Seahawks Offense Finding Groove on Shoulders of Russell Wilson Resurgence

They benefited from poor officiating, the defense struggled, the offensive line had more problems and the running game was nonexistent. At home on Monday Night Football—where they'd won 10 straight games—the Seattle Seahawks may not have deserved to beat the Buffalo Bills.

They won nonetheless, 31-25, thanks primarily to the performance of their franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson, who—despite being hobbled by knee, ankle and pectoral injuries—had his highest-rated game since December 2015.

Game	Passer rating
Monday vs. Bills	137.0
Week 4 at Jets	133.5
Week 3 vs. 49ers	114.9
Week 6 vs. Falcons	88.8

Wilson still lacks the ability to consistently escape from the pocket and make plays on the run on a consistent basis. The game's greatest improviser remains far from 100 percent. Yet he completed all but six of his 26 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in a turnover-free performance.

That's incredible considering Wilson's injuries, but also considering the lack of support he's getting.

With in-over-his-head backup George Fant again starting at left tackle in place of the injured Bradley Sowell, an offensive line that wasn't good to begin with continued to leave its quarterback high and dry. Wilson was sacked a season-high four times by a strong Bills defensive front that was able to pin its ears back against a vulnerable and unbalanced offense.

Game	Rushing yards
1996 vs. Oilers	32
Monday night	33
2008 at 49ers	39
1998 at Chargers	40
1999 vs. Broncos	41

Not only could a limited Wilson not burn them with his legs, but Seahawks backs Christine Michael and C.J. Prosise carried the ball just eight times for 10 yards. Tight end Jimmy Graham busted out with eight catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns, and top receiver Doug Baldwin also played well, but this game isn't even close without Wilson's carrying the Seahawks on his shoulders.

It's amazing the Seattle offense was able to put 31 points on the board despite controlling the ball for just 19 minutes and 43 seconds. That's more than they scored on their winless two-game road trip to Arizona and New Orleans and just enough to beat a Bills team that scored after blocking a first-quarter punt and putting up 25 points.

Date	Winner	Opponent	Winner TOP
Week 2, 2009	Colts	Dolphins	14:53
Week 15, 2006	Titans	Jaguars	15:38
Week 7, 2014	Patriots	Jets	19:06
Week 15, 2010	Patriots	Packers	19:12
Monday night	Seahawks	Bills	19:43
Week 14, 2005	Dolphins	Chargers	19:43
Week 6, 2012	Ravens	Cowboys	19:57

A defense that entered Monday night ranked first in the league in points allowed couldn't get Buffalo off the field. The Bills came into this game ranked dead last in the NFL with a conversion rate of just 30.8 percent on 3rd-and-1. But against the Seahawks, they converted all five of their 3rd-and-1 opportunities.

Altogether, the Bills were 12-of-17 on third down. It marked only the sixth time in the last 25 years in which the Seahawks allowed their opponent to convert more than 70 percent of their third downs.

Game	Opponent third-down conversion rate
Monday night	70.6%
2007 vs. Bengals	61.1%
2000 vs. Chargers	60.0%
1998 vs. Chargers	56.3%
2003 at Cardinals	55.6%

Of course, it helped the Seahawks that the officials botched a scoring opportunity for the Bills in the final seconds of the first half. They failed to call an obvious unnecessary roughness penalty when Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman took out Bills kicker Dan Carpenter on a 53-yard field-goal attempt.

Sherman was penalized for being offside, but Carpenter had to be attended to after being shaken up by the hit and thus had to leave the game for one play. When he returned to attempt the kick after a quick spike, the Bills were wrongly charged a five-yard delay-of-game penalty when an official failed to reset the game clock.

After all the fuss, Carpenter missed the longer field-goal attempt. NFL senior vice-president of officiating Dean Blandino confessed on NFL Network after the game that the crew erred in both instances, leaving Bills fans to feel as though they were robbed.

But Seattle still won the game by six points, and Wilson outplayed Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who threw an end-zone interception in the third quarter and took three sacks on Buffalo's final drive.

This is a team sport, but with almost all else failing, it felt like Wilson won a boxing match. And 31 points are 31 points, especially against a Buffalo defense that leads the NFL in sacks.

Eventually, the Seahawks will have to start winning in more convincing fashion, but despite the ugliness, they now have a two-game lead in the NFC West. Wilson is only going to get healthier coming off the best game of his 2016 season.

Even if the defense gets back on track—and the talent there suggests it will—there will continue to be questions regarding the offensive line and the running game, but Wilson looks primed for a strong second half.

As a result, so do the Seahawks.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon