It’s ‘D’ Day For The Seattle Seahawks

Suddenly, the lost season … not so lost after all. It’s defense with a capital “D” time. The Seattle Seahawks’ defense is back. Just in time to determine their January plans.

Missing key components throughout the first two-plus months of the 2014 campaign, the Seattle Seahawks’ defense performed far below last year’s dominating, top-ranked unit’s level of play. While angst among the 12s ran high, there was no panic on the Seahawks’ sideline and meeting rooms. As it turns out, they had an ace up their sleeve, waiting to make his return.

The Decembrists

And none too soon. The way the Seahawks’ schedule is constructed, the team could ill afford to not step up their level of play in the final months of the regular season. Their murderer’s row of contests against playoff caliber opponents (and one team that won’t make the playoffs but nobody wants to play — the St. Louis Rams) began on Nov. 16 against the playoff-bound Kansas City Chiefs. The schedule does not let up for the remainder of the season.

Despite dropping a heartbreaker in Kansas City, the blue birds of the Northwest have managed to right the ship to the degree that they control their own path to the playoffs, thanks to their newly rediscovered, stifling defensive ways. What was once a daunting path of Wildcard-at-best, the Seahawks, combined with the recent collapses of the Arizona Cardinals (predictable) and the San Francisco 49ers (curious), are now able to claim the NFC West by winning out.

The final seven games (three of which are already in the books): the Chiefs, the Arizona Cardinals (twice), the San Francisco 49ers (twice), the Philadelphia Eagles and the Rams. A murderer’s row, indeed. The only thing is, it’s the Seahawks that are doing the killing — thanks to the now healthy and swaggering Seahawks defense.

Why not Seattle?

The snake-bitten Cardinals, despite their Seahawk-like defensive prowess, are running out of players, having lost their starting quarterback for the season and significant time from wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, starting running back Andre Ellington and other key role players. On the defensive side, the Cardinals are doing without Darnell Dockett, John Abraham, Daryl Washington and now Tyrann Mathieu, among others. While the Cardinals were able to absorb early personnel losses on their way to a league-best 9 – 1 record, their hot start is now facing a headwind. The red birds have fallen to Earth as Drew Stanton and the who-dats have been figured out.

The Seahawks sure figured them out, having handed the Cardinals a 19 – 3 thrashing at home. If consistency is good, then the Seahawks are earning high marks because they delivered the exact same score in San Francisco (on the road, no less), who are producing what looks like a head-scratching late-season implosion.

In case you’re wondering, it’s this season’s best defensive accomplishment to date: holding two teams in a row to a combined six points. As a result, the division is there for the taking.

So why the resurgence? If you ask the Seahawks, it’s the return of their swagger. I say it’s the return of a healthy Bobby Wagner from a torn tendon in his foot. As the Seahawks dealt with rotating defensive personnel due to injuries (just like everyone else) the most glaring hole in the Seahawks’ defensive efforts were due to the lack of production from the linebackers. With Wagner back, the chemistry has returned.

It is not mere coincidence that the Seahawks’ (and the league’s) two best defensive performances in a row coincide with the return of Wagner to the starting lineup. While the Seahawks waited for Wagner to heal, they gave up an average of 20+ points per game. With Wagner back: three. That kind of defensive stinginess can cover up a lot of offensive and special teams woes.

In truth, it’s not all Wagner. Honorable mention goes to replacement defensive tackle Kevin Williams for very capably stepping in for Brandon Mebane (injured reserve) to help shore up the Seahawks’ faltering run defense.

The Seahawks’ offense is what it is with four games to go in the regular season. It is the Russell Wilson / Marshawn Lynch show — the NFL’s top-ranked rushing offense and the 29^th-ranked passing offense. The defense, on the other hand, is the change agent that will determine the team’s playoff fate.

The Seahawks are once again the top defense in the league, just ahead of early season darlings, the Detroit Lions. While it may be unrealistic to see the Seahawks walk into Philadelphia and hold the fastest offense in the East to another three-point outing, if there’s a defense that can stymie the fast-break Eagles, it’s the Seahawks.

And stop them, they must. Once again, it’s a one-game season for the Seahawks. One slip-up against an NFC playoff contender and it may mean an open January.

Seven ‘n’ seven

Here’s a stat for you: There are currently seven teams in the NFC with seven or more wins. This does not include the 5 – 7 Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints — at least one of which will claim a playoff spot by virtue of “winning” their division. That leaves five playoff spots to divvy up between the remaining seven NFC leaders. Two of them (at least) are not making the playoffs.

With four games to go, every win is crucial. Seattle can win out and finish anywhere from tops in the conference to tops in the division, or they could drop one game and finish as a Wild Card or out of the playoffs entirely.

While the Seahawks’ outlook is suddenly improved, the odds are still stacked high: both of their remaining road games are against teams that are undefeated at home (Eagles, Cardinals).

In 2014, the Seahawks have held some highly productive quarterbacks in check (Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning), and have fallen to Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Alex Smith and Austin Davis. Having just soundly defeated Romo, the Eagles’ Mark Sanchez falls somewhere in the middle-to-lower end of the spectrum of quarterback talent the Seahawks have faced thus far.

Still, Sanchez has gone 3 – 1 since having taken over for the injured Nick Foles. Does he have another winning performance in him against the Seahawks’ defense? Seattle’s playoff hopes are riding on the answer to that question.