SEATTLE -- The Seattle Seahawks came ever so close to staring 1-3 in the face Monday night.

But with 1:45 left and Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson lunging for the end zone, safety Kam Chancellor popped the ball out and K.J. Wright batted the ball out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback that allowed the Seahawks to preserve a 13-10 victory.

After the game, it was revealed Wright batting the ball was illegal. The Lions should have gotten the ball back.

That did not happen and Chancellor's play kept the Seahawks from falling into a huge early-season hole. After holding out and missing the first two games of the season, he finished with seven tackles (six solo) and delivered a jarring hit to Johnson over the middle on a different play.

"I saw a lot of brown ball so I attacked it, punched it and made a big play at the end," Chancellor said. "He had it away from his body. They teach you to tuck it tight, and it was away from his body so I just punched at it."

"When I punched it, I saw it fly out, and I was just waiting for it to roll."

In his first game back against the Bears, Chancellor looked a bit rusty. Not the case against Detroit. This is clearly a different unit with him on the field. In the past two weeks, the defense has held the Bears and Lions out of the end zone. The only points it allowed during that stretch came on a Lions field goal.

With the Seahawks' offensive line looking shaky and Marshawn Lynch banged up, Seattle may need to rely on its defense now more than ever. That's a lot more manageable with Chancellor on the field.

Series to remember: Seahawks returner Tyler Lockett muffed a punt in the third quarter, giving the Lions possession at the Seattle 46. When Lockett was coming off the field, safety Earl Thomas was the first to greet him and offer words of encouragement. The defense pushed the Lions back 4 yards and forced a punt. Cornerback Cary Williams was tested deep twice against Calvin Johnson, but forced incompletions on both occasions and nearly came up with an interception.

Series to forget: It's tough to start out with a first-and-goal from the 9 and go to fourth-and-goal from the 33, but that's exactly what the Seahawks did at the end of the first half. Wilson took a pair of sacks, and center Drew Nowak was called for a false start. Kicker Steven Hauschka hit a 51-yard field goal on the team's only red zone possession of the game.

One reason to get excited: The defense looks like the unit that led this team to the Super Bowl the past two years. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford averaged just 5.8 YPA and the Lions totaled 53 yards on the ground. A bigger test awaits next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

One reason to panic: The offensive line looked like a complete disaster. Wilson was sacked six times and fumbled twice. This isn't a case of the Seahawks playing with backups or dealing with injuries. They've had all five starters for every game this season. But unless this group improves quickly, it's going to be tough for the offense to find any kind of rhythm.

Fantasy watch: It was a quiet game for tight end Jimmy Graham. He was targeted five times, but didn't have much to show for it. Graham finished with four catches for 29 yards. He's still going to be a must-start every week, but there will likely be more weeks like this one.

Injuries: Nickel corner Marcus Burley left the game with a thumb injury. Other than that, the Seahawks appeared to escape without any major injuries.