RENTON, Wash. — It was a game that called for every cliche there is about winning while playing at less than your best.

But while the Seattle Seahawks’ 27-17 win over the Washington Redskins on Monday night was far from artful, it served its purpose as the Seahawks earned their first road win of the season and moved into a tie with the Arizona Cardinals for first place in the NFC West.

“To be able to still win that game on the road was great,” quarterback Russell Wilson said after the Seahawks prevailed despite a season-high 13 penalties, including three that wiped out potential touchdowns for receiver Percy Harvin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game like Percy had,” said Seattle coach Pete Carroll. “That would have been a phenomenal game.”

The Seahawks instead relied on dominating the running game on both sides of the ball to ultimately hold off the Redskins.

Seattle rushed for 225 yards, including 122 from Wilson, the highest for a quarterback in the 45-year history of Monday Night Football.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, held the Redskins to just 32 yards rushing on 17 carries, leading Carroll to say: “We played really solid on the line of scrimmage on defense.”

In fact, Seattle has all year as it leads the NFL in fewest rushing yards allowed at 2.6 per attempt, allowing just 249 yards overall in four games.

That will get put to a test Sunday as Seattle faces a surprising Dallas Cowboys team that is 4-1 and boasts the leading rusher in the NFL in DeMarco Murray.

“It will be a fun battle with Dallas,” said Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

The Washington game began a string of 13 games in 13 weeks for the Seahawks following their Week Four bye. The game also began a streak of three road games in four weeks, all long trips — games at St. Louis and Carolina follow the visit by Dallas.

But for the most part, Seattle is playing at a level to feel confident of being able to handle any challenge thrown its way.

The Seahawks had eight pre-snap penalties called against Washington, which Carroll said means they are ones that should be able to be fixed easily.

“That’s on us,” he said.

Wilson continues to play at an exceedingly high level, posting a 127.3 passer rating against Washington to go with eight touchdowns against just one interception for the season.

And the defense, despite some concerns over the depth up front, appears to be picking up where it left off last season.

The Seahawks took a 17-0 lead against Washington midway through the second quarter. A couple of breakdowns in pass coverage led to two long receptions by DeSean Jackson, and 10 Washington points.

But Seattle made the plays it had to down the stretch to win going away.

— C Max Unger left for three plays in the fourth quarter with a foot injury but returned to finish the game, and coach Pete Carroll said after the game it’s not considered serious.

— WR Percy Harvin left briefly in the second quarter to deal with cramps, but returned.

— RB Marshawn Lynch did not start a game for the first time since 2012 while dealing with back tightness early. But after entering the game on the second possession, he played regularly the rest of the way.

— LB Bruce Irvin got the start at strong-side linebacker and for now appears to have won that job ahead of Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith, who started the first three games of the season at that spot.

REPORT CARD: REDSKINS

PASSING OFFENSE: B — It feels at time as if the Seahawks ought to be doing more through the air with Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. Those three combined for nine catches but for just 92 yards against Washington, Harvin getting four receptions for 27. Penalties, though, wiped out what would have been two Harvin touchdowns on short passes that he turned into long gains and a potential 47-yard score. And it’s hard to argue with the end result as Seattle got a win and Russell Wilson finished with a 127.3 passer rating. Wilson has thrown eight touchdowns with just one interception and has a passer rating of 112.9.

RUSHING OFFENSE: A — The Seahawks simply dominated this one on the ground, rushing for 225 yards while allowing just 32. A lot of the yards Monday came somewhat unconventionally with Wilson rushing for a career-high 122 on 11 attempts, a handful of which were simply scrambles that he turned into big gains. But Seattle’s conventional running game didn’t look bad, either, as Marshawn Lynch had 72 yards on 17 carries. Seattle averaged 6.3 yards per carry for the game, and it will take that every week.

PASS DEFENSE: B — Take out two plays and it would have been another Legion of Boom-like performance. But two plays helped keep this one closer than it needed to be — a 60-yard touchdown by DeSean Jackson, and a 57-yard Jackson reception that set up a field goal. The former was blamed largely to Seattle being in a bad defense for the play that was called, and the latter simply on a great play by Washington. Otherwise, Seattle allowed just 167 yards on 19 completions. The linebackers were especially strong in pass coverage after struggling in previous games. One quibble continues to be the lack of interceptions — Seattle has just two.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — Against the best running team it has played so far this season, the Seahawks turned in their best game up front, holding Washington to 32 yards on 17 carries with Alfred Morris managing just 29 on 13. Seattle’s tackles got constant penetration, the ends were disciplined to keep everything contained, and the linebackers cleaned up everything. Morris thrives on cutback runs, but the Seahawks never got out of their gaps to allow him anywhere to go. Playing the best game may have been middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, who had eight tackles, three for a loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A — This was another area where Seattle simply dominated from start to finish. Punter Jon Ryan had another spectacular day with five of his six punts down inside the 20 and none returned. Ryan also picked up a fourth-and-1 on a fake punt as the team’s holder on field goals which led to a Seattle touchdown in the fourth quarter. Punt returner Bryan Walters had his best overall day with 54 yards on five attempts. And the Seahawks also proved alert on an onside kick attempt by Washington with tight end Cooper Helfet getting the recovery.

COACHING: A- — It’s hard to know what to blame for the 13 penalties. Five were by two of the team’s trusted veterans and one-time Pro Bowlers — center Max Unger and left tackle Russell Okung. Certainly, the Seattle coaches will spend this week trying to clean that up. Otherwise, it was another dominant effort and a game plan that made sense, especially on defense as the Seahawks wanted to keep Morris contained and force Kirk Cousins to win the game with his arm, something they didn’t think he could do. And most of the play calls seemed to pay off, led by the fake field goal.