Rumbling Thomas Rawls leads solid Seattle Seahawks past a tamed Detroit Lions

The formula that has led the Seattle Seahawks to unmatched success over the past five seasons returned.

A healthy dose of Thomas Rawls rumbling on the ground. A few timely throws by Russell Wilson helped by some remarkable catches. And a defence that never allowed Detroit a sniff of the end zone.

Rawls rushed for a franchise play-off-record 161 yards, Paul Richardson made one of the catches of the year for his first career postseason touchdown, and the Seahawks beat the Lions 26-6 on Sunday morning (HK time) in an NFC wild-card game.

Seattle won their 10th straight home play-off game, continuing Detroit’s miserable conclusion to the season that finished with four straight losses. Detroit’s long play-off history without postseason success continued: no play-off wins since 1992. No road play-off wins since 1957.

Rawls was the workhorse as the run game the Seahawks became known for when Marshawn Lynch was in the backfield finally found the consistency that was missing all season. Rawls bettered Lynch’s 157 yards in the 2014 NFC championship game against Green Bay. Rawls had runs of 12, 14, 26 and a 32-yarder late in the third quarter, when Wilson ended up being his lead blocker.

Rawls capped his night with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Seattle a 19-6 lead. He was the first player with at least 150 yards rushing in a play-off game since Lynch’s performance against the Packers.

While Rawls did the grunt work, Richardson filled the highlight reel with a trio of catches. None was better than his 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Seattle a 7-0 lead.