Seattle Seahawks Defense is the Best in the League
The defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks take on the Green Bay Packers at home on Sunday, Jan. 18 and it is going to be another big game for both teams who are both 13-4.
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The Seahawks are an amazing 9-0 all time against Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. The Green Bay Packers are 11-8 all time.
Let’s take a look at Seattle’s defense.
Seahawks Defense:
AGAINST THE PASS
Seattle’s defense has shown all the way up in all the games this season. The Seahawks pass defense scored off 12 of their 15 interceptions this season. And to make things even more crazy, no team scored a touchdown on a drive where the Seahawks forced a sack. This season Aaron Rodgers went 23-33 for 189 yards with a 70 percent completion rate, and one touchdown and one interception against the Seahawks.
And he was sacked three times during the game in Week 1. The Packers lost that game.
The ‘Hawks held the Packers offense to just 4.9 yards per pass. This was done by avoiding cornerback Richard Sherman and targeting Bryon Maxwell and Jeremy Lane.
Mike McCarthy put WR Jarrett Boykin on Sherman’s side and paired his best receivers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, with Maxwell and Lane. The Seahawks defense on the right side outside the numbers (where Sherman normally roams) has been first in the NFL since 2011 (when Sherman entered the league) in total QBR (42), INT (27), Pass TD (16) and completion percentage (48%).
Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had a similar strategy during their playoff game against the Seahawks. He paired his best receivers on the left side of the field away from Sherman, and received pass completion success on that side.
To combat this technique, the entire defense is going to have to play extremely well, as well as get intense pressure on the QB. Aaron Rodgers injured his calf muscle during the playoff game against the Cowboys, so he’s not as mobile in the pocket as he normally would be.
“Well, I plan to throw to the open guy, it’s it open to the right, I’ll throw there, if it’s open to the left then I’ll throw there,” Rodgers stated Wednesday in a press conference. And since Week 1, Boykin has been replaced with new-found star Davante Adams.
AGAINST THE RUSH:
But get this, their rush defense is just as good. This season they came in second in the league by only allowing 3.4 yards per rush this season.
In Week 1, running back Eddie Lacy was held to a season-low 34 yards on 12 touches. The Packers had 80 yards rushing during that game but with just 21 rush attempts. The Packers averaged 3.8 yards per carry against ‘Hawks in Week 1. They relied heavily on Eddie Lacy in the Divisional playoff round against the Dallas Cowboys and he rushed for 100 yards.
Lacy averaged 4.7 yards per play in that game after the Rodgers’ injury, so they probably will rely a little more heavily than normal again.
The game is set to take place at 12:05 p.m. PT on FOX.