Seattle Seahawks: 5 Keys to Late-Season Playoff Push

Entering their Week 12 matchup with the NFC West division-leading Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks had a 43.5 percent chance of making the playoffs, per Football Outsiders. Their Week 11 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped their chances by 24.4 percent. 

With the 19-3 win over the Cardinals, the Seahawks helped themselves out a bit but face one of the league's toughest remaining schedules. From Weeks 13 to 17, Seattle has to play San Francisco (7-4), at Philadelphia (8-3), vs. San Francisco (7-4), at Arizona (9-2) and vs. St. Louis (4-7).

NFC Playoff Race

Rank/Team	Record	Conf. Record	Reason for Rank
(1) Arizona Cardinals	9-2	7-1	First in NFC West
(2) Green Bay Packers	8-3	6-3	First in NFC North
(3) Philadelphia Eagles	8-3	4-3	First in NFC East (wins tie break with DAL due to division record)
(4) Atlanta Falcons	4-7	4-4	First in NFC South (wins tie break with NO due to head-to-head record)
(5) Dallas Cowboys	8-3	5-3
(6) Seattle Seahawks	7-4	5-2	Wins tie break with DET due to common games record; wins tie break with SF due to division record
(7) Detroit Lions	7-4	5-2	Wins tie break over SF due to conference record
(8) San Francisco 49ers	7-4	6-3

With four games against teams also entrenched in the NFC's tight playoff race, the Seahawks' fate is in their hands. Seattle can distance itself from the rival San Francisco 49ers with a win on Thanksgiving and can continue to close the gap on Arizona in Week 16.

While the schedule allows the Seahawks to make their own luck, if you will, they must continue to do certain things and improve upon others. Let's take a look.

Feed the Beast

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The Seahawks have to be careful with Marshawn Lynch over the next couple of weeks, as he's been roughed up recently. He was in and out of the lineup against the Arizona Cardinals, suffering from a back injury that continues to flare up.

He struggled to perform well against the league's now third-best run defense, rushing for just 39 yards on 15 carries. The Seahawks offense is at its best when Lynch and Russell Wilson are piling up rushing yardage.

Wilson is on pace for more than 936 yards rushing, while Lynch is on pace for around 1,240 rushing yards. They have been the engine of an otherwise stagnant offense, with their significance to offensive success only increasing as the season wears on.

The Seahawks have called 354 rushing plays for an average of 5.4 yards per carry this season and have attempted just 314 passes (7.2 yard average). It's a trend the Seahawks will need to continue to stay in the playoff race, but it's important for Wilson to be cautious when in the open field.

Improve the Pass Rush

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The Seahawks secondary has slowly been getting healthy, and the group has looked every bit as dominant in coverage as it was last season. The only things missing have been the turnovers, but that is something the team is improving on as well.

What's missing is Seattle's pass rush. Last season, the Seahawks finished tied for eighth place in the league with 44 sacks. They have managed just 16 sacks through 11 games in 2014, good for 29th in the league.

Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril have easily been the most consistent pass-rushers on the team, generating four sacks apiece. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks Avril as the fifth-best 4-3 defensive end in pass-rush production, while Bennett comes in eighth.

The problem has been the two ends typically play on the same side of the field (left) and cannot count on pressure from anyone else on the defensive line. With a lesser defensive line rotation, the unit has struggled to stay fresh. As a result, the team has started to blitz with linebackers a bit.

The results have obviously not been there, but the team has a significantly improved run defense. Seattle is allowing 3.5 yards per carry for just over 88 yards rushing per game, which has helped to give the team quality chances to force offenses off the field on third downs.

But the lack of pass rush on third down has allowed teams to stay on the field. While sacks aren't the end-all, be-all of generating a pass rush, Seattle needs to generate pressure more consistently to help with creating turnovers and giving the offense more time on the field.

Feature the Tight Ends

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In last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks utilized their three tight ends to help get the passing going. Tony Moeaki got the ball rolling with some key first-down receptions. Luke Willson and Cooper Helfet also got involved, and the trio combined for 82 of the team's 211 receiving yards.

It's not exactly a dominant performance, but the trio provided the majority of the big plays through the air during the game. Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse have shown why they've always been behind Sidney Rice, Golden Tate and Percy Harvin on the depth chart.

Neither of them is capable of creating space or taking the top off opposing defenses. The lack of a real playmaker in the passing game has been roughest on Russell Wilson. If the team makes a point of keeping the tight ends involved in the game plan, the offense should return to a more balanced state.

Bobby Wagner

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The Seahawks have an enviable amount of talent at linebacker, but the absence of Bobby Wagner in the lineup over the last five weeks had been a major detriment to the defense. The third-year middle linebacker is averaging nearly 10 tackles per game.

He was on pace to break Terry Beeson’s team record for tackles in a season (153) before suffering a torn ligament in his toe but looked like he hadn't missed a beat in his return. Wagner helped contain the Cardinals running game to 64 yards.

With Wagner back in the lineup, the defense played with the swagger that had been missing since perhaps Week 1. His play is integral to Seattle's defense taking a step toward being the elite unit it was in 2013.

Russell Wilson

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Some people think of Russell Wilson as a game manager. While the passing numbers might align with that thought process, it's not indicative of what he means to the franchise. Yes, making Lynch the focal point is what's best for the team, but Wilson's play is even more important.

Seattle has won several games this year, not due to Lynch's legs but because of Wilson's legs and arm. His mobility and ability to escape pass-rushers in the pocket have been instrumental. If it hadn't been clear yet, it became so in the game against the Denver Broncos.

He led Seattle on an 80-yard drive on the first possession of the extra session, capped by Lynch's six-yard touchdown run for a 26-20 victory. Wilson was brilliant in overtime, rushing for 21 yards and completing four of six passes. The Broncos didn't have an answer for Wilson's rushing ability.

When Wilson can put things together through the air and scramble for long gains when necessary, the Seahawks offense is nearly impossible for opposing defenses to stop. Week 12's game was a step in the right direction after a string of poor outings from the quarterback, and Seattle will need more from him down the stretch.