SEATTLE – Yes, division lead, playoff positioning, sure, all that stuff is important.
But aside from all that, this is the most entertaining Seahawks team in years.
For all the joy of watching your favorites score on breakaway runs and deep passes, nothing gets a fan’s blood pumping like a dominating, blood-thirsty defense that physically pounds the stuffing out of the opponents.
Nothing says “we own you” like a shutout at home.
The Minnesota Vikings, reputedly a member of the National Football League, needed well into the fourth period before cracking 100 yards of total offense.
It all ended up in a 26-0 Seahawks win. Combined with the Rams’ 31-28 loss to Carolina, the Seahawks find themselves tied for the NFC West Division lead.
You can thank the defense, an elite unit that will take Seattle to the playoffs, perhaps a long way, because they are continuing to improve.
How? Their execution of the complex defensive scheme created by head coach Mike Macdonald is meshing better than ever. They’re playing together even better, springing fewer leaks, maybe even hitting harder. At every level.
The Vikings ventured onto Seattle’s side of the field five times. Those possessions ended in three interceptions, one fumble and one turnover on downs.
On a gorgeous, crisp afternoon at Lumen Field, the Seahawks fans often were caused to harmonize in spontaneous gasps as the Hawk defense came up with huge hits.
Of course they love those. It’s got to be a case of primitive empowerment by proxy. Fans can’t go around bashing people in a civilized society, but they can sure cheer when their team detonates on the visitors.
First the defense: The two oldest position players on the team, DeMarcus Lawrence (33) and Leonard Williams (31), are playing with the energy and aggressiveness of a pair of rookies, but with the instincts and awareness of the veterans they are.
Against the Vikings, Lawrence had a forced fumble and a quarterback hit that led to one of two interceptions by linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Williams also had a 9-yard sack of Minnesota’s rookie quarterback Max Brosmer.
Jones’ two interceptions took him up to second in the NFL in interceptions with six total. He returned one of them 85 yards for a touchdown.
Macdonald said that Lawrence understands the mechanics and strategies of defensive football “better than anybody I’ve been around.” On his forced fumble, Lawrence was, simply, “a blur of a human.”
Jones is clearly becoming a leader and influential voice of the team. After quarterback Sam Darnold threw four interceptions in a loss to the Rams, Jones stood up before the media and professed the team’s unwavering support of Darnold.
Jones proved Sunday that having Darnold’s back wasn’t just talk.
In the second quarter, Darnold again lost a fumble after a sack. It gave Minnesota the ball at the Seattle 13. The Vikings moved to the Seattle 4, but Jones picked off Brosmer’s pass made while in the grasp of Lawrence. Jones took it 85 yards.
It was a tough day for Darnold, getting sacked four times, and having persistent difficulty with passes being deflected at the line by Viking defenders.
The Hawks had come into the game giving up the fewest sacks in the NFL (11). But if any team in the league would know how to get to Darnold, it would be the Vikings, who watched Darnold get sacked 48 times while quarterbacking them last year.
The Vikings appeared to be confusing the Seahawks with unexpected stunts and blitzes. But several times, right guard Anthony Bradford simply failed to hit anybody, leading to sacks or pressure on Darnold.
Bradford has been a persistent liability, and it’s hard to imagine what combination of coaching malfeasance or organizational oversight that has led the team to continue to rely on him at the right guard position.
The Hawks go to Atlanta next week, to face another struggling team (4-8).
As we look back, the Seahawk success is entirely legitimate, their three losses coming by a total of nine points, with the first two the result of late turnovers and the third, to the Rams, a product of the four interceptions.
That the defense is growing more efficient and threatening has to have the remaining five opponents on alert.
When spectacular receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was asked after the game to provide an assessment of the Seattle defense, he quickly responded: “The best in the world.”
That may not be hyperbole.