RENTON Earl Thomas Color Rush Jersey , Wash. (AP) — For most of the season, the Seattle Seahawks have had the best running offense in the NFL, trying to win without throwing the ball all over the field.What the Seahawks showed in Sunday’s win over Carolina is that when necessary, they can still rely on the right arm of Russell Wilson.“There’s been so much talk about the run game and we need to get that going and such, but we always designed our approach to be balanced. That means when you have the opportunity to run it, you run it. When you have the opportunity to throw it, you throw it,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “But you have to really commit to the running game to make that happen in the way we’re doing it. So the fact it went this week and Russell threw for 330-something and had a really efficient day, that’s going to happen sometimes.”Wilson’s passing was the difference in Seattle’s 30-27 victory over the Panthers, which may end up being the reason why the Seahawks make the postseason. Seattle (6-5) now plays four of its final five games at home, with its lone road trip down the coast to San Francisco, and essentially controls its own path to a wild-card spot in the NFC.Wilson threw for two touchdowns, including a 35-yard strike to David Moore on fourth-and-3 late in the fourth quarter that pulled Seattle even at 27-all, and set the stage for Seattle to complete its rally with Sebastian Janikowski’s 31-yard field goal on the final play.This was a far different passing game than what Seattle showed in the first two weeks of the season when the run game was mostly ignored. At this point, Seattle’s run game is so respected that there are opportunities for Wilson that simply weren’t there earlier in the season. Couple that with better protection J.R. Sweezy Color Rush Jersey , and Seattle was primed for a game where its quarterback carried the load.“We have star receivers out there on the flank, we have tight ends that can catch, we’ve got running backs that can catch. We have guys that can protect really well. So there is nothing we really can’t do,” Wilson said. “We want to play tough, physical football. We also want to be explosive in the passing game, spread the ball around.”Wilson’s 339-yard passing day was his best game of the season and the only time since Week 1 against Denver he’s thrown for more than 250 yards. He has just three 300-yard passing games since the beginning of the 2017 season. Wilson was 15 of 19 for 218 yards in the second half alone.The focus on running the ball beginning in Week 3 is a big reason why Seattle finds itself in the playoff conversation. But Carolina was determined not to let Seattle control the game on the ground. Seattle’s streak of rushing for at least 150 yards in seven straight games came to an end, and its 2.7 yards per carry was a season low.That may sound like a blueprint has been created for how to stop Seattle’s run game. But not every team has a front seven like Carolina.“They really went after it. They studied well, they did a couple of new things we had to adjust to and they’re just really good. All their players are strong and physical and they did a nice job of committing to it,” Carroll said. “That allowed us to throw the football like we did.”NOTES: Carroll said it was surprising WR Doug Baldwin was able to play despite a pulled groin muscle. Baldwin had five catches and played 90 percent of the offensive snaps. “I can’t imagine he’s not sore. It was extraordinary that he played. He had a groin pull that was legit and he just managed it, made it through the week. I don’t know anybody that’s played with a pull like that,” Carroll said. … Carroll had no update on the timeline of LB K.J. Wright, who missed his second straight game with a knee injury. … The one injury of significance to come out of Sunday’s game was a sternum injury to fullback Tre Madden. RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Pete Carroll has a firm belief that the protection the Seattle Seahawks offensive line is providing Russell Wilson has improved from where it was in recent years.The statistics tell a far different story.No team in the NFL has seen its quarterback sacked more often through the first two weeks of the season than the Seahawks. It’s been a disastrous mix of mistakes by the offensive line, Wilson holding the ball too long at times, and facing a pair of elite pass rushers that has led to the quarterback being sacked 12 times already.Since the sack became an official statistic in 1982 Quinton Jefferson Color Rush Jersey , there have been 26 instances of a team allowing 12 or more sacks in the first two weeks of the regular season. But only three of those — Jacksonville in 2014, Houston in 2017 and Seattle this year— have come in the past 10 seasons. Jacksonville and Houston each allowed 13 sacks in the first two weeks, both on their way to terrible seasons. The Jaguars went 3-13; the Texans 4-12. But neither of them had an established, top-tier quarterback like Wilson calling the shots.All of which puts the Seahawks in the kind of company they’d rather not be a part of so early in the season.“We’ve tried to make him more confident in the protection. Even though the sack numbers are there, our protection is more solid than it’s been,” Carroll said. “It was throughout the preseason and Russell is counting on that rhythm to help him. He’s moving in the pocket a little bit because that’s what he’s had a lot of times. But the other part of it, the miscues and all are new. We’re missing this, missing that, and we can fix all of those things.”The competition Seattle has faced didn’t help the situation. The Seahawks opened the year having to deal with Von Miller and Denver’s front, then followed up in Week 2 facing Khalil Mack in his first home game with Chicago. The final result was Wilson getting sacked six times in each game, which compounded other mistakes that have left the Seahawks sitting at 0-2.While coming home this week to face Dallas removes the challenge of playing in a loud environment, others have emerged. Starting center Justin Britt injured his shoulder late in the loss to Chicago while trying to get on a fumble Wilson lost while being sacked.Carroll said Britt was sore and would be day-to-day, but he did not practice Wednesday. Also sitting out practice was left guard Ethan Pocic, who was considered a candidate to potentially replace Britt at center. Pocic has an ankle injury.If Britt can’t play and Pocic is an unknown, Seattle may plug in backup Joey Hunt at center and shift guard J.R. Sweezy. D.J. Fluker Tom Johnson Color Rush Jersey , who started at right guard before suffering a hamstring injury in the preseason, is expected to return this week after missing the first two games.“We have to be better. The numbers aren’t solely on the offensive line but as a lineman you never want to see your quarterback on the ground,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “We have to do everything we can to correct it. We have to win our individual battles, communicate protections better, picking up blitzes better. We’ll get there quick.”The Cowboys are second in the NFL with nine sacks through two games and last season sacked Wilson three times and limited the Seahawks to 136 total yards. But Dallas still watched Seattle come away with a 21-12 win.“Lot of movement up front, line stunts, things like that. They don’t like to sit still. They like to move around and throw your scheme off,” Brown said.NOTES: Carroll said the team received indications from the league that LB Mychal Kendricks will be able to play this week. Kendricks, who pleaded guilty to federal insider trading charges, made his debut with the Seahawks on Monday and had three tackles, including a sack, against Chicago. … LB Bobby Wagner (groin) and CB Tre Flowers (hamstring) were full participants in practice Wednesday and are expected to play Sunday after missing the loss to Chicago.