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RENTON Ugo Amadi Jersey , Wash. (AP) — Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer sat together and decided with their team winless after two games there needed to be a change.What the Seattle Seahawks were trying to do on offense wasn’t working.“He and I sat down and kind of had a little heart-to-heart,” said Schottenheimer, Seattle’s first-year offensive coordinator.“There were things that he and I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page about. It wasn’t just the running game, it was he and I continuing to build our relationship and it was an awesome meeting. It probably lasted about an hour and we talked about a ton of different stuff. I know I came out of that meeting feeling really good just about the direction where we wanted to go.”The direction has been clear for more than three months as the Seahawks went from a team searching for answers to a team back in the postseason after a one-year absence from the playoffs.And it was the decisions made before playing Dallas in Week 3 where the switch was made and Seattle started on its path that has the Seahawks headed to face the Cowboys on Saturday night in an NFC wild-card game.The conversation between Carroll and Schottenheimer made clear Seattle was going back to the fundamentals of how it wanted to be offensively. They were going to make running the ball the priority and let Russell Wilson be a playmaker around the running success.The result: Seattle ended the season as the best run team in the NFL, and with Wilson having one of the best seasons of his career making big plays in the passing game.“I don’t think you’d always sit there and say we’re going to make this philosophy and go do this, and then you think you’re going to be the best in the league at it,” Schottenheimer said.Throughout last offseason, Seattle preached it was returning to the basic offensive fundamentals that led them to consecutive NFC titles. They were going to be bullies running the football behind the trio of Chris Carson, Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny.But for the first two weeks of the season, Schottenheimer and Carroll got too far ahead of themselves. They tried to see how much the Seahawks could rely on Wilson, rather than relying on the run game. The result was a pair of ugly losses to Denver and Chicago, and Wilson running for his life getting sacked 12 times in those first two games.When Dallas arrived in Week 3, so did Seattle’s change in approach. That was the week Carson became the workhorse in the run game. It was the week that the additions of D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy at the guard positions started to become noticeable, and Seattle’s running success meant Wilson was no longer under siege by the opposing pass rush.Seattle rushed for only 113 yards that day in the 24-13 win — 102 by Carson — but it laid the foundation for what the Seahawks became.“They were talking about it the whole time of running the ball more and being a run team,” Carson said. “They finally started getting it going against the Cowboys and it’s taken off ever since.”Starting with Week 3, Seattle has rushed for 2,422 yards, the fourth-most by any team since 2010 during that 14-game span. The 2014 Seahawks had 2,447 yards during the same stretch of games Mychal Kendricks Jersey , one spot ahead of this year’s team.While it was the Cowboys when Seattle committed to its offensive identity, when it fully took hold depends on whom you ask. For Schottenheimer it wasn’t until Week 12 at Carolina when he became convinced Seattle had the ability to win in multiple ways. The victory over the Panthers came on a day Seattle ran for only 75 yards, but Wilson threw for 339. It’s the only time in the final 14 games Seattle was held under 100 yards rushing as a team.For offensive tackle Duane Brown, it was Seattle’s first game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. Seattle lost 33-31, but ran for 190 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.“It just became our norm and we had some pretty good fronts that we went against,” Brown said.Carroll agreed with his left tackle that it was a few games after facing the Cowboys before the commitment to Seattle’s offensive style became the norm.“It was a step in right direction and the commitment came through but we were just getting started,” Carroll said. “I don’t think that was the pivotal week, it took us two or three weeks after that before we started to find the stride that we wanted and started to build on that.” SEATTLE (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson have faced off in a few memorable games in Seattle, from the “Fail Mary” to an unforgettable NFC championship game that sent the Seahawks to their second straight Super Bowl.For the fifth straight regular season — and the seventh time overall since 2012 — Green Bay and Seattle will meet again on Thursday night, but this time it’s positioning in a jumbled NFC playoff picture at stake.Washington, New Orleans, Chicago and the Los Angeles Rams are the division leaders in the NFC, leaving a pile of seven teams — including Seattle and Green Bay — within a couple of games of each other likely competing for the two wild-card spots. And every advantage or tiebreaker in that race — such as a head-to-head victory — could end up being crucial.“I know that this team is very, very capable of doing what we’re setting out to do,” Wilson said. “I think everybody should watch out (for) what we can do.”Seattle (4-5) has dropped two straight after winning four of the previous five, and hasn’t lost three straight since the middle of the 2011 season. Green Bay (4-4-1) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 31-12 thumping of Miami last week.The “Fail Mary” in 2012, the 2014 season opener when Seattle raised its Super Bowl banner and the NFC title game after the 2014 season are the only three times Rodgers has lost to the Seahawks in his career.The past two matchups with Seattle have been among Rodgers’ best, throwing for 311 yards in a 17-9 win to open last season and in 2016 posting a 150.8 passer rating in a 38-10 Green Bay rout.He also has the distinction of having won in Seattle — although that came 10 years ago.“It’s a tough environment like I said but we’ve definitely done it before,” Rodgers said. “You’ve just got to start fast Steve Largent Color Rush Jersey , take care of the football. They’re very good at turning the ball over. I know this is different personnel on their side of the ball than we’ve seen over the years, but they’re still playing really well.”Rodgers and Wilson are being helped this year by improved run games that are among the best in the league. Green Bay’s Aaron Jones leads the NFL in yards per carry, while Seattle has the No. 1 rushing offense and last week rushed for 273 yards against the Rams without starting running back Chris Carson.Here’s what else to watch for on Thursday night:FIRST UPSeattle expects Carson to be available after missing last Sunday’s game with a hip injury. If Carson can go, he will be the starter. But Seattle finally saw the promise of rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny last week when he rushed for 108 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Penny showed the burst and big-play ability that had been missing through the first half of the season.Expect Penny to get additional chances no matter Carson’s health as the Seahawks look to use its three-back trio — Carson, Penny, Mike Davis — all of whom have 100-yard rushing games this season.SECONDARY MATTERSAnother week, another lineup shuffle likely in the Green Bay secondary. Kentrell Brice was walking in the locker room with a boot on his left foot early in the week, making it appear unlikely that he will be ready to go on a short turnaround.The Packers traded Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington two weeks ago. Jermaine Whitehead was released last week. No Brice would mean probably mean veteran Tramon Williams and second-year player Josh Jones starting at safety. Kevin King (hamstring) also appears likely to miss another game, while fellow cornerback Bashaud Breeland (groin) was limited during the week.HERE’S JIMMYTight end Jimmy Graham is returning to Seattle for the first time since signing with the Packers as a free agent in the offseason. With just two touchdowns so far this year, Graham perhaps hasn’t had quite the impact in the end zone as in 2017, when he had 10 scores with Seattle.But with 33 catches through nine games, Graham in on pace to match the production he had with the Seahawks. He’s also taking pride in his run-blocking, and his part in helping Aaron Jones run for career highs of 145 yards and two scores last week.“I know everybody knows me for running go routes and snagging touchdowns, but I think I’ve dedicated myself to the run, to being a part of that because I’m a tight end now,” Graham said on Sunday. “For us to be successful I’ve got to do those things and I’ve got to be good at them.”QUICK TURNAROUNDBecause of the quick turnaround from last Sunday several players have been ruled out. Along with Brice and King, the Packers have also ruled out wide receiver Randall Cobb and linebacker Nick Perry.Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright was listed as doubtful because of a knee injury that knocked him out of last Sunday’s game early. Carroll said Wright would be a game-time decision. Seattle sat Carson and guard D.J. Fluker against the Rams and both appear set to play against the Packers.