Grip on Sports: The Seahawks’s offense wakes up just in time to keep the Rams in range

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Its modern meaning might be a bit different, but late in the second quarter yesterday, the Seahawks’ offense woke – as in woke up – and maybe, just maybe, saved the team’s season. Read on.

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• Sorry if you have heard this before, but for the first quarter and a half, in a game Seattle needed to win, the offense was putrid.

Awful. Terrible. Ugly. Whatever adjective and/or synonym you want to use.

Four yards on six plays. Twenty-nine on eight. Zero on one – an interception. Three on three. Fifteen on four – and another pick.

Those aren’t drives. They are breakdowns in the passing lane. A flat tire near Wilbur somewhere. Radiator smoke, busted fan belt and a hose dangling from the engine.

Darrell Bevell was being cursed all over the Northwest. Russell Wilson’s faith was being tested. Eddie Lacy was looking for an apple pie to devour. The offensive line was sitting somewhere near Glendale, hiding from the defense.

Then the alarm went off. How and why, who knows. But it did.

Maybe it was Wilson’s hustle. Or his tackle. They came together on one play, Wilson’s interception in the right flat, a poor throw toward Luke Willson that rookie safety John Johnson picked with nothing but grass between himself and the Coliseum’s east endzone.

Wilson seemed stunned – for about a half-second. Then he took off. So did rookie running back J.D. McKissic, one of the fastest men on the field. McKissic forced Johnson to try to cut back and Wilson, risking a multi-million-dollar arm – and the Hawks’ season – made the tackle at the Seattle 19.

The Rams led 7-0 and another touchdown might have clinched it. Instead the defense stood up, held Los Angeles to 2 yards and the Rams had to kick a field goal.

The lead was 10, sure, but that seemed like a win.

And then awakening occurred.

Believe it or not, Jimmy Graham played a crucial part. Wilson kept looking for the big tight end. And Graham kept catching the ball. First for 6 yards, then, a little after an important McKissic 7-yard pass-and-run on third down, 9 more yards on a third-and-4.

Another key third-down completion went to Tyler Lockett but, inside the red zone, Wilson looked for Graham. An 11-yard toss to the tight end got the Hawks to the 11 and, after three plays and the 2-minute warning, a jump ball to Graham in the endzone resulted in Seattle’s only touchdown.

It was a 15-play drive covering 75 yards. It may turn out to be the crucial one of this season.

Especially considering the defense made another stand and Wilson drove the Hawks 46 yards for a field goal as time expired.

After running 22 plays for just 52 yards on their first five drives, the Hawks covered 121 on 24 plays in their final two of the half.

Intermission took on a different atmosphere. The defense took over after halftime. The offense scored just enough. A few lucky bounces went Seattle’s way. And, with a bye coming, the Hawks are back atop the NFC West.

That’s what was expected. That’s where they belong. That’s woke.

(Wait, is that the right way to use that?)

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WSU: The Cougars are awake, whatever way you mean the term. They are ranked in the top-10 for the first time since the glory days of 2003. Their defense is playing like a giant python, squeezing the life out of opponents. And the have defeated the Oregon Ducks three consecutive seasons. All those stories come courtesy of our Theo Lawson. … California may look a bit different when it hosts WSU this Friday night. … The Evergreen State’s two conference schools are not only the best on the coast, but among the nation’s best as well. And the Pac-12 schedule makers don’t seem to care.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the rankings are always a big deal on Sunday. The conference has four in the top 25. … Stanford versus Oregon. Always big deal, right? Well, not as big a deal this season. Except Bryce Love is trying to impress Heisman voters. … Both Colorado and Oregon State will be looking for their first conference victory when they meet Saturday. … Utah’s offense has to play better if it wants to compete with 13th-ranked USC in the Coliseum. It’s the beginning of the stretch run for the Trojans. … Arizona and explosive quarterback Khalil Tate is next up for UCLA. … A freshman tight end has emerged as one of Washington’s playmakers. Next up is Arizona State.

Gonzaga: BYU’s Nick Emery wants to have a big, less-controversial, season.

EWU: The Eagles are the big guns in the Big Sky right now and Jim Allen took some time Sunday to explain why that is. … The women’s soccer team is still undefeated in the conference play. … Around the Big Sky, Eastern is atop the standings, but Weber State is right behind. The Wildcats host Southern Utah this week. … There was a meeting of brothers Saturday in Pocatello, as the Louis-McGees, who played at Coeur d’Alene High, faced off. … Montana State’s running game received a boost going into the Portland State game.

Idaho: The women’s soccer team picked up a win at North Dakota.

Chiefs: The Portland Winterhawks’ offense is explosive, as Spokane found out last night in the Rose City, losing 7-2.

Preps: Dave Nichols will spend Sundays catching up on the prep week that was. Being this was his first in the job, he had some thoughts that were a bit more personal.

Seahawks: Speaking of thoughts, we shared some of ours as the game ended, putting together three takes on the Hawks’ crucial win. A fourth appears at the top of this column. … The NFC West is still Seattle’s. … The emergence of Graham was accompanied by a chorus of “finally.” … The defense played well and the Hawks gutted out a win. … When it came time to honor the Las Vegas victims, everyone stood. … Cooper Kupp was beating himself up afterward.

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• Back to the grind. Thanks for the birthday wishes from everyone yesterday. There were presents galore. But why does everyone think all I want to wear anymore are sweatpants? Is that a comment on my belly? Yes? Darn it. Until later …