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Seven carries, 14 yards.
12 carries, 44 yards.
Those are the totals that the best opposing running back has put up against the Seattle Seahawks in the first two weeks of the season. As a team, the Dallas Cowboys averaged just 3.1 yards per carry last week and only attempted 16 rushes. The Arizona Cardinals fared even worse in Week 1, racking up just 2.2 yards per carry on 20 rushes.
The Seahawks' run defense is excellent, and their ability to force teams into 3rd down and long situations is why they beat one good team, and were one score and one good play away from beating another very good team. Unless Aaron Rodgers has a truly dominant evening, the Packers will need to run the ball almost as well as they did last week against the Chicago Bears to feel like they have a good chance at pulling out the victory.
If you don't recall, Cedric Benson ran for 4.1 yards per carry last week, while the team as a whole rushed for 106 yards on 28 carries, good for 3.8 yards per carry. In their two games since facing the Seahawks, Arizona rushed for 3.2 yards per carry against New England and 2.9 yards per carry against Philadelphia. The Cowboys ran for 5.5 yards per carry against the Giants, thanks to one huge play from Demarco Murray, but only managed 1.7 yards per carry this weekend against the Buccaneers.
Two to three games is not a great sample size, but based on these numbers, along with Green Bay's 3.9 yards per carry average last season and Benson's 3.8 yards per carry career average, it seems pretty safe to say that the Packers -- as average as they are at running the ball -- are pretty clearly the best running team that the Seahawks have faced this season.
Seattle has an excellent run defense, but they haven't been tested by a team that is either decent at running the ball or committed to running the ball. Mike McCarthy needs to stick with the running game even if it doesn't pay immediate dividends, and the Seahawks have to prove that they can stop a respectable rushing attack for an entire game, while avoiding giving up big plays on play action.
Previous Packers vs. Seahawks Coverage
Key Matchup #3: James Jones vs. Marcus Trufant | Five Packers To Watch | Five Seattle Players To Watch | Week 3 Fantasy Start/Sit Advice | Key Match Up #2: A.J. Hawk vs. Marshawn Lynch | Key Matchup #1: Clay Matthews vs. Russell Okung | Fantasy Spotlight | Series History
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