Marshawn Lynch's epic 79-yard run has gotten all of the love it deserves, but unfortunately that has come at the expense of some other extraordinary plays in last week's triumphant trampling of the Cardinals.
Luke Willson's 80-yard touchdown catch: Most of the Cardinals buy the fake handoff to Marshawn Lynch. Russell Wilson rolls left and forgoes an easy short pass to Doug Baldwin because he sees Willson get open deep behind the defense. DangeRuss hits the tight end in stride with a nice 40-yard pass. Willson displays impressive speed in his sprint to the end zone. Safety Rashad Johnson dives for his ankles and takes a heel to the head that knocks off his helmet and bloodies his nose. The game in a nutshell, really.
Russell Wilson's long runs. Arizona's defense generally provided good outside containment, but that left gaps in the middle, which DangeRuss mercilessly exploited.
Richard Sherman's interception. What I really loved about this play was how fluidly the defense shifted into attack mode, with defenders turning into blockers to set up a 50-yard return. It is clear that Seattle not only practices getting turnovers, but also capitalizing on them. "We want the ball, and we're gonna score" is not a normal defensive attitude.
Russell Wilson's 6-yard touchdown run: Most of Arizona's defenders bit hard on the fake handoff to Marshawn Lynch, but linebacker Alex Okafor recognized Russell Wilson's bootleg to the left and moved to meet the quarterback nine yards behind the line of scrimmage. But it is not easy to pull off an open-field tackle on an athletic quarterback. DangeRuss victimized Okafor with a stutter step and a stiffarm takedown that left Okafor--five inches taller and more than 50 pounds heavier than Wilson--lying prone while the quarterback ran for the goal line. All-Pro cornerback Antonio Cromartie is there to defend the corner of the end zone, but it didnn't matter. DangeRuss juked him and ran untouched into the end zone.
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