By many metrics, the Seattle Seahawks had the best defense in the NFL in 2025. But they were surely going to take a step back this year after the offseason they had. Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen both departed and were replaced by in-house pieces, and Boye Mafe was swapped out for post-June 1st free agent signing Dante Fowler Jr.
Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Uchenna Nwosu were a year older. The defensive rookies the team brought in were not especially ballyhooed, and have contributed nothing so far. It’s a pretty obvious recipe for regression, a step back. But are they actually worse on the field through seven games? It doesn’t seem like it.
The Numbers Tell A Convincing Story
The Seahawks have allowed 17.9 points per game so far this year, a tiny step down from last year’s 17.2. Consider, however, how many of those points have been allowed on short fields, or no field at all. The defense has allowed touchdown drives of 21, 43, 18, and 11 yards, field goal drives of 26 and 8 yards, and two defensive scores.
To understand the significance of those short fields, Seattle is #1 by a wide margin in yards allowed per game (233.9), miles better than last year’s 285.6. They’re also historic in yards per play allowed at just 4.0, a massive improvement over the 4.7 number from 2025, and the best number any defense has produced this century. So far, it sure looks better to me.
If you go to advanced analytics, the argument gets even stronger. -0.118 EPA per play is second best in the league this year thanks to the Vikings getting off to a historic start, but it’s slightly better than their marks last year of -0.113. Their success rate allowed is significantly stronger, all the way down at 36.5% from 40.1% last year. Somehow, someway, they’re better.
Digging Into The Context
Some have suggested this is partially a product of the schedule thus far. It’s not an entirely unfounded claim, but the thing that really catches my attention is how well this defense has played the last three weeks against Kyle Shanahan, Sean Payton, and Andy Reid. Three of the brightest offensive minds this century. That’s not something to ignore.
The Patriots are having some issues putting up points, but they’re a top ten team in yards and EPA. The 49ers and Chiefs are among the league’s best offenses so far. Even the Commanders and Cardinals are more below average than bad. Maybe the rest of the schedule is a little tougher offensively, especially with McVay looming twice, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Also, consider this team has played (essentially) two games without Nick Emmanwori, two without Drake Thomas, four without Ty Okada, and one without Julian Love. They’re here in part because they’re getting plus play out of players like Tyrice Knight, Rodney Thomas II, and Nehemiah Pritchett. For all we know, they’ll improve as we get deeper into the season.
The Conclusion
The offense’s struggles have made it somewhat hard to notice, but it seems pretty definitive at this moment. This defense has experienced no drop-off from 2025, and is actually better so far. Maybe we won’t be saying this after encounters with the Bears, 49ers, Cowboys, and the Rams twice, but after the last few games, I would give them every benefit of the doubt.
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