As the Seattle Seahawks prepare to meet the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, it's hard to imagine the Seahawks' defense, which tormented teams all season long, not showing up to do it one more time. The defense has been the foundation of Seattle's season from the start, and they'll have to finish it off to make it all worth it.
So, with the chance at going up against Drake Maye, who may or may not win this year's league MVP, the Seahawks defense will have a lot to deal with, as Maye and the rest of the Patriots offense ranked third in total offense during the regular season (379.4 yards per game). However, the Patriots were dangerous outside of their passing attack.
New England's passing offense ranked fourth in the league (250.5 yards per game), leaving 128.9 of offensive yards attributed to their running game. That is where, according to Sportsnaut's NFL analyst Matt Johnson, the Seahawks can slow down the Patriots most effectively.
Seattle Seahawks' rush defense must stop the Patriots' rushing offense
The Seahawks were a top-10 defense all season, and many would have them as the league's best overall. Either way, much of their success had to do with them allowing the third-least rushing yards per game at 91.9. Los Angeles Rams' running back Kyren Williams had the most rush yards as an individual back against the Seahawks all year, 91 yards on November 16th.
The Seahawks' run defense has proven to be one of the strongest, lock-down groups in the NFL. It’s why Johnson is predicting that the Seahawks will shut down the Patriots' duel-threat rushing duo, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, down in the Super Bowl, leaving Maye to have to win the game through the passing attack, or he finds some room to run on his own.
"[Drake] Maye might have some success on the ground, as Seattle allowed 5.3 yards per carry to quarterbacks this season," Johnson wrote, "but Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are going to be shut down. It will essentially make the Patriots offense one-dimensional."
If the Seahawks can do just as Johnson predicts they will, and considering that Maye has not played in these playoffs at the same level he did in the regular season, Seattle's defense could potentially shut down completely whatever the Patriots attempt to do on offense.
Another thing to note is that not only is Seattle strong defending the run, but it is also strong in blitzing. Ernest Jones IV, Drake Thomas, Devon Witherspoon, and Nick Emmanori have all shown this season that they're elite blitzers and can get behind the offensive line with speed.
The Seahawks were the best team in the NFL at generating pressure on their blitzes, doing so at nearly 56 percent. The Houston Texans were the only other team above 50 percent; no other NFL team surpassed that mark.
It's an incredible stat because Seattle was one of the lowest blitzing teams at around 21 percent of the time. So, when they do blitz, they're the most disruptive defensive squad out there. The Patriots are facing a juggernaut in the Seahawks. But if Seattle can hone in on one single element of New England's offense, shutting down the run game could be critical to securing a Super Bowl win.