After last year’s second-half surge, the Seattle Seahawks’ defense has been among the league’s best this season.
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The Seahawks rank fourth in points allowed per drive (1.60) and sixth in points allowed per game (19.4). They rank fourth in yards allowed per play (4.7), including second in yards allowed per carry (3.3) and seventh in net yards allowed per pass attempt (5.4).
They have held six of their seven opponents to 20 points or fewer and five opponents to fewer than 300 total yards. And according to one of the most popular advanced metrics, they rank fourth in FTN Fantasy’s defensive DVOA.
On the surface level, none of that is surprising. The Seahawks, after all, returned nearly every key contributor from a defense that was a top-five unit over the second half of last season.
The surprising part is that Seattle’s defense has performed at this level despite missing two of its top players for most of the season.
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon has been limited to just two games due to a knee injury. Veteran safety Julian Love has played just three games due to a hamstring injury. Also, talented rookie safety Nick Emmanwori has played just three full games due to an ankle injury.
Or put another way: Witherspoon, Love and Emmanwori haven’t been on the field together since the opening defensive series of Week 1.
As a result, several backups have been forced into key roles in Seattle’s depleted secondary.
Ty Okada, who had just 33 career defensive snaps prior to this season, has made four starts at safety. Cornerback Derion Kendrick, who was claimed off waivers in late August, played significant snaps in two games. And veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin was elevated off the practice squad to start Monday night’s win over the Houston Texans, which improved the Seahawks to 5-2.
Considering the circumstances, just how impressive has the Seahawks’ defensive success been this year?
ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak called it “astonishing” during an appearance Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. Solak also said it’s a big reason why Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald – who’s already considered one of the NFL’s brightest defensive minds – deserves Coach of the Year consideration.
“The fact that they are this clean and this polished and communicate this well with guys … who would simply not be starting on other defenses is astonishing,” Solak said. “One of the great achievements of coaching right now in football is how Mike Mac has dealt with the carousel of injuries in that defensive back seven.
“He lost Witherspoon and Julian Love. Those are the leaders. Those are the communicators. You’re supposed to bust coverages when those guys leave, and they just don’t. And that is really, really rare.”
Solak said Macdonald is the defensive equivalent to what offensive guru and Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen has accomplished this season. The Colts are the NFL’s biggest surprise, sitting at a league-best 6-1 while averaging a league-high 33.1 points per game.
“Everything that Shane is pulling off on offense in Indianapolis, in my opinion, Macdonald is pulling off on defense for Seattle,” Solak said.
Listen to the full conversation with ESPN’s Benjamin Solak at this link or in the audio player near the bottom of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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