By Bob Condotta

The Seattle Times

From running away to hanging on.

Maybe nothing else should be expected of the Seahawks at this point, who seem to thrive on living the edge even when it seems unnecessary.

But just when things seemed to be falling apart for the Seahawks on Sunday — what would have been a stunning defeat staring them in the face — Seattle got things righted just enough to leave its road game vs. the Washington Football Team (WFT) with a 20-15 win and improve to 10-4 and clinch a playoff berth for the ninth time in Pete Carroll’s 11 years as head coach.

It also gives Seattle a two-game winning streak heading into next week’s showdown for the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.

Seattle seemed on its way to one of its easier wins of the year when it took a 20-3 lead early in the third quarter.

But a turnover and a stagnant offense helped Washington and backup QB Dwayne Haskins get rolling, and two Washington fourth-quarter touchdowns led to the Seahawks having combat one last drive to secure the win.

Seattle did, thanks to sacks by L.J. Collier and Carlos Dunlap.

Seattle used two early Jason Myers field goals to begin to break down WFT, then used a 97-yard drive at the end of the second quarter and a 75-yarder at the beginning of the third to apparently break the game open.

The key to the first touchdown drive was a 38-yard run by quarterback Russell Wilson, who seemed stunned at how much open space there was as he jetted down the field.

Then, on the opening possession of the second half, the right side of the Seahawks offensive line caved in WFT’s defensive front and Carlos Hyde slipped through a tackle attempt by WFT cornerback Ronald Darby and was gone, holding the ball up high as he raced into the end zone, with teammates Jacob Hollister and Ethan Pocic appearing the closest in pursuit as he crossed the goal line.

That put Seattle up 20-3 just 1:37 into the second half.

But then things got surprisingly tense.

Washington scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Peyton Barber to cap a 96-yard drive and snap Seattle’s streak of consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown at eight.

Then, a Wilson pass that was tipped led to an interception, and WFT drove for another touchdown, this time going 64 yards in 11 plays, capped by a Haskins pass of six yards to former Seahawk J.D. McKissic with 7:16 left.

But, having missed the point after following the previous touchdown, Washington had to go for two, and a Barber run was bottled up.

That left Seattle’s lead at 20-15.

The Seahawks then went three and out.

Washington started at its own 14 with 5:34 remaining and began to hunt and peck its way down the field.

WFT was initially given a first down at the 38 following a pass to J.D. McKissic on a third-and-two play with 3:39 left.

After a measurement ruled that it was a first down, Carroll threw the red challenge flag.

But Seattle, which was 4 for 5 on challenges going into the game, lost this one, and the drive continued, with Washington getting to Seattle’s 23 with under two minutes left thanks in part to a personal foul on K.J. Wright, called for hitting Terry McLaurin with his helmet, giving WFT a first down at the Seattle 39.

But a first-down pass in the end zone from the 23 to a double-covered Logan Thomas was incomplete.

On second down, L.J. Collier sacked Haskins for a loss of five.

On third down, Haskins was sacked by Dunlap for a loss of nine.

On fourth-and-24, Rasheem Green drew a hold as a desperation pass fell incomplete and Seattle finally had secured a win that for most of the day never seemed in doubt.

The Seahawks rushed for 181 of their 302 yards, their second-highest total of the year.

But Seattle was outgained in the second half 225-124.

Seattle led 13-3 at the end of a first half in which it outgained Washington 178-128 and held WFT to an average of 3.9 yards per play.

Seattle’s touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from Wilson to tight end Jacob Hollister on a third-and-seven play that capped a 97-yard, 10-play drive. The key play in the drive was a 38-yard scramble by Wilson that took the ball to the 30. On the next play, DK Metcalf drew a defensive pass interference penalty, and three plays later, Wilson hit Hollister for the TD.

That put Seattle up 13-0.

The drive began after Shaquill Griffin dived to pick off a pass at the Seahawks 3 after WFT had gotten to the Seattle 27, mostly via throwing to Thomas, who finished with 101 yards on 13 receptions.

WFT responded with another drive to finally get on the board with six seconds left in the half on a 48-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal.

Seattle led 3-0 at the end of a first quarter, holding Washington to just 33 yards and only 2.3 per play.

The Seattle offense was a little hit-and-miss early, driving for a field goal by Jason Myers on its first possession, but seeing a shot at a touchdown erased by a holding call on Mike Iupati that negated a first-down run to the Washington 15.

On Seattle’s third series, the Seahawks briefly appeared to have a touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Wilson to Freddie Swain. After a review, it was ruled Swain did not get both feet in bounds.

Seattle eventually had to settle for another field goal from Myers, this one from 40, which came two plays after Metcalf came down awkwardly in the end zone.

Metcalf, though, missed only one play.