Seattle's passing offense has been so strong that it should be able to overcome the occasional negative play or penalty. In fact, you could almost argue that Seattle would be better off looking for big plays and ignoring station-to-station football. They have been just OK in third-and-short (1 or 2 yards to go) offense, with a DVOA of 2.7% (11th). But third-and-short is where Minnesota excels, ranking fourth with a DVOA of -32.8%. The advantage swings to Seattle on third-and-medium (3 to 7 yards to go), where their offense ranks sixth at 19.8% while the Minnesota defense falls to 23rd at 11.2%. And then things get interesting on third-and-long. With their fearsome pass rush, they have played very good with 8-plus yards to go on third down, with a DVOA of -38.0% that is fifth-best in football. Unfortunately for them, the Seahawks' offense had a third-and-long DVOA of 157.8%. That's not just the best this season, it's the third-best we've ever measured, behind only the 1991 Redskins and 2004 Vikings.
