SEATTLE -- When Pete Carroll addressed his team Saturday night before the Seattle Seahawks' matchup with the Carolina Panthers, there was one player he singled out.
"I kind of talked about him in the team meeting last night, that we could see Thomas [Rawls] really go and explode," Carroll said. "Because he had such a great week of preparation. I think he finally felt like he was fully back."
In the Seahawks' 40-7 win Sunday night, for the first time all season Rawls looked like the player the coaches fell in love with last year, the guy they pegged to be Marshawn Lynch's replacement.
He carried 15 times for 106 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and two touchdowns as the offense exploded, scoring on eight of 11 possessions. In the first quarter, Rawls found a cutback lane and hurdled into the end zone for an 8-yard score. In the second, he showed his big-play ability by outrunning defenders for a 45-yard touchdown.
Following last week's 14-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carroll insisted that his team's offensive performance was just a hiccup and not the start of a trend. It turned out he knew what he was talking about. And Rawls was a huge factor in the turnaround.
"I think you have to have amnesia in this game," quarterback Russell Wilson said.
"You have to move on from the great week you had before or the not-so-great week you had before. You have to move on to the next opportunity."
In addition to Rawls, second-year wide receiver Tyler Lockett also provided the team with a spark. He had five catches for 63 yards to go along with a 75-yard touchdown run. Lockett was also a factor on special teams with a 46-yard kickoff return.
"He's a great football player," Carroll said. "Give him the opportunity, and he's going to show you that. I don't know that I've seen a guy look faster than when he finished that run tonight."
Both Rawls and Lockett were great as rookies but have had battled through health issues this season. Rawls injured his fibula in Week 2 and missed seven games. Lockett suffered a knee injury in Week 2 and later hurt his thigh.
But going into the final four games, Rawls and Lockett appear poised to be key cogs in a Seahawks offense that looks loaded with weapons in Wilson, wide receiver Doug Baldwin and tight end Jimmy Graham.
Wilson completed 26 of 36 passes for 277 yards, a touchdown and an interception one week after posting the second-lowest passer rating of his career. The Seahawks averaged 29.3 points per game from Weeks 9 through 11 before laying an egg against the Bucs. Against the Panthers, they set a season high with 40 points.
Given that safety Earl Thomas suffered a lower leg fracture in the second quarter, the defense faces some challenges going forward.
If the offense can perform like it did Sunday night, the Seahawks have the playmakers to give opponents problems down the stretch and make a run toward their third Super Bowl in four years.