Seahawks Dominate Saints 34-7 With Total Team Effort
By Paul Novak
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Raise your hand if you thought the Saints would only score seven points on Monday Night Football.
If you in fact raised your hand, you’re in elite company as not many fans, including diehard Seahawks fans the game would be much closer than the 34-7 final.
We knew the Seahawks had a deep defensive unit. What we didn’t expect was Drew Brees only passing for 147 yards and 1 TD with the Seahawks missing corners Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond. Brees entered the contest with 43 straight games of 200+ passing yards. That streak ended on Monday when many opportunities for conversions were jarred from the Saints’ receivers hands thanks to the punishing Seattle defensive effort.
Russell Wilson, compared to his idol, threw for over 300 yards and 3 TD’s as the Seahawks took a commanding 27-7 lead into overtime. Aside from airing it out often, Wilson also controlled the ground game as Marshawn Lynch never really got going, averaging only 2.8 yards per carry on 16 attempts (45 yards). The second-year QB out-gained the Pro Bowl running back with 47 yards and a 5.9 ypc total.
The win moves the Seahawks to 11-1 and they become the first team to clinch a spot in the 2013 NFL playoffs. Furthermore, the victory gives Seattle a two game edge in home field positioning for the postseason.
Oh yeah, and the 12th Man holds the record for loudest crowd noise once again.
Go Hawks!