THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016

If Sunday’s game was any indication, it appears the Seattle Seahawks are back.

Winning 31-24 against the New England Patriots — in Foxborough — was probably the biggest road win they’ve had in quite a while.

Considering where they’ve been, that’s saying something.

IN CASE you forgot, these teams met a few years ago in the Super Bowl, New England won on an interception at the 1-yard line late in the game.

With Seattle leading late in the game Sunday, New England was the team that came up short, ironically from the 1-yard line on a pass that was just out of reach.

Kind of fitting when you think that a game between the two teams can finish that way, isn’t it?

Now, Seattle wasn’t given any trophies, parades or rings to make up for losing that game a couple of years ago, but the idea that the teams could be on a collision course to face each other in the title game is a real possibility.

Despite a couple of hiccups on the road at Arizona and New Orleans, Seattle is right in the mix for home field advantage along with Dallas, which holds the best record in the league at 8-1.

New England hadn’t lost since Tom Brady returned from his suspension, and chances are it might not lose again this year if the team can remain remotely healthy throughout the remainder of the season.

Seattle will be getting healthier in the coming weeks with the return of Michael Bennett and Thomas Rawls for what could be a fun stretch run to the postseason. One indication they’re getting healthy is the reported release of Christine Michael, who’d started a majority of the team’s games this season.

Granted, Seattle has played a lot of big road games in recent years, but you’d be hard pressed to find a game as big as the one that they had to win last Sunday. Had they lost, there’s a good chance things might have started to spiral downward.

With that win, they look to be back where they’ve been in recent years and on the verge of a bit of a run toward the postseason.

THINKING BACK a few weeks to watching St. Maries take on North Fremont in the Kibbie Dome in a state 2A football quarterfinal game, you could sense the Lumberjacks were onto something special this season.

It wasn’t quite the defensive stand at the end of the third quarter that was the indication, nor the early scoring plays to jump out to a quick lead.

With the game very much still in the balance, St. Maries closed out the game on defense on an interception, tipped by Dylan Edwards — who was heading out of bounds — to Bryant Asbury to set up the final score of the game by the Lumberjacks.

As amazing as that play was to watch in person, you couldn’t help but laugh a little when a coach was explaining to his reserves “that’s why we practice those things.”

At 11-0, and a date in the state championship game on Friday afternoon at Holt Arena, there are no doubts the team won’t be as prepared as they need to be.

This is why they practice those things.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.