Jan. 8, 2026, 6:01 a.m. PT
The Seattle Seahawks finished the regular season as the NFL’s best scoring defense, allowing a league-low 17.2 points per game. They were not in first place heading into Week 18. The Houston Texans entered the final week as the defensive scoring leader.
The Seahawks held the San Francisco 49ers to three points in their Week 18 victory. That result greatly improved their defensive scoring stats. Meanwhile the Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38-30 in a high-scoring shootout. That result bumped the Texans’ scoring defense to 17.4 points per game, .2 higher than the Seahawks’ finish.
At the podium Wednesday, Seahawks safety jokingly thanked Colts rookie quarterback Riley Leonard for swinging the result in Seattle’s favor. “That’s cool, thank goodness for Riley Leonard,” Love said with a smile. “That’s a cool thing to accomplish [as a defense]. It wasn’t something we strived for, we just try to play good football.”
Leonard replaced Phillip Rivers as the Colts’ starting quarterback. The rookie QB out of Notre Dame completed 21-of-34 passing attempts for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed for a third touchdown as a scrambler.
The Seahawks had the best scoring defense in the NFL. Hopefully that’ll lead to playoff success. On a first-round bye as the NFC conference’s No. 1 seed, Mike Macdonald’s defense will anxiously await their opponent in the divisional round.
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