Daniel Jeremiah: What makes Seahawks’ defense unique
Dec 13, 2024, 8:19 PM
Seattle Seahawks defenders converge on Arizona running back James Conner on Dec. 8, 2024. (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
(Norm Hall/Getty Images)
With a dramatic midseason turnaround, the Seattle Seahawks’ defense has found its stride under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald.
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The Seahawks have allowed a league-low 14.8 offensive points per game since Week 9, having held each of their past five opponents to 19 offensive points or fewer. Seattle also has held four of those five opponents to fewer than 300 total yards in regulation.
The latest strong defensive performance came last Sunday, when the Seahawks shut down the Arizona Cardinals 30-18 to remain atop the NFC West with their fourth straight win. After watching the film from that game, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah described what stood out most about the Seahawks’ defense during his weekly conversation on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
“Every single play that you watched on the defensive side of the ball, it was a different player making the play,” Jeremiah said. “Like, just the depth of their front (and) the guys they’re rolling through there, they’re all making plays. … I don’t know there’s another team that’s getting as much contributions from as many different players.”
The stats bear it out.
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams has been on a tear, posting 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, an interception-return touchdown and two pass breakups over a recent two-game stretch. But it’s been far from a one-man show.
Over the past five games, the Seahawks have had seven different players record at least one sack, 12 different players with at least one tackle for loss, 12 different players with at least one pass breakup and five different players with at least one interception.
Even a player who hasn’t generated as many stats – rookie first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy II – has been making a notable impact.
“I know Byron Murphy is not going to show up much in the box score, because Leonard is just playing out of his mind and doing what he’s doing,” Jeremiah said. “But (Murphy) is taking up two blockers. He’s kind of doing dirty-work stuff. And the linebackers are filling and playing aggressive. Ernest Jones was all over the field. … So they’ve got a really, really, deep, talented group there.”
Listen to the full conversation with Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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