GLENDALE, Ariz. -- For several weeks, the Seattle Seahawks have felt their stagnant run game has been making steady progress, with the evidence of an eventual breakout showing up on film even if it hasn't shown up in the stat sheet.
"There's creases there," general manager John Schneider said recently, "and it's coming."
But even Schneider may not have expected the Seahawks' run game to bust out like it did Sunday at State Farm Stadium, where Seattle exploded for a season-high 176 yards despite not having Kenneth Walker III for their most important game of the season.
Walker's absence against the Arizona Cardinals due to a calf injury seemed like a significant blow to the Seahawks in a game that would go a long way in determining the NFC West winner. But all it did was pave the way for Zach Charbonnet's career day, which included a 51-yard touchdown run as well as another score in Seattle's 30-18 win.
"Well I thought, one, we had a great plan," coach Mike Macdonald said. "Hat's off to the offensive line. I thought they blocked their tails off. I think what you're seeing is just continual progress on all of our processes, and our guys kind of getting on the same page. Hopefully this is something -- well, it is something that we need to build off moving forward. But guys did a great job."
The win kept the Seahawks (8-5) atop the division standings, and the potential emergence of their run game is another reason to think they can stay there.
That part of their offense has been a weakness for much of Ryan Grubb's first season as coordinator. Seattle entered Sunday ranked 29th in designed rush rate (32.4%) while averaging 88.7 rushing yards per game (28th) and 3.9 per carry (29th). Their 176 rushing yards against Arizona were 30 more than their previous high, while their 5.7 yards-per-carry average was their best in two months.
What was working so well for Seattle's run game?
"We just was out-physicaling those guys," tight end Pharaoh Brown said. "I mean, that's what was working. It was moving the line of scrimmage. We was dominating them from that aspect."
Go figure that the breakout came with their No. 2 running back carrying the load, and with the bruising Charbonnet providing explosiveness in Walker's absence.
Not known as a home-run hitter, Charbonnet showed speed and power on his 51-yard touchdown run. He took a shotgun handoff in the second quarter, followed blocks from two of his pulling offensive linemen, broke a tackle in the second level and then raced to the end zone to give the Seahawks a 14-point lead.
Charbonnet finished with 134 rushing yards on 22 attempts and added 59 receiving yards in his most productive game since Seattle drafted him in the second round last year. According to ESPN Research, Charbonnet's 91 rushing yards after contact were the most by a player in any game this season.
Kenny McIntosh, who had played all of 13 snaps this season entering Sunday, added 38 yards on seven carries.
"Zach did a great job," Macdonald said. "We gave him a game ball. Gave the offensive line a game ball. Just ran really physical, and it's tough to tackle that guy in the open field."
On his long touchdown run, Charbonnet got a pancake block from pulling right guard Sataoa Laumea, a rookie sixth-round pick who entered the starting lineup last week and played well enough to stay there. Laumea is the third starter the Seahawks have used at right guard this season. They used three right tackles before Abraham Lucas came back from his knee injury in Week 11, which was also when Olu Oluwatimi took over at center in the wake of Connor Williams' abrupt retirement.
Macdonald was referring to all that O-line shuffling when he mentioned how players getting on the same page factored into the run game's breakout.
"Anytime you have continuity and you can stack reps, that's important," Macdonald said. "Now, sometimes you've got to make necessary adjustments or guys go down, guys have got to step up, which has happened throughout the season. But it's been great to get two weeks in a row where the same five guys are out there and they can build off these performances."
That continuity was also evident in Seattle's pass blocking. Geno Smith wasn't sacked for the first time this season, and according to ESPN Research, he faced pressure on only 17% of his dropbacks, a season-low.
"I thought they played phenomenal," Smith said of his O-line. "The way they played, we can win every game we play. I think our offensive line is only getting better. We've got some young guys out there who are stepping in and stepping up."
They may need Charbonnet to do that again as well. Macdonald didn't have a feel postgame for Walker's chances of returning this week. He was initially listed as questionable after not practicing Thursday or Friday. The team then downgraded him to out on Saturday but stayed with the same game plan.
"Ken's obviously a dynamite back and we would have loved to have him, but so is Zach, and Kenny McIntosh has proved that he can run the ball effectively as well," Macdonald said. "So we didn't feel like we needed to make any adjustments."
According to ESPN Analytics, the Seahawks now have a 64% chance to make the playoffs and a 62% chance to win the NFC West, which they lead by a game over the Los Angeles Rams. They've gone from 4-5 to playoff hopeful after four straight wins thanks largely to the midseason turnaround by their defense, which carried the team while the other half of Macdonald's desired formula found its footing.
That may have finally happened on Sunday.
"Coach has been harping about it -- just a shoe-string tackle away," left guard Laken Tomlinson said. "Just keep leaning, keep leaning. The run game is a softening process. But we knew, we just knew coming in we were going to get those explosives."