route and is able to convert the 3rd down.

1st and 10 at SEA 38

(5:03 – 4th) R.Wilson pass incomplete deep right to D.Baldwin [G.Hardy]. Pass incomplete at the Dallas 45 on a “sideline” route.

2nd and 10 at SEA 38

(4:56 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson scrambles right end to SEA 45 for 7 yards (B.Carr)

Wilson display such a reckless approach and puts his body in harm’s way to pick up as many yards as possible. Wilson also makes a subtle move to fake likes he’s going inside, throwing off #55 McClain from making a tackle on him sooner. Love seeing the team get fired up behind him.

3rd and 3 at SEA 45

(4:46 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short left to T.Lockett pushed ob at DAL 46 for 9 yards (B.Carr)

This is a cool play design here for a 3rd down conversion. Baldwin goes in motion here revealing man coverage (as the opposing CB mirrors him). There are twin receivers to the (L) side. Both CBs play press coverage, and Kearse is able to pick Lockett’s CB, creating space for Lockett running a quick out route to catch the pass and sprint upfield. I like that Wilson’s pass is out quick. He trusts the play call and executes the play.

1st and 10 at DAL 46

(4:41 – 4th) R.Wilson pass short right to D.Baldwin ran ob at DAL 31 for 15 yards

Graham goes in motion here again revealing man coverage. In this formation, there are twins receivers to the (R). This is an example of a ‘switch release’, which is another form of picking action for an offense. The defensive backs here almost run into each other allowing Baldwin to go to the sideline wide-open. Wilson pulls a beautiful play-action fake, and is able to throw an accurate dart on the run before Greg Hardy can demolish him.

1st and 10 at DAL 31

(4:35 – 4th) (Shotgun) M.Lynch left guard to DAL 28 for 3 yards (D.Lawrence; B.Church)

2nd and 7 at DAL 28

(3:57 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson right end to DAL 20 for 8 yards (B.Carr)

The Cowboys are running man coverage here against Seattle. Seahawks run the read-zone, and Wilson is able to pick 8 yards and a first down, running right by #90 Demarcus Lawrence who plays the run. If this had been zone coverage, #31 Byron Jones (who is covering Baldwin), might’ve had his eyes on the QB instead. However, Baldwin runs a bubble screen and pulls his CB out of the box. Wilson might not have kept this ball if it had been zone coverage.

1st and 10 at DAL 20

(3:17 – 4th) M.Lynch up the middle to DAL 14 for 6 yards (S.Lee; J.Wilcox)

This is a great gain of yardage on first down. The Seahawks run out of I-formation and Lynch abuses the cut-back for a gain of 6 yards. Marshawn Lynch is a beast. Enjoy every run guys.

(3:10 – 4th) Timeout #2 by DAL at 03:10.

2nd and 4 at DAL 14

(3:10 – 4th) M.Lynch right end pushed ob at DAL 17 for -3 yards (S.Lee)

(3:01 – 4th) Timeout #3 by DAL at 03:01.

3rd and 7 at DAL 17

(3:01 – 4th) (Shotgun) R.Wilson scrambles right end pushed ob at DAL 7 for 10 yards (B.Church)

There is trips left, with Graham aligned tight as a single receiver to the (R) of Wilson.The Cowboys appear to run cover 3 defense and only rush 3 on this play, and #55 McClain is spying Wilson. Consequently, Graham has a harder time getting open on his corner route due to the outside positioning of his CB because of this defensive playcall. Baldwin seems opens on his route in the end zone, Wilson pump-fakes towards his direction (or Lynch’s), but decides to pull the ball and run instead. Not many QBs can make this type of play – except for maybe Cam Newton. If Wilson had thrown an incomplete pass in this situation, Dallas probably would’ve gotten the ball back around 2:40-2:50 time left with 4 downs and enough time to get the game-winning field goal. Additionally, both CBs here take poor tackling angles on Wilson, granting him outside leverage and allowing him to break a tackle and dive forward (epic) to get the first down. Note at this point that McClain (the spy), is no-where close to Wilson when the play is over. That is an example of a tired defense.

The following two plays are both Marshawn Lynch runs, where he stepped out of bounds both times. Russell Wilson runs on 3rd down to let to the clock keep running and for the Seahawks to kick the game-winning field goal.

All in all, it seemed like Wilson threw a lot more to the MOF this game, and this is something that appears to be improvement for him over past seasons. The addition of Graham and utilization of a 2-TE offense has also helped him do this*. However, Wilson missed some throws on the run this week that he normally makes. He had a miscommunication with Baldwin on a side-line scramble drill on a drive right before halftime where he overthrew him, and missed Graham from the pocket wide-open on a deep crossing route down the field. 3rd down percentage is still a major issue for the Seahawk’s offense. They had good protection today, and Wilson made a concerted effort to get the ball out fast and on-time for the most part, allowing for zero sacks. This was at the expense of long-developing routes, of which Wilson only had 1 completion of 20+ or more yards on the day. This was probably done to mitigate the loss of Russell Okung and makes things easier for Alvin Bailey. With the Seahawks going into the bye week, major focus needs to be placed on converting FGs into TDs and keeping the chains going on 3rd down. The Seahawks must improve on this front if they are to have more offensive success this year.

*Danny Kelly (of FieldGulls) has a great breakdown of this trend at this link if anybody is interested.

**Listen to Hugh Millen on 950KJR at 1PM on Mondays for hardcore football breakdown. Highly recommend for people wanting to learn more X’s and O’s.