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A wonderful season for seahawks

The return of Bobby Wagner, left, and the play of Richard Sherman, right, have Seahawks’ defense on a roll. (Associated Press)
A Grip On Sports

Wednesday: It is Christmas Eve. The day to give an angel its wings. And to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” That is the 30-for-30 on Richard Sherman, right?

Sherman, and the rest of the Seahawks, have been living like your old building and loan pal these past few months, winning a Super Bowl earlier this year and putting together an even more resilient season since September.

It’s been fun, though it hasn’t come without some angst. The past five weeks have erased some memories, most notably the midseason slump that made the five-game win streak necessary.

Contained within that was the Hawks lone NFC West defeat, a 28-26 decision at St. Louis. Yes, the Rams’ win was keyed by two trick plays in the punting game, a 90-yard return following the greatest deke in NFL history and a converted fourth-down pass by punter Johnny Hekker – from the Rams’ 18-yard line – that kept the ball out of Russell Wilson’s hands late.

But that’s the way the Rams play, as if they have nothing to lose. You know why? Because they have nothing to lose. They aren’t going to the playoffs, again. Their coach, Jeff Fisher, isn’t going to be fired. So they can play with abandon. If the two fakes hadn’t worked the first time? The Rams would be 5-10 instead of 6-9. Big deal. That loss would drop the Seahawks’ record to 3-3 and made another Super Bowl run seem like a fantasy.

So would a 24-20 loss at Kansas City four games later.

At that point, with the meat of its schedule ahead, Seattle was 6-4, trailed Arizona by three games and seemed destined for a holiday without hope. And did I mention its best defensive lineman, Brandon Mebane, had just been lost for the season?

Then, like Jimmy Stewart after he found Zuzu’s petals, the Bedford Falls-like world returned. Or maybe it was middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, I’m not sure which. I spent a lot of that part of the season in Pottersville. Anyhow, the Hawks went on a tear, a dominating five-game winning streak that has them on the cusp of another home-field run through the NFC playoffs. Only the Rams, the Mr. Welch of the Hawks’ life, stand in the way. If Seattle can avoid another sucker punch, the regular season will be considered a success. And the playoffs will seem like a stroll down Main Street.