'The badass Seahawks are back:' What the media are saying after that win



FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Seattle Seahawks are back, and the rest of the world knows it.

A glance at stories from the national media finds story after story heaping praise on the team after its 31-24 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Powered by a resurgent Russell Wilson and the emergence of rookie running back C.J. Prosise, the Seahawks’ offense in particular looked like the unit the team will need if it wants to clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed – and just maybe win another Super Bowl.

Here’s what they’re saying:

Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman says “the badass Seahawks are back:”

Seven lead changes, who knows how many facemasks were cracked, who knows how many Super Bowl flashbacks the game caused. But one thing is certain...

...the badass Seahawks are back.

Stop your grinnin', and drop your linen. Time to be afraid of the bad boys from Seattle again.

But in one of the most bone-rattling games imaginable - look for Earl Thomas' hit on Rob Gronkowski for proof - Seattle re-established its credentials as an opponent to be reckoned with. The Seahawks often come on in the second half of the schedule, and the way they punished the Patriots and also handled the hits they were given in return bodes very well for Pete Carroll's club.

 Seattle is now a powerful 6-2-1 with two of those three blemishes a distant memory from a completely different team. The rest of the schedule is no cakewalk, with games against Jekyll and (Carlos) Hyde teams that play exquisitely one week and sloppy the next (Philadelphia, Carolina), teams always one step from being pushed over the edge (Green Bay, Arizona), division pretenders (Los Angeles, San Francisco) and Tampa (Tampa). But for now the 2016 Seattle Seahawks are who finally who we thought they were: the best team in the NFC.

The Seahawks look pretty darn scary. They feel like they're more hardened, more resilient and more certain of where they fit into a potential championship picture. Sunday night's victory, one that came against the NFL's best team thus far, only added one more piece of evidence to that likelihood.

Of course, the Seahawks defense is only half the reason fans in Seattle will be giddy after this win. The other half is Russell Wilson and the play of C.J. Prosise (that's actually two more halves, but who's counting). A healthy Wilson torched the Patriots (348 yards, three touchdowns), and Seattle might have finally found a running back in Prosise who can carry the load until Thomas Rawls is 100 percent healthy. 

Seattle-New England is the best rivalry in football, and it’s not close; what do you mean they won’t play again except in a Super Bowl till 2020? … A Seattle-New England Super Bowl is a distinct possibility.