NFC West Power Rankings: Week Four

3 – Seattle Seahawks, 2-2 (Last Week: 3)

Oct 5, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) forces a fumble by Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

It took some help, but the Seattle Seahawks are back at .500 after an 0-2 start. The second-win in their short, two-game win streak came against the Detroit Lions, but it wasn’t without some controversy.

With less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Lions’ quarterback Matt Stafford hit Calvin Johnson, who appeared on his way to scoring a touchdown to give the Lions a lead. However, safety Kam Chancellor punched the ball away at the one-yard line, and as it bounced freely in the endzone, Linebacker K.J. Wrigt knocked the ball out of the back of the endzone, which should have been a penalty for illegal batting, giving the Lions the ball at the one-yard line with a first down. There was no flag, a touchback was called, and the Seahawks closed out the game with a 13-10 win.

More from San Francisco 49ers

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• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
• 49ers sign TE Daniel Helm off the Buccaneers practice squad
• 49ers: Jordan Reed could miss up to two months, will be placed on IR

A win is a win, and the Seahawks are right back in the race after their sluggish start. The defense is beginning to look more and more like the thundering, powerful unit that led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl in each of the last two season. On Monday, they held the Lions’ offense to 256 total yards and under five yards per play, while allowing just three conversion on 13 third-down attempts.

The offense, however, does not look good. The offensive line gained very little traction, as they allowed six sacks on their quarterback Russell Wilson, and under four yards per carry in the run game. Wilson made his adjustments and ended up with a solid game, completing 20 of 26 passes for 287 yards, and hitting Doug Baldwin for the Seahawks’ only touchdown.

There’s still some kinks that need to be worked out, and the Seahawks will have to figure it out against two undefeated teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers, in the next two weeks. The refs gave them a big helping hand this week, but they need to help themselves.

Next: The Runner Up