Wilson is hindered by an injured ankle while playing behind a bargain-basement offensive line. The running game, minus the retired Marshawn Lynch, has been mediocre. Wilson’s wide receivers are an injury-plagued group.

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“We have to improve,” Coach Pete Carroll said earlier this week. “We have to get better at some stuff. And so it’s important that we balance out our offense and we’ve got to get a running game more effective like we’ve always liked it to be. We’re gonna make sure we focus there.”

A front office executive with another NFL team said he believes it all comes down to the health of Wilson, who played the Rams game despite a high ankle sprain.

“If the quarterback gets well, they’ll be okay,” the executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to give a frank assessment of another team’s offense. “He can cover up some of the deficiencies around him. He can make the offensive line look better than it is. You just wonder if he’ll ever be right all season if they keep playing him through this.”

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If the Seahawks are considering having Wilson sit out a game or two to heal, they’ve given no hint of it yet.

“Russell came out well and he feels pretty good,” Carroll said Monday when he met with reporters.

Wilson said after the game Sunday: “I wasn’t supposed to be playing for a couple weeks probably, they thought maybe. But ultimately we had the mindset that we were gonna get on my feet and move around and make it happen and find a way. I think ultimately it’s what you set your mind to, especially when you’re trying to get back. Every time I get an opportunity, I want to step on the field with these guys.”

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Wilson, always a master of improvisation, made great progress last season as a pocket passer. He had his first 4,000-yard passing season in the NFL. He connected on a career-best 68.1 percent of his passes. He threw 34 touchdown passes, eight more than in any previous season. His passer rating was 110.1, also a career best.

Any notion the Seahawks were a run-first offense was put to rest. This offense clearly revolved around Wilson and his passing. Wilson had a five-game stretch in November and December with 19 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Wideout Doug Baldwin had his first 1,000-yard receiving season in the NFL as a fifth-year pro.

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Wilson needs his mobility not only to help the Seattle running game with an occasional dash down the field with the football, but also to move around and buy time to throw. He was sacked 45 times last season, the third straight year in which that figure was in the 40s.

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The Seahawks have not devoted financial resources to fortifying Wilson’s offensive line. When veterans have exited, they have been replaced with young and inexpensive players. According to the website Over the Cap, the Seahawks are spending a league-low $9.04 million this season on their offensive line. That’s more than $4 million less than any other team. The Oakland Raiders, by contrast, are spending $37.6 million this season on their offensive line, according to the website.

The amount of help Wilson is getting all around him on offense is an issue. Baldwin and fellow wide receiver Tyler Lockett are plagued by knee injuries. Rookie guard Germain Ifedi, a first-round draft pick out of Texas A&M, is recovering from a high ankle sprain. Second-year tailback Thomas Rawls, penciled in to split carries with Christine Michael in the Lynch-less running game after rushing for 830 yards last season as an undrafted rookie, is slowed by a leg contusion.

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“We just need to get him out there and stay out there, get a feel for the game and start to feel the effect that he brings. … We anticipated seeing his input in complement to Christian, who’s doing a nice job,” Carroll said of Rawls. “I think it’s gonna be a nice one-two punch. We’ve just got to get him back out there.”

Seattle leaned heavily on Lynch and its running game in the Super Bowl years and ranked third in the league in rushing offense last season, even with the increased reliance on Wilson’s passing as the season progressed. To Carroll, being able to keep defenses guessing remains the key.

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“We’re not getting the same balance … about mixing the run game and the pass game where we can play off of the running game. … It’s just obvious right off the bat,” Carroll said. “That’s an issue. … Just not as much balance as we’d like to see. And so we’ve got to work hard to get that done.”

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The good news for the Seahawks, who host the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday, is that they have the league’s top-ranked scoring defense through two games. The Seattle defense is ranked third in the NFL against the run, fourth against the pass and first overall. If only the offense can do its part, the Seahawks can be formidable.