SEATTLE -- Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson embraced in celebration as the Seattle Seahawks made their way off the field after Sunday's game.

Sherman had just sealed a thrilling 41-38 victory with his second interception, but only after Wilson shook off a mistake and led Seattle on an 80-yard touchdown drive with under two minutes left. On a day when Seattle's defense was gashed by rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans to the tune of 509 total yards, the Seahawks needed a monster performance and more late magic from their quarterback, and they got both.

Wilson finished with a career-high 452 yards and four touchdowns, the last of which came after Seattle's defense -- which had been dominant over the past three games -- relinquished its second fourth-quarter lead.

Sherman's message of appreciation to Wilson: You bailed us out.

"Our offense deserves all the credit in the world," Sherman said. "They won this game for us."

Russell Wilson threw for a career-best 452 yards against Houston. Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Wilson also bailed himself out, in a sense. His game-winning touchdown came one possession after he threw an interception deep in Houston territory, which at the time looked like Seattle's last gasp. Most of the 69,025 in attendance at CenturyLink Field probably thought that so as well, but not Wilson.

"That didn't even faze him, not even a blip on the screen," coach Pete Carroll said. "He handled that quite well. That's just the way he is. That's how he always is. He isn't going to let it bother him. He just knows what's coming next, the very next step you take. He's the best we have at understanding that and believing that and he stands for it, and they'll follow him anywhere."

Wilson and Carroll share a positivity that is best described as relentless. No matter how dire it looks, they always believe their team can -- no, will -- pull out a victory as long as there's still time left. So when the Seahawks took over under daunting circumstances -- trailing 38-34 and needing to go 80 yards with 1:39 on the clock and no timeouts remaining -- Wilson was exuding confidence in the huddle.

"I told the guys when we went out there, 'Hey, have no fear. Let's go do this,'" Wilson said, "and sure enough, guys made some big plays."

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Wilson heaved a deep ball to Paul Richardson, who made a beautiful midair adjustment to haul it in for a 48-yard gain. Wilson found Tyler Lockett for 19 yards, and then, instead of spiking the ball with less than a minute left, he hit Jimmy Graham for the game-winner.

Including playoffs, it was the 23rd time in 99 games that Wilson has led Seattle on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. That's the most of any quarterback since Wilson's rookie season in 2012.

Asked about his winning touchdown catch, Graham first talked about his quarterback's mettle.

"It's crazy because at those moments, 3 has the most confidence you've ever seen," Graham said. "It's just unbelievable, his mindset and his focus at those times, how upbeat he is. You believe every time, if there's 20 seconds left on the clock that we're going to score, that we're going to get that Hail Mary. It was just unbelievable, his actions and his demeanor in the huddle was unbelievable."

Said free safety Earl Thomas: "Just to see Russ go down there after he made a mistake, he came back with so much poise. He didn't spike the ball, he kept it going. He talked about it last night, about those situations where it seems slow. He came through for us tonight."

Seattle's inability to run the ball remains a troubling trend, one that could prevent a deep playoff run if it isn't righted. The Seahawks rushed for only 33 yards against Houston, and 30 came from Wilson, as the trio of Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls and J.D. McKissic produced almost nothing.

But it was encouraging that Wilson and Seattle's passing game managed to carry the load on a day when the running game was nonexistent and defense didn't have its A-game or even its B-game, for that matter.

"He bailed us out," Sherman said. "He was lights out. He was lights-out down the stretch, and this was not one of our better games in the history of us being here. There was just a number of dumb mistakes. And the quarterback [Watson] played good football. You have to give their offense credit. I'm not trying to take anything away from them; we just also didn't execute.

"But in a game where in past years we may have kind of wavered and it might've been one where it could've gotten away, he didn't give up. He never stopped fighting. He stayed poised, the offense executed and they won the game for us. They bailed us out. They bailed us out in a big way."