Seattle Seahawks: Defense benefits from Russell Wilson and the offense too

We constantly hear how much Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense benefits from having a great defense. What most members of the media don’t seem to understand is just how much the defense benefits from playing with Russell Wilson.

Just take a look at the number of drive each defense in the NFL was on the field for in 2014. It should come as no surprise that Seattle’s defense faced the fewest number of drives. They also faced the fewest in 2012, and were near the bottom of the league in 2013 as well.

Team	Drives	drives-ave
SEA	165	-14
ATL	165	-14
NO	166	-13
CHI	167	-12
PIT	169	-10
SF	170	-9
KC	170	-9
MIN	170	-9
GB	170	-9
SD	174	-5
DAL	174	-5
BAL	175	-4
MIA	175	-4
CAR	175	-4
STL	175	-4
NE	176	-3
TB	177	-2
DET	178	-1
NYJ	178	-1
WAS	178	-1
CIN	179	0
ARI	183	4
JAC	184	5
TEN	185	6
OAK	186	7
NYG	189	10
DEN	192	13
BUF	193	14
HOU	193	14
IND	193	14
CLE	195	16
PHI	202	23

The NFL average for defensive drives is 179, or just about 11.2 per game. Think about it this way: Seattle’s defense was on the field for 37 fewer drives than the defense of the Philadelphia Eagles. That is more than 3 full game’s worth of drives less that Seattle had to defend against.

This is, of course, by design. The Seahawks make a serious effort to run the clock on offense as much as possible. Only the San Francisco 49ers average more time of possession per play than the Seahawks do.

Seattle’s offense intentionally shortens games. They milk the clock and work to keep their defense off the field.

Seattle’s defense also benefits from the offense’s lack of turnovers. In fact, Seattle’s offense was the best at avoiding turnovers in the entire NFL at .071 turnovers per drive. Philadelphia was the worst at .174 turnovers per drive, which is almost 2.5 times higher.

The offense’s lack of turnovers, combined with incredible play by Seattle’s coverage units on special team, meant that Seattle’s defense had the best starting field position of any defense in the NFL last season.

Seattle’s defense had an average starting field position of the 25.25 yard line. The worst was Chicago, whose defense averaged starting on the 32.47 yard line. That seven yards of difference might not sound like much, but over the course of the season that adds up to about 1300 yards. That many yards will have a massive impact on how many points a defense gives up.

Football, especially at the NFL level, is the ultimate team game. All three phases of the game are interdependent of the others. So any time that a Russell Wilson detractor tries to tell you how much he benefits from playing with a great defense, remember that it is a two-way street. The defense also benefits from playing with Wilson.

*All drive stats provided by Football Outsiders.

Next: Pete Carroll: the savior of Seattle sports

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