Russell Wilson completed 11 of 13 passes for 121 yards (105.4 rating) and ran for two touchdowns, backups Terrell Pryor and B.J. Daniels also ran for TDs, and the Seahawks rolled to an easy 41-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers Friday night at CenturyLink Field. Wilson, Pryor and Daniels combined for 99 rushing yards and four touchdowns as Seattle evened its preseason record at 1-1.
Wilson played four possessions — most of the first half — and directed Seattle to a 24-0 lead before departing. The Chargers, starting quarterback Philip Rivers playing only briefly, came within 27-14 late in the third quarter, but Pryor and Daniels scored on runs of 44 and 6 yards, respectively.
The Seahawks played their starters, at least those who were available, for not quite two quarters. Marshawn Lynch started but did not carry the ball. In his place, Robert Turbin ran for 81 yards and a touchdown and Christine Michael added 45.
The margin would have been greater had not second-year cornerback Tharold Simon had a 105-yard interception return for a TD called back due to a controversial call against him of illegal contact with the intended receiver.
The Seahawks dominated from the outset and gained 403 yards to San Diego’s 238. While both teams had 160 passing yards, Seattle had 243 yards rushing to San Diego’s 78. Aside from the four rushing TDs by Seattle quarterbacks, the most impressive part of Seattle’s offense was the diversity shown by wide/slot receiver Percy Harvin. More than his four catches for 31 yards, Harvin provided the Seahawks with an offensive dimension they did not have last season.
Turbin capped a nine-play, 74-yard, opening drive with a one-yard run that gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead. His score was abetted by a 21-yard, pass interference penalty that set up the Seahawks at the San Diego one-yard line. Wilson completed both of his passes on the drive for 19 yards.
Steven Hauschka extended the lead to 10-0 with 47 seconds left in the first quarter with a 38-yard field goal, capping a drive that started inside Seattle’s two-yard line. Turbin had the key run, a 47-yard gain that gave the Seahawks a first down in San Diego territory.
Wilson’s 37-yard completion to TE Zach Miller set up Seattle’s second touchdown, a one-yard rollout right by Wilson that staked the Seahawks to a 17-0 lead.
Wilson and Doug Baldwin collaborated on what appeared to be a 13-yard TD play just before halftime, but the score was nixed when officials ruled that Baldwin did not get both feet down in the end zone after making the catch. Two plays later, Wilson scampered in from five yards out for a 24-0 lead.
The Chargers mounted a scoring drive just before halftime after the Seahawks removed most of the No. 1 defense, Kellen Clemens throwing a 13-yard TD to Keenan Allen.
But Hauschka drilled a 55-yard field goal early in the third quarter to extend Seattle’s lead back to 20 points at 27-7. Hauschka’s longest field goal last year traveled 53 yards.
San Diego sliced the lead to 27-14 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter on a three-yard TD pass from Clemens to to Jake Byrne, the Chargers catching a break when Simon had his interception return nullified.
Pryor’s 44-yard burst at 11:20 of the fourth quarter gave Seattle a 34-14 lead, and Daniels’ six-yard TD ended the scoring.
The Seahawks play the Chicago Bears at CenturyLink Field Friday in their third preseason game. They meet the Chargers again, Sept. 14, in San Diego, in Week 2 of the regular season.
