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The 1-1 Seattle Seahawks: Looking Back In 2012

Marshawn Lynch had a big day in week two against Dallas.
Marshawn Lynch had a big day in week two against Dallas.

The Seattle Seahawks are 1-1 on the season, and are beginning to forge an identity for themselves as this season begins. In anticipation of Monday night's game, we'll take a look back at their first two games of the 2012 season to see what we might be able to expect in prime time.

Week 1: Cardinals 20, Seahawks 16 (0-1)

Seattle dropped their opener in Arizona after surrendering a late touchdown drive to Kevin Kolb, who had entered the game in place of the injured John Skelton. Though they held the running game in check all game, the Seahawks' pass rush couldn't get to Kolb on the final drive, allowing him to complete 6 of 8 passes for 66 yards and the score. Russell Wilson led a long drive to get Seattle into scoring position with just seconds to play, and got the benefit of a phantom 4th timeout, which stopped the clock after first and goal; however, Wilson threw three incompletions, including one pass through the hands of Braylon Edwards, giving the ball back on downs for Arizona to kneel out the clock.

In that drive, however, Wilson converted four third- or fourth-down conversions to keep drives alive - two of them came on passes that forced defensive pass interference, one was a long pass to Sidney Rice, and the fourth came on a scramble. He didn't convert at the end, but the blame for that should go more to Edwards, who should have caught the final pass for a score.

Week 2: Seahawks 27, Cowboys 7 (1-1)

A week later, Seattle opened up at home and suffocated DeMarco Murray while getting a huge day from their special teams units. They opened the scoring with a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, then let Marshawn Lynch run roughshod over the Dallas defense. Wilson was efficient, completing 75% of his passes and avoiding any turnovers while letting his running game control the clock and scrambling a few times himself.

Wilson showed some good chemistry with tight end Anthony McCoy, who had five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. He's a big target at 6'5" and 260 pounds and likely drew some attention in this week's defensive meetings in Green Bay.

Overall, the Seahawks have played excellent defense and special teams while running the ball effectively, which has given them a win over one talented team and put them in position to win their other game. This is the typical formula for success with a rookie quarterback in the NFL, and it has been working so far this season. We shall see this evening whether or not the Packers will be able to slow down the run game and force Wilson to beat them through the air.