At half time you could be forgiven for questioning whether the Seahawks were a spent force.

By the end of the game you could be forgiven for thinking this is the start of Seattle’s march back into contention.

And just as a sense of satisfaction was settling in (at last, four weeks in) Chris Carson suffered a serious looking leg injury to take the gloss off the moment.

There’s no hiding the fact that this is the fourth game continuing a worrying trend. Seattle’s offense, for some reason, requires adversity to kick into action.

This time adversity equated to a 15-10 deficit against a struggling Colts team fielding a recently acquired backup quarterback and a third string center.

The response? A 36-3 second half, with Indianapolis’ three measly points coming after a Russell Wilson interception.

Suddenly Wilson was turning back the clock to 2012. The offense was explosive, balanced and exciting. The offensive line delivered a half of punishing competency and everything seemed right with the world until Carson’s setback.

The defense also took a step forward. A frustrating first two quarters was followed up by a second half where Indianapolis managed only three first downs and 32 total yards.

If a kick up the arse was delivered at half time — it might be an idea to take aim before the Rams game even starts next week.

That second half has to be the launch pad going forward — and we’ll learn a lot about this team in the next two games. Can they take that performance on the road against two very different opponents? One that is emerging and blossoming, another that is desperate?

They’ll seemingly have to do it without Carson, which is a mighty blow. Although he was very much part of a committee again in this game, there was no doubting who Seattle’s key running back is. A trio of disappointments so far — Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise — need to step up to the plate in the way J.D. McKissic did this evening. We could also see Mike Davis called up from the practise squad.

McKissic showed why Pete Carroll and the team appear to be so enamoured with him (and why they kept him on the roster). He clearly needs some fine tuning still — but this was an explosive example of what he can do. His rushing touchdown defined ‘sudden’ and his spectacular receiving score emphasised his playmaking quality. It’ll be interesting to see if they can develop him into a regular feature on the offense. It felt like the inside run they had him do towards the end was a set-up to let future opponents know they’re willing to do it.

Carroll will no doubt love that McKissic, Marcus Smith and Justin Coleman had crucial plays in the game — three unexpected stars. Smith managed 1.5 sacks including a sack/fumble that led to Marshawn Bobby Wagner’s touchdown. Coleman had the pick-six early in the game — Seattle’s first for nearly three years.

There’s still plenty to work on of course but at least there will be some cause for optimism going into the Rams game. Imagine what this week would’ve been like without that second half turnaround?

Los Angeles are the perfect opponents next for the simple reason that it’s a great gauge on whether the way this game ended was the start of something or a red herring against an inferior opponent.

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