Inconsistent Seattle Seahawks brace for Detroit Lions' arrival

RENTON, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks haven't lost a home playoff game since 2004. The Detroit Lions haven't won a road playoff game since 1957. The Seahawks are hoping to keep both of those streaks intact in their wild-card round matchup with the Lions on Saturday.

Both the Seahawks and Lions have staggered to the finish line of the regular season. Seattle hasn't won consecutive games since early November. The Lions lost their final three games to cede the NFC North title to the Green Bay Packers and send them on the road for the opening round.

Seattle is facing significant struggles in key areas that they've never faced in previous playoff seasons. An offensive line that has been subpar most of the season, a running game that has been inept in recent weeks and a defense that is giving up more big plays following a season-ending injury to free safety Earl Thomas.

The Seahawks are averaging less than 80 yards rushing a game over the final three weeks of the regular season. That included just 87 yards on Sunday against the 49ers, who finished the season as the worst rush defense in the NFL. The team is still searching for improved consistency from its offensive line, particularly in the running game.

"I think we've shown a lot of good stuff over the last seven or eight weeks that we can go with," head coach Pete Carroll said. "There's been a couple halves in there, there's been a quarter and a half in there in some games that haven't been so sharp. It shows that we're still young and the consistency to be nailed is still out there for us. That's our challenge is to believe we're capable of playing like we've played when we're at our best and continue to find that and bring that to the front."

Quarterback Russell Wilson still appears to be playing at less-than-full speed as well. He was run down from behind by 49ers linebacker Carl Bradford and forced to throw the ball away on a play that he seemingly never used to be caught on in previous seasons. Wilson swears he's healthy after ankle and knee injuries throttled his mobility for most of the first half of the season.

"I feel like any play I need to make I can make, that's for sure," Wilson said. "That's the exciting part, so I still feel really fast and all that. If you asked me several weeks ago, I wasn't moving my fastest but I feel really good right now."

Wilson has continued to wear a brace on his left knee despite saying it's no longer needed and is just precautionary at this point. He said he was still considering whether he'd wear it on Saturday or not.

Defensively, Seattle has given up more "explosive plays" since the loss of Thomas to a broken leg. While Steven Terrell's presence isn't solely responsible for all of the big-yardage plays allowed by Seattle in recent week, he's also not Thomas.

"Each and every single week, continuously getting better," defensive coordinator Kris Richard said of Terrell. "The consistency, he's always really been a consistent guy for us. You just have to take your lumps, it's a good thing to happen then, and hopefully it won't happen anymore."

Seattle gave up four plays of at least 20 yards in the first half of Sunday's win over the 49ers.

The Seahawks haven't truly played a complete football game since a 40-7 win over the Carolina Panthers on the first weekend of December. They show glimpses of their prior success but have not been able to play to that level for a full four quarters, usually manifesting in sluggish starts.

But Seattle has won at least 10 games for a franchise-record five straight seasons. They only had five such seasons in franchise history before beginning their recent run of success. A home game puts them in a strong position to win at least one playoff game for a fifth straight year as well.