Hail Mary MNF: Seahawks crush Saints

The Seattle Seahawks claimed the first playoff place with a comprehensive beating of their nearest conference rivals New Orleans Saints, 34-7. The Seahawks are now 11-1 and if they beat San Francisco next Sunday will win the NFC West and be one win away from claiming the all important home field advantage through the playoffs. New Orleans slip to 9-3 and now share the NFC South lead with Carolina, they face each other in the late game next Sunday.

The result was never in doubt after Seattle jumped out to an early lead off the back of a 22 yard fumble return by Michael Bennett, after Drew Brees’ arm was hit before releasing the ball. This set the tone for the Seahawks defence to slow down the Saints attack all night and limit them to just 188 total yards compared to the 429 that Russell Wilson managed to build when his offence took to the field.

Wilson had a super game finishing with 22 of his 30 passes complete for a total of 310 yards, and three touchdowns. His accuracy and fast ball delivery had the Saints on the back foot; he also finished the team’s top rusher with 47 yards on the ground.

For the Saints, this matched their lowest points total in a game since current coach Sean Payton arrived in 2008, and they now have to pick themselves up for an important division game next week.