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It wasn't pretty, but the Seattle Seahawks did just enough - especially on defense - to take down Washington Monday night, 27-17.
The defending Super Bowl champions made it harder than it had to be Monday night, but the Seahawks were able to dispatch Washington in its own house, 27-17. Russell Wilson shredded the Washington defense to the tune of 122 rushing yards, and added two passing touchdowns for good measure.
As expected, Kirk Cousins and the Washington offense struggled for much of the night, unable to put together any sort of rhythm against Seattle's defense - except for when it completed a couple of downfield bombs late, which kept it in it. Washington may be hurtling through a forgotten season, but for what it's worth, it put up a fight against one of the NFL's best.
1) Seattle wasn't perfect by any means, but the Seahawks did enough to win.
Maybe they were just shaking off the bye week rust, but the Seahawks were out of sync and plenty sloppy for much of the night.
It's not much of a surprise that Seattle was penalized 13 times, but it is a surprise that it let Washington hang around for so long, even allowing them to cut it to a one-score deficit in the third. The Seahawks surely knew this was a game they could easily win, which can often mess with a team's collective head.
But the mounting penalties and general sloppiness, especially on the offensive line, are lingering issues that could mount as the season rolls along.
The most frustrated Seahawk of the night? Probably Percy Harvin, who had three touchdowns called back because of penalties.
2) Washington's defense showed up as best as it could.
It was partly Seattle being unable to get out of its own way, but a depleted Washington team was still able to mostly keep the Seahawks in check - except for Wilson and his legs.
Whether Wilson was extending a play to complete a 36-yard pass or simply running it in for a touchdown, the Washington defense had no answer for him for much of the night.
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But when Washington was finally able to contain him, Seattle's offense struggled. Instead, the Seahawks settled for some trickery to keep its drives alive.
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And when Seattle needed to ice the game, Wilson made sure jaws dropped.
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3) DeSean Jackson is a deep-ball demigod.
Washington's offense was abysmal for most of the night, as Seattle made things pretty miserable for Cousins. But, he was able to connect with Jackson for two huge bombs, a 60-yard TD in the first half and a 57-yarder in the third quarter that set up a field goal.
That's not going to sit well with the Seahawks, despite shutting down Washington in every other facet. Those mistakes kept Washington in the game Monday night, but against a better team, it could cost Seattle a game. You know, maybe a really important one in January.
Even with Seattle's mistakes, this was simply a case of a much better team doing the bare minimum to beat a weaker opponent. If the Seahawks' offense didn't stumble at times, this might have been an avert-your-eyes type of blowout.
Injuries
Seahawks
Percy Harvin slipped on the field late in the first half and limped off, but he returned in the second. He was reported to have cramps at halftime, but got an IV and returned to action.
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Center Max Unger left with a foot injury and was originally reported to be out, but would return late in the fourth.
Washington
Right tackle Tyler Polumbus left with a hand injury in the first half, but returned. Washington also had to deal with injuries to safety Ryan Clark (ankle) and linebackers Brian Orakpo (ankle) and Perry Riley (knee).