On Thursday night in Seattle, the Seahawks did what they were supposed to. They dispatched the cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Rams 24-3 to move to 9-4-1 and wash off some of the stink from last week's blowout loss at Green Bay.The Seahawks also did what they needed to, trouncing a bad football team to keep the heat on the Detroit Lions (I knowit felt weird typing it too) for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.But the win wasn't as impressive between the lines as it was on the scoreboard. This was an opportunity for the Seahawks to make a real statement after the Dallas Cowboys stumbled last Sunday night. To send a message that they, and not the Cowboys or Lions, are the team to beat in the NFC.Instead, the same problems that have dogged the team all season long remained in evidence. The sorts of problems that did them in at Green Bay.The types of problems that could be their undoing in the postseason.In one respect at least, the Seahawks righted the ship. Or one did, anyway.One week after a five-interception waking nightmare of a performance, Russell Wilson got well against an injury-riddled Rams secondary. Wilson told ESPN's Sheil Kapadia leading up to the game that he hoped to put his Wisconsin wilt in the rearview against the Rams:We missed. We went to the free throw line and didn't make our free throws that night. We went to the plate, and sometimes you have a few strikeouts and you may have a pop fly, but hopefully the next night you come back out and you go 4-for-4.Mission accomplished. Wilson was 19 of 26 for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the win, including a beautiful 57-yard score to Tyler Lockett that blew the game open.After that TKO of a game with a touchdown hat trick (just cleaning up the sports analogies he missed) Wilson, who posted a passer rating almost 100 points higher than against the Packers, lauded the win and another division title as confidence-builders while speaking to NBC Sports after the game:We always have great confidence. I don't think it's just winning this game or even losing a tough one. We have great confidence because of how we prepare. Coach (Carroll) really gets us prepared. All of us are dedicated to the game. And we're going to continue to get better. That's the great thing. We've got a lot of great things happening. It's a checkmark to win the NFC West, but there's still a lot more left to get. Every game counts, and we've got to keep proving ourselves.Wilson's play was the good news. So was the win and division championship.Unfortunately, the bad news is the same old story. And I'm not talking about the hi-liters with feet that was Seattle's "color rush" uniforms.Seriously. What was that'A Seahawks offensive line that has been the team's most glaring weakness all season long was once again shaky on Thursday. Wilson was sacked twice and hit and harassed several more times.The run game was also essentially non-existent for the second straight week. After gashing the Carolina Panthers back in Week 13, tailback Thomas Rawls was a non-factor, managing a miserable 49 yards on 21 carries.Just in case that whopping 2.3 yards per carry doesn't hammer home just how badly the Seahawks keep getting beaten at the point of attack, consider thisthe Rams had at least six tackles for loss in the game.That's not good, folks.There were also an alarming number of lapses at the back of the Seattle defense. It won't be talked about much because the Rams were unable to take advantage of it, but with Earl Thomas on the shelf Rams receivers got behind the Seahawks coverage several times.Jared Goff might not be able to make Seattle pay for that, but Aaron Rodgers would likely be another story. Or Matt Ryan. Or Matthew Stafford. Or any team with pass-catchers familiar with the concept of, you know, catching passes.Seattle fans will no doubt call this criticism nit-picking or "hating." After all, Seattle clinched the NFC West Thursday. And considering Seattle's schedule relative to Detroit, Tampa Bay and Atlanta it's fair to call the Seahawks the front-runners to land the second seed in the NFC.They are also far and away the most battle-tested team on that side of the bracket. They have well and truly been there and done that.Maybe it isn't fair to compare this year's iteration with the team that won Super Bowl XLVIII. Or the one that lost Super Bowl XLIX. But there's also no denying that this team is the most flawed of the trio, especially along the offensive front.Is this to say that the Seahawks can't make it three Super Bowls in four years' No. This is the year of the flawed team in the NFL. There isn't a team in the league that doesn't have a pronounced one. There are no juggernauts in 2016.But even in victory Thursday the same questions and doubts plague the Seahawks. This feels much more like an "if" team than a "when" one. Their destiny is written in pencil, not in pen.And from all indications those questions will follow them right into the playoffs.Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter: @IDPSharks.
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