DETROIT _ If the offseason was about Pete Carroll remaking the Seahawks to reflect what he sees as the ideal way to play football, then consider Sunday's 28-14 win over the Lions as his masterpiece.
Seattle overcame an early 7-0 deficit to tame the Lions in every way imaginable, and in every manner that Carroll prefers.
A punishing running game _ Chris Carson had his third 100-yard game of the season _ helped set up numerous effective play-action passes for Russell Wilson, who had three touchdown tosses in the first half alone.
The defense shut down Detroit's precocious rookie running back Kerryon Johnson (he had just 22 yards on eight carries in the first three quarters) and the secondary hemmed in the Lions' usually dangerous receivers save for one play early, and then some yards as Detroit made a desperate comeback late.
Seattle's special teams squad made game-turning plays too. There was a forced fumble by Tedric Thompson on a kickoff in the second quarter that led to Seattle's go-ahead touchdown, and then another to clinch it at the end _ punter Michael Dickson's somewhat inexplicable nine-yard gain on a fake punt play that snapped from the Seattle 3 with two minutes left to give the Seahawks a first down to end it.
And just when the Lions threatened to make it interesting, the defense made not one, but two plays to keep the game in hand. First, a heavy rush caused Stafford to fumble at the 46 with 7:02 left, with Frank Clark recovering.
Then, after Detroit mounted one more drive to cut the lead to a touchdown (thanks mostly to a dubious pass interference call on Bradley McDougald), Justin Coleman picked off a Stafford pass intended for Golden Tate at the 1-yard line with 3:08 to play.
The result was Seattle's fourth win in five games _ and third in a row on the road. The dominant way in which they won only further announced the Seahawks (now 4-3 and over .500 for the first time this season) as a legitimate playoff contender in a season that began with many observers pegging this as a rebuilding year.
Seattle has completed a stretch of five road games out of seven to start the season and now has six of nine at home in the final two months of the season.
And they head into the second half of the regular season with as much confidence in their ability and style of play as at any time this season.
Seattle had a 388-188 edge in yards following a 7yard TD run by Carson that put the Seahawks ahead 28-7 with 14:23 to play in the game.
Detroit moved the ball a bit against a Seattle defense that appeared willing to play bend-but-don't-break in the fourth quarter. But the two turnovers _ which gave Seattle a 3-0 lead in turnovers on the day, and a plus-10 turnover margin for the season _ ended things.
Perhaps the ending was a little hairy, but for three quarters Seattle could hardly have played better _ especially Wilson, who was 14-17 for 248 yards and three touchdowns and a perfect passer rating of 158.3 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Wilson's 14.6 yards per attempt would have been a team record had he had 20 attempts (the record is 14.52 by Dave Krieg against the Chargers in 1986 for a QB with 20 or more attempts).
Wilson now has nine touchdown passes in the last three games, and 16 for the season.
The game started ominously with the Lions forcing a Seattle punt and then driving 91 yards for a touchdown the first time they had the ball, capped by a 39-yard pass from Stafford to Marvin Jones. On the play, Seattle second-year free safety Thompson _ who replaced the injured Earl Thomas _ appeared to lose track of the ball and allow Jones an easy catch in the end zone.
But for the next 30 minutes or so, it was all Seattle as a sellout Ford Field crowd which had seen Detroit beat New England and Green Bay in its last two home games largely sat on its hands, desperately hoping for anything to cheer.
Wilson threw three touchdown passes in the first half, during which he had a perfect passer rating of 158.3, completing 11-12 overall for 151 yards.
Wilson first hit Tyler Lockett on a 24-yard TD that tied the game at 7 with 14:15 left in the second quarter. The TD was Lockett's sixth of the season, a career high.
Detroit's Ameer Abdullah fumbled the ensuing kickoff on a hard hit by Thompson with Barkevious Mingo recovering at the 34.
Seattle needed just three plays to cash in, with Wilson hitting David Moore on a fade route down the right side with Moore making a juggling catch in front of cornerback Teez Tabor. That was Moore's fourth TD in the last three games.
That put Seattle ahead 14-7 with 12:42 to play in the second quarter.
A Seattle defensive stop was followed by another long drive, an 80-yarder in 12 plays, in which the Seahawks had to gain 100 yards due to two penalties.
The key play was a 27-yard completion from Wilson to Moore on a third down that was initially ruled incomplete before Carroll threw the challenge flag, with review going the way of the Seahawks as most things did on Sunday.
From there it seemed easy as Seattle capped the drive with a 12-yard pass from Wilson to tight end Ed Dickson.
Wilson, who showed extreme confidence in his receivers all day to make plays in man coverage situations, lofted the ball to Dickson in the end zone and Dickson made the catch over Detroit safety Quandre Diggs to make it 21-7.
Seattle had 245 yards at the break with Wilson's passing perfectly complemented by the running of Carson (61 yards on 12 carries) as the Seahawks had 95 yards rushing on 19 carries in the first half, an average of 5.0 per attempt.
