Apologies in advance if this turns out to be a jinx.
And yes, any conclusion buttressed by Sunday’s performance must include the words “it came against the Jets.”
But the Seahawks’ defense has seemingly undergone a makeover worthy of a reality TV show. It has gone from horrendous, to serviceable to — dare I say — really good.
Its latest gem came via a 40-3 win vs. the Jets on Sunday. Yes, that game included three missed field-goal attempts under 45 yards by New York kicker Sergio Castillo, who plays for an 0-13 team.
But remember, the Jets scored at least 27 points in three of their previous four games. They’re awful, but on offense they haven’t been completely hapless.
What’s undeniable is that the Seahawks’ “D” has put them in prime position to win in each of their past four contests. They held the Cardinals to 21 points in a win in Week 11. They kept the Eagles to 17 in a win in Week 12. They held the Giants to 17 in a five-point loss in Week 13. And then there was Sunday’s game against the Jets. Heck, even the 23-16 loss to the Rams in Week 10 was an acceptable defensive performance.
Once on pace to give up the most season yardage in NFL history, Seattle has begun to resemble the defensive juggernaut that led it to back-to-back Super Bowls last decade.
No, there likely won’t be any Sports Illustrated covers featuring these Seahawks the way it did the Legion of Boom back in the day, but the ostensible transformation on that side of the ball is worth acknowledging.
“You saw another day of the defense coming out here. It’s getting going now. It’s pretty clear that we’ve made a big turn,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Sunday via Zoom. “Those guys (the Jets) put yards on everybody, and we just didn’t let them today.”
So how did this happen? How did the Seahawks go from a team that gave up an average of 30.3 points through its first eight games to one that has allowed an average of 16.2 through its next five? How did Seattle go from a team that had nine sacks through its first seven games to one that has 36 through 13? Well, there were a few things.
One, the Seahawks acquired Pro Bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap from the Bengals midway through the season. The veteran has tallied 3.5 sacks in his five games in Seattle and seemingly jump-started a pass rush that once went a whole game without registering a quarterback hit.
Two, Jamal Adams got healthy. The All-Pro safety missed four games due to injury but has been stellar since he came back. His 8.5 sacks this season are the most by a defensive back in NFL history, and he has three games to add to that total.
Carroll doesn’t give out many game balls but felt Adams was worthy of one after setting that record. It might not have looked like it early in the season, but the two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick Seattle (9-4) gave up to get him is starting to seem worth it.
Three, there was a meeting in a hotel conference room three days after the Week 10 loss to the Rams. Defensive players were asked to share their responsibilities to their teammates as a gesture of accountability. Was that the difference in Seattle’s “D” going from matadors to maulers? Hard to say. But they have been one of the stingiest defenses in the league since.
“These last few weeks have been excellent. We’ve just played a really good, team ball,” Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said Sunday via Zoom. “The communication is on point. The limiting of explosive plays also has on point. We just really plan together.”
The next test for the Seahawks is a Washington team (6-7) that has won four in a row and handed the Steelers their first loss of the season two weeks ago. That game may not have seemed like a significant challenge for the Seahawks a month ago but now looks like a genuine hurdle in Seattle’s quest to win the NFC West.
What should be comforting for Seahawks fans, though, is that it no longer appears that quarterback Russell Wilson has to play like the league’s MVP for the Seahawks to win. The following words seemed like an impossibility earlier in the season, but, yes — the defense has his back.
