Sometimes popular sayings are wrong. Or at least not as right as we’d like to think. Legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant reportedly coined one of the most famous phrases in the world of football. “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” The Seattle Seahawks and Mike Macdonald seem firmly invested in that wisdom.
But is it always correct? It certainly didn’t seem that way when the Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC title and a trip to the Super Bowl. Against the Rams, Seattle’s mighty defense struggled. If anything, the Hawks' offense and special teams were the reason for the win.
The obvious answer here is that no single component of a football team truly wins or loses games … or championships. If it all came down to defense, then Seattle would be preparing to face either Denver or Houston in Super Bowl LX. They will be playing the Patriots because New England plays well in all three phases of the game, as does Seattle.
Should the Seahawks be worried about their defensive collapse versus Los Angeles?
How bad was Seattle’s defense in the NFC Championship game? Holding an explosive offense like the one run by Sean McVay in Los Angeles to 27 points is not bad at all. It is actually below their league-leading average of 30 points-per-game,
But when you consider how well Macdonald and Aden Durde had this defense performing coming into the game, they have to be disappointed.
The Rams rolled up more total yards than Seattle had surrendered to San Francisco in their previous two games combined. The same applies to points and first downs. They gave up 8.3 yards per play – their worst performance of the year by a full yard.
The 26 first downs surrendered were also tied for the most in 2025. The only team to run up more yards against this Hawks’ defense was … the same Rams team, in week 16.
The most alarming aspect of the game was the ease with which Los Angeles controlled the line of scrimmage. Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II have been the foundation of this defense all season.
They have dominated opposing offenses. The edges and linebackers have cleaned up the running plays, and the talented defensive backfield has benefited from Seattle’s constant pass pressure, achieved largely without blitzing.
After a typically impressive opening three-and-out, none of that seemed to be present the rest of the night. Seattle forced just one more punt. The Rams scored on five of their next seven drives. One was the two-lay drive that ended the first half.
Stafford threw for 374 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 10.7 yards per attempt was almost four yards better than his 2025 average. Running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum averaged five yards per carry.
Seattle had one sack and no additional tackles for loss. They were credited with just three quarterback hits on the night. The Rams had three sacks, five additional tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. There is simply no way around this … the Rams' offensive line won the battle in the trenches.
Macdonald has made it a point this season of not relying on the blitz. He disguises pass rushes as well as anyone. He prizes versatile players who allow him to be creative. But he usually does not send more than four pass rushers. His back seven plays tight zones, shutting down receivers quickly after the catch.
The goal isn’t to necessarily sack the opposing QB. It is to apply pressure. Force a throw-away, or even better, a poor throw that can be intercepted. The Broncos have a higher pressure rate than Seattle, but they also blitz far more. Look for the delta between blitz rate and pressure rate.
Teams with a strong positive balance – where the pressure rate exceeds the blitz rate – tend to be the league’s best defenses. Seattle was second in that statistic in 2025. Is the only team better? The Rams.
But against Matthew Stafford on Sunday, they didn’t blitz, and they rarely applied pressure. Stafford stood in the pocket and picked the defense apart. Macdonald rarely called for the blitz, and it very nearly cost Seattle the game.
Of course, in the end, it didn’t. The offense and special teams picked up the defense, just as the defense has done all season for the other parts of the team. Therefore, it is hard to fault the strategy. That stubborn refusal to blitz has the Seahawks on the brink of their second Super Bowl championship.
Will things change against New England in the big game? Probably not. There will be new wrinkles – perhaps more pass rushers coming from the secondary – perhaps Nick Emmanwori shadowing Drake Maye to shut down his running. But the Seahawks should have one major advantage in the Super Bowl.
The Rams have one of the best offensive lines in football. They ranked fourth in Pro Football Focus’ year-end grading (subscription required). One of the hidden stories of Seattle’s week 16 win was the injury suffered by Rams’ guard Kevin Dotson. He was back on Sunday. Along with fellow guard Steve Avila, Los Angeles is one of the few teams that can stand up to Williams, Murphy, et. al.
New England’s line is good, but they’re not that good. In the Super Bowl, Seattle will almost certainly play the same style of defense that carried them this far, and it should perform more like what we have come to expect.