Russell Wilson soars as Seahawks rout Bills 50-17

TORONTO (AP) ? Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are not only surging toward a playoff berth. They showed they can pile up the points on either side of the border.

A week after a 58-0 win at home against Arizona, Wilson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another in a 50-17 rout of the Bills in Buffalo's annual game in Toronto on Sunday. Wilson's scores all came in the first half.

The Seahawks' opportunistic defense then took over by forcing three consecutive turnovers to start the second half, including safety Earl Thomas scoring on 57-yard interception return.

The 108 combined points over two weeks matched the NFL's third-highest total. The New England Patriots also scored 108 points in consecutive games last month, according to STATS. And the Seahawks became the NFL's third team to score 50 points in consecutive weeks, joining the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants, who both did it in 1950, according to STATS.

In winning for the fifth time in six games, the Seahawks (9-5) inched closer to clinching a playoff berth and still aren't out of the running to win the NFC West. They return home to host division-leading San Francisco in what's become a key showdown.

Wilson, the rookie third-round draft pick, scored on 14-, 25- and 13-yard runs to become the NFL's first quarterback to run for three scores in one half since Daunte Culpepper did it against Chicago on Sept. 3, according to STATS. And Wilson's 4-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller was his 21st of the season, moving into a tie for second with Cam Newton among NFL rookies. Only Peyton Manning, with 26 in 1998, has more.

Wilson had 92 yards rushing to give him 402 on the season, setting a Seahawks record by passing Rick Mirer, who had 343 yards rushing in 1993. He also went 14 of 23 for 205 yards before giving way to backup Matt Flynn with 5 minutes left.

Wilson ran circles around the Bills (5-9), who were entirely outclassed in being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for a 13th season. That's the NFL's longest active drought. And their performance further raises questions about coach Chan Gailey's job security.

C.J. Spiller scored on a 14-yard run, while Stevie Johnson scored on a 20-yard catch from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

This was an utter meltdown by a Bills defense that had allowed an average of 16.75 points and 254.25 yards offense over its past four games. Buffalo's now allowed 45 or more points three times this season.

The Seahawks scored 31 points on their first five possessions, and 40 points on their first eight, a stretch in which Canadian-born Jon Ryan punted just once.

The Bills rallied by scoring 10 unanswered points in the final 1:10 of the first half to cut the Seahawks' lead to 31-17. But any chances of a comeback ended on Buffalo's first possession of the second half, when Fitzpatrick forced a pass over the middle and was intercepted by linebacker K.J. Wright, who returned it to the Bills 20.

Two plays later, Marshawn Lynch scored on a 13-yard run.

On the next possession, Fitzpatrick had the ball stripped from his hand by defensive end Chris Clemons and the fumble recovered by teammate Bruce Irvin. That led to Steven Hauschka hitting a 33-yard field goal to make it 40-17.

And then it got ugly.

Fitzpatrick turned the ball over a third straight time, when he was intercepted by Thomas. The touchdown was reviewed, and the crowd cheered loudly when referee Scott Green announced that Thomas had caught the ball before it hit the turf.

The announced crowd of 40,770 was well below the downtown domed Rogers Centre's capacity of 54,000.

The Bills dropped to 1-4 in regular-season games at Toronto since the series began in 2008, with their lone win coming last year when they beat Washington 23-0.

The Bills and Toronto-based Rogers Communications are closing in on a deal to extend the series, which expired after this game.

Torontonians might want to reconsider after this. With 5:20 left, fans in one end zone began chanting "Let's Go Blue Jays!"

At least they were entertained by both the Seahawks and at halftime by Korean pop star PSY performed his hit "Gangnam Style" at midfield. Many fans stuck around and stood during the performance, with some doing the dance the song has inspired.

Bills in Toronto series organizers hired PSY to perform in a bid to boost ticket sales for a game that has had difficulty selling out over the previous four years. PSY was greeted by loud cheers and performed in front of a group of cheerleaders and youngsters dressed in blue shirts who all wore PSY-styled sunglasses.

The crowd was slow-arriving and featured a wide diversity of NFL fans. While there were numerous fans dressed in Bills and Seahawks colors, fans were spotted wearing a Steelers' Troy Polamalu jersey, and another wearing a Tom Brady No. 12 Patriots jersey.

The Seahawks wore their third uniforms ? "wolf grey" jerseys and pants with green numbers and names ? for the first time since introducing them this offseason.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russell-wilson-soars-seahawks-rout-bills-50-17-002102853--spt.html

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