Resurgent Seahawks defense fueling Seattle hot streak
In case anyone forgot what the Seattle Seahawks defense was all about on the way to the Super Bowl last season, it's provided a whole lot of reminders the past three weeks.
The Legion of Boom and Co. are also back in a familiar spot statistically — No. 1 in fewest yards and passing yards allowed entering Sunday's game against the rival San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field.
"You can't just expect things to roll over into the next year," Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright told Paste BN Sports on Thursday. "You've got to recapture the moment and re-find what makes you successful. It was good that we struggled a little bit, because we were able to find out what the problem was."
The Seahawks have allowed just 20 points total in the three wins since a meeting of team leaders that players have cited as a catalyst for their invigorated play since. And there's no doubt the defense has played better collectively than it did early in the season.
"Still a very good defense, but nowhere near as suffocating," said former Pro Bowl safety John Lynch, who's now an analyst for the NFL on FOX. "And suffocating's the word. That's what they did to people last year. There was just not room to breathe for their opponents, and that was missing for whatever reason."
The recent revival has coincided with the return of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, whose range, coverage ability and willingness to play physically were welcome additions after he sat out five games with a toe injury.
"They really missed him in there," said Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who's now an analyst on the team's radio broadcasts. "I don't think there's any middle linebacker that can cover sideline to sideline the way he does."
Pro Bowl strong safety Kam Chancellor also seems himself again after battling ankle issues.
"These guys have played lot of football games together," Moon said. "Even though they have pretty reliable backups, they're not the starters, and they don't play as fast as the starters do, they don't communicate as well as the starters do with one another, and right now, that is at an all-time pitch with those guys as far as their communication."
The Seahawks did lose one key piece, standout defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, whose season-ending hamstring injury was a cause for concern. But everyone from 34-year-old Kevin Williams to second-year pro Jordan Hill has stepped up on the interior for a team that now has won six of its past seven games and sits one game behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.
The Seahawks lost 24-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 16, but then snuffed out the Cardinals 19-3, beat the 49ers by the same score four nights later at San Francisco and won on the road again last week 24-14 at Philadelphia, where the high-octane Eagles managed just 139 net yards, their lowest under coach Chip Kelly.
"I believe we're just all connected," Wright said. "The Arizona game was the first time we played as a true defensive unit. Everybody played for one another. We trusted each other. I'm glad we got hot around that time."
At 9-4, Seattle just needs to win out to catch the Cardinals, who were 10-3 entering Thursday night's game against the St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks visit Arizona on Dec. 21, then close the regular season the following week at home against the Rams.
But first, there's a rematch with the slumping 49ers, whose season ended in the NFC Championship Game last year in Seattle — fittingly sealed on a play by the Seahawks defense when all-pro cornerback Richard Sherman tipped a Colin Kaepernick pass into the end zone into the hands of linebacker Malcolm Smith with 22 seconds to go.
"The scheme that (coach) Pete (Carroll) has devised over the years — it just plays perfect to their personnel," Lynch said. "They suffocate you outside, and they aren't giving up the easy throws. But they're playing zone inside and these long, rangy linebackers with tremendous speed have their eyes on the quarterback.
"You've got a huge safety in Kam Chancellor that's an enforcer that people are scared of, and then you've got this little Tasmanian devil in (all-pro free safety) Earl Thomas. It seems like everything has a complement. They can get you in every way. They're very well-coached, they take a lot of pride in what they do. And for all those reasons, they really are great."
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