A Grip on Sports: It’s hard to figure out how and why, but the Seahawks just keep on winning

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you are unfamiliar with how the Seahawks play football, Sunday’s 17-9 NFC wild-card win over Philadelphia was an excellent crash course. With crash being the operative word.

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• That was Seahawk football, circa 2020 in a hard roll. The defense plays keep-them-in-front. The offense relies on Russell Wilson to make a handful of plays. And those of us watching at home lose our fingernails early in the second quarter.

And yet, most of the time, they win. As they did last night.

How? Mirrors, maybe. Pete Carroll and a blood pact with the devil, possibly. Great tackling and a superb quarterback, perhaps.

Whatever it is, and it just could be the most positive attitude in the NFL, it will continue for another week.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is much chance the Seahawks go into Green Bay on Sunday night and leave with another win. The season will probably end there. That’s OK.

This wasn’t supposed to be much of a year. The Rams were supposed to win the West, the 49ers the up-and-coming threat and the Hawks? The Hawks were slated for a downturn. Too old, too slow, too lacking in any type of threat.

Actually, all that might still be true – except the Rams part – if everyone in the NFL hadn’t missed on DK Metcalf.

The rookie wide receiver has evolved into the Hawks’ best weapon, better even than Tyler Lockett. And it was the mountain of a man went up late in the game to ensure the win with a key third-down, I-can’t-believe-Carroll-called-that catch which finished off the Eagles. It was part of a 160-yard, six-catch game that set rookie playoff records. And helped make sure Marshawn Lynch would spend another week on a football field.

And give the rest of us another seven days marveling at how the heck the Hawks find a way to win.

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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan’s rewind of Saturday’s tight win focuses on the contributions of oft-injured Killian Tillie, whose presence is crucial for the nation’s top-ranked team. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s, coming off a four-overtime loss to Pacific, hosts BYU this week.

WSU: There is a new all-time leading scorer in Washington State women’s basketball. … Around the Pac-12, Washington didn’t just defeat USC, the Huskies crushed the Trojans. … The conference is the same in basketball as it is in football. It eats itself. Case in point, Oregon State goes into Boulder and defeats Colorado. … Utah didn’t make great decisions in the loss to Oregon. … Arizona State didn’t make many shots against Arizona.

Seahawks: Metcalf’s performance garnered a lot of national attention (and, I’m guessing, the attention of Green Bay’s defensive staff). He deserves it. … With all the injuries, the Hawks needed some reserves to step up. Cody Barton did. … The Eagles suffered a big injury early, when quarterback Carson Wentz was knocked from the game after a Jadeveon Clowney hit. Was it dirty? At least a little. … Lynch scored on a classic Lynch run.

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• I hope everyone got to work safely this morning. There is snow on the ground around our place and it seems to have made the steps slick. At least that’s what the dogs were saying. I’m not going outside until it warms up a bit. Until later …