RENTON, Wash. -- In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Carolina Panthers last year, the Seattle Seahawks scored their first points in the second half on a Russell Wilson touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse.

From the Panthers' 13-yard line, Wilson set up in shotgun, fielded the snap and threw a fade to Kearse, who high-pointed the ball and came down with the touchdown.

The execution seemed simple enough, but there were several moving parts within the play design. Wilson had four options. He could have handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, ran it himself, thrown a bubble screen to Doug Baldwin, or hit Kearse on the fade.

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Wilson saw that he had a one-on-one matchup with Kearse against the cornerback since the Panthers were playing with one high safety. Had there been a safety to that side of the field, Wilson's read would have taken him to the run options. He trusted Kearse to win his matchup and put the ball where the receiver had a chance to make a play. The result was a touchdown.

Run-pass option plays continue to be a big part of the Seahawks' offense. Back in 2012, when the coaches determined Wilson had a chance to play as a rookie, they sought ways to take advantage of his unique skill set.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said he didn't have a lot of experience with the run-pass options, and neither did Tom Cable, who directs the run game. With head coach Pete Carroll, the offensive coaches began their quest to learn more. They brought in coaches from the University of Oregon and studied various other college programs.

"The option game has been alive for a long time," Carroll said. "It goes way back, all the way back to the split-back veer stuff and bone and all that kind of stuff, the different option stuff. This is just offshoots of that. And run from the gun is what makes it a little bit unique.

"So really we studied a lot of college football. We studied the Oregon stuff. We studied a couple teams from the East Coast. We’ve gone all over the place to study it, to stay abreast, and we’ve just tried to pick and choose the things we think we can handle really well and execute really well. It’s been a really big part of our offense, and Russell’s such an adept read guy. He can do a great job of that, and he takes advantage. ... So that’s how we do it. It’s an ongoing, big process. There’s no one place that it came from."

The power is in the hands of the quarterback. He's the one making the decision -- either pre-snap or post-snap -- on where to go with the ball. The job of the offensive linemen doesn't change. They are run blocking all the way. That means if Wilson is going to pull the ball and throw, he has to get rid of it quickly so the linemen are not illegally downfield.

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As the image shows, everyone is blocking like it's a zone read. But the wide receivers run their routes, and the quarterback makes the call.

"Try to take advantage of situations, try to take advantage of matchups, try to take advantage of the running situation and what looks good at the time," Wilson said. "... It's based on leverage, where people are, where we are on the field, all those things."

Here's another example against the Minnesota Vikings. It's a third-and-1 play, but Wilson sees a numbers advantage to his right, so he pulls the ball and fires a pass to Tyler Lockett.

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Once again, the line is blocking for the zone read.

"It really comes down to the quarterback," wide receivers coach Dave Canales said. "If you have a guy that can take advantage of those opportunities, then they’re great. And when you don’t, it’s almost not worth doing. These are not easy plays. As we say, these are expensive plays, which means they take a lot of prep. You’ve got to get all the looks, and you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing the safest choice, exploiting it when it is there.

"But they take a lot of time and work. Being a West Coast offense, that is a beast in and of itself. So those two things, it really requires a lot from our guys. ... The receivers, our blocking assignments change from all of our rules, also. There’s a real investment, and we’ve taken that chance."

As for the running backs, they have to assume they're getting the ball -- until they don't.

"For us, we just have to be disciplined," running backs coach Sherman Smith said. "One of the most important things I tell my guys is you have to be disciplined in running your track and knowing who you read. So it’s just a disciplined track because the quarterback is trusting you to be in the same place every time when he’s reaching the ball to you, and then we’re trusting you that you’re going to read your key, hit the hole square so that you can make your cuts."

The zone read is at the heart of the concepts. Since Wilson took over in 2012, the Seahawks have finished first (twice), third and seventh in Football Outsiders' rushing rankings (DVOA). When Wilson sets up in the shotgun, defenses have to respect him as a threat.

"It makes everybody a viable option on your offense," Bevell said. "Usually they can just discount the quarterback, and really you’re playing 10-on-11. Now it’s really 11-on-11 at that time, so it gives you that extra option."

On this play against the Vikings, Wilson has the attention of two defenders at the mesh point -- when he is deciding whether to hand it off or keep it.

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After the ball is handed off, three defenders are taken out of the play because of the threat of Wilson as a runner. That helps open up a big lane for Thomas Rawls.

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"It’s just taking advantage of who we have," said Smith. "It was Marshawn, Russ and now these other guys. I think it just gives us an advantage to use the weapons we have. Our quarterback can run."

Added Carroll, "We don’t want him to run the ball a lot. We just want him to scorch you when you let him go and cut him loose, and that’s pretty much how we count on it happening."

Carroll said he'll take a look at what rookie quarterback Trevone Boykin did at TCU and possibly incorporate some of those concepts. The basic idea is simple: Take advantage of what the quarterback does best and put him in position to succeed.

Last year, the Seahawks had the most efficient offense in the NFL. They averaged 31.25 points per game in the second half of the season, second to only the Carolina Panthers. And Wilson is off to one of the best 64-game starts in NFL history.

What worked so well down the stretch last year was the offense had more tools at its disposal. During the bye week, the coaches tinkered with the quick passing game to give Wilson options on third down and against the blitz -- specifically when protection didn't hold up. The downfield passing game produced 60 explosive plays, sixth most in the NFL. And while the run game took a step back after Rawls went down, it was effective overall.

The option plays are another piece of the puzzle, and the Seahawks will continue to stick with what works in 2016.

"[The defense] can’t be right all the time," Smith said. "Sometimes even if they say, 'We’re going to take away the quarterback and give the run to the running back,' you’ve got to make the tackle. That’s what was so special with Marshawn. Hey, you’ve got to tackle the guy.

"OK, you say you’re going to tackle him. Let’s see you do it. And it’s the same thing with the quarterback. You say, ‘OK, we’re going to make the quarterback keep it and tackle him.’ Well, let’s see you tackle him. Can you do it? So it’s us saying we’re betting on our guys that they can win one-on-one."

-- Villanova wide receivers coach Brian Flinn contributed to the analysis in this report.