Legion of Boom Burned Again by Speed in Shaky Win over Washington

The result is what matters after the Seattle Seahawks' win Monday night in Washington. It will be the focus along with Russell Wilson’s whirling brilliance, with those scoreboard numbers glowing: 27-17.

The Seahawks won a football game and their quarterback ran for 122 yards, which is both a personal single-game best and a Monday Night Football record. As Week 5 ends, they’re now 3-1, sharing a record with the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals.

Bask in the light of those numbers if you’d like. But when you’re done, here are a few more: 157, 60, 57.

That was the total receiving production Monday from Redskins wideout DeSean Jackson (157), and how he gained much of his yardage. Jackson had a touchdown catch for 60 yards followed by a 57-yard reception on the first play of the second half.

Prior to Monday, the longest pass allowed by the Seahawks secondary was a 42-yarder. Worse, on his own, Jackson caught three passes for 20-plus yards, and before Monday, the Seahawks had allowed only five completions of that length or more.

	Yds/attempt	+20 yard catches	+40 yard catches
Against Redskins	7.9	5	2
First three games	6.5	5	1

But this wasn’t a mere aberration on the road. It was the second straight game the Seahawks were torched by receivers with nearly identical body types and skill sets.

Both Jackson this week and Emmanuel Sanders in Week 3 are undersized receivers who beat you with exceptional speed, not physicality. That may be the tonic for a Seattle secondary that leans on intensity and wearing receivers down through repeated abuse.

After Antonio Gates lit up Seattle safeties for three touchdowns and 96 yards in Week 2, I explored the possibility of top tight ends being the secondary’s Kryptonite. Is matching physicality and a hammer with an even larger hammer the answer?

Maybe, though recent history says Gates’ sudden surge was the real aberration. But with a combined 306 receiving yards over the Seahawks’ past two games, Sanders and Jackson may have provided the true poison pill.

	Yards	Yds/catch	Longest catch
Sanders and Jackson	307	19.2	60
Eight other receivers vs. Seahawks over four games	408	9.3	23

The Seahawks have already allowed two 140-plus-yard receivers through only a quarter of this season. That already matches their total throughout all of 2013, one of which was Cecil Shorts during garbage time of a Week 3 blowout.

This win shouldn’t have been nearly as difficult as it was against Kirk Cousins, who’s fresh off of being thoroughly rattled during his last start against the Giants, throwing four interceptions with a lowly passer rating of 53.0. But there was Cousins late in the fourth quarter, leading an 80-yard drive culminating in a touchdown with just under three minutes remaining, making it a one-score game and forcing more Wilson heroics.

And Wilson answered, because that’s what he does. He spun, weaved and casually flicked his wrist to complete throws on the run others wouldn’t even consider. He had to set a record on the ground while running for an absurd 11 yards per attempt, and he was repeatedly whacked while doing so.

Having three Percy Harvin touchdowns called back because of penalties also didn’t help matters. But the Seahawks won, and those numbers (27-17, and a record of 3-1) will shine brightly for another week. 

Just go ahead and ignore the other digits from Sanders and Jackson against a typically pristine secondary. And Peyton Manning’s 166 passing yards in the fourth quarter of Week 3 to force overtime.

Like he did against Denver, Wilson was able to salvage a win after his defense sputtered and allowed the Redskins to hack away at a 17-point lead. He has the skill and creativity to do that, but forcing him to isn’t a recipe for success.

This is why defending a title is a steep challenge and hasn’t been done since 2005. Being the exact same team for two straight seasons without even a hint of regression is nearly impossible.