No one, certainly not Sean Payton or Drew Brees, saw coming the Seahawks 34, Saints 7 wallop at CenturyLink Field Monday night. The rout of the NFC’s No. 2 seed ran Seattle’s home winning streak to a franchise-record 14 games, during which the Seahawks have outscored opponents by an average of 18.6 points per game, with eight by 20 or more.
This makes the Seahawks the first team to produce eight wins by 20 or more points during a home winning streak of at least 14 games since the Miami Dolphins from 1972-73.
The Dolphins actually reeled off 27 consecutive victories at home from 1972-74, the NFL record. While Seattle’s 14 in a row on local turf is roughly half that, it not only compares favorably to the longest such streaks over the past decade, it’s the most dominant one based on number of 20-point victories (shown in bold).
| Team | Years | Stadium | Wins | 20+ | Coach / Quarterback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N. England | 2008-11 | Gillette | 20 | 5 | Bill Belichick / Tom Brady |
| N. England | 2002-05 | Gillette | 18 | 4 | Bill Belichick / Tom Brady |
| St. Louis | 2002-04 | Jones Dome | 15 | 3 | Mike Martz / Marc Bulger |
| Baltimore | 2010-12 | M&T Bank | 15 | 3 | John Harbaugh / Joe Flacco |
| Seattle | 2012-13 | CenturyLink | 14 | 8 | Pete Carroll / Russell Wilson |
The Game of the Century(Link) thumping provided a two-game lead in the NFC home-field advantage sweepstakes over New Orleans and Carolina entering the final month of the regular season. But it’s really more than that. Since the Seahawks have defeated both teams (beat the Panthers 12-7 in Week 1), the Seahawks hold the tiebreaker against them.
If Seattle goes 1-3 in its final four (against San Francisco and the New York Giants on the road and vs. the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams at home), either Carolina or New Orleans would have to go 4-0 to claim the top seed in the conference. Not likely: The Panthers and Saints still have to play each other twice.
WILSON!: Russell Wilson produced a Total Quarterback Rating of 94.7 against the Saints, his ninth career game with a Total QBR above 90.0 and his third in a row. Over the past two seasons, only Peyton Manning, with 13, has posted more. Manning (97.2) and Tom Brady (90.0) also delivered a Total QBR of 90.0 or above this week. Brady has six such games over the past two seasons.
Wilson tossed three touchdown passes against the Saints (no interceptions) for 22 this season. Wilson joins Dan Marino, Manning and Andy Dalton as the only players in NFL history to throw 20 TD passes in each of the first two seasons of a career. Marino fired 68 in 1983-84, Manning 52 in 1998-99 and Dalton 47 in 2011-12.
Wilson, with multiple TD passes in six consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL, has 48 career TDs. Among the four quarterbacks, only Marino, at 104.47, produced a higher passer rating in the first two years than Wilson. Wilson’s career mark rose to 103.74 after he registered a 139.6 Monday.
Wilson has exceeded a 100.0 passer rating seven times in 12 games, including the last three: 134.6 at Atlanta, 151.4 vs. Minnesota, 139.6 vs. New Orleans. These are the most 100.0 ratings in a single-season by a Seahawks quarterback:
| Year | Player | Total | Rate | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Russell Wilson | 9 | 100.0 | 136.3 vs. St. Louis (completed 15 of 19) |
| 2005 | Matt Hasselbeck | 7 | 98.2 | 147.7 at Tennessee (3 TDs, 0 INTs) |
| 2013 | Russell Wilson | 7 | 108.5 | 151.4 vs. Minnesota (2 TDs, 0 INTs) |
| 1986 | Dave Krieg | 6 | 91.0 | 153.3 (4 TDs, 0 INTs vs. San Diego) |
Wilson completed 64.9 percent of his throws, and is particularly effective with deep balls. On passes aimed 10 or more yards down the field against the Saints, Wilson went 7-of-10 for 203 yards, including Doug Baldwin’s touchdown. Wilson completed 60 percent of his attempts targeted 20 or more yards downfield.
That’s the highest percentage in the NFL, ahead of the injured Aaron Rodgers (53.1), Alex Smith (52.9), Nick Foles (47.1) and MVP frontrunner Peyton Manning (46.6).
NOTES: Seattle’s last three wins have been by an aggregate 108-37, and its last two at home have been decided by a count of 75-27.
- During the 14-game winning streak, Seattle has won by an average of 31-13.
- The Seahawks scored 17 points against the Saints in the first quarter. The last time they scored 17+ points in the first quarter: Week 3 in 2008 vs Rams (scored 17).
- The 60-yard pass play from Russell Wilson to Zach Miller was both the third-longest completion of Wilson’s career and the third-longest catch of Miller’s career.
