4 Down Territory: Seattle Seahawks win Battle of the Birds in Week 7

4th Down: Defensive resurgence defining the season

While the star addition of Devon Witherspoon is immense, we can't forget all the additions that have given this defense a rebirth. Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed are back and have brought stability to the defense. Jordyn Brooks, Tre Brown, and Jamal Adams are healthy and flying around. Julian Love has steadily improved since his rough start. The youngsters in Darrell Taylor, Derick Hall, and Boye Mafe are wreaking havoc and getting after the QB. This defense is restocked with good players, looks legit, and they have the stats to back it up.

Along all the high grades for most of the defensive players, they've backed it up on the stat sheet and the scoreboard. The Seahawks have allowed only 3 points in the second half in their last 3 games. The only field goal during that time span was off a turnover in which the Bengals didn't gain a yard.

Brian Nemhauser, who does a fantastic job over at Hawkblogger and Real Hawk Talk, put out some incredibly deep stats on social media after the win. They are as follows.

The Seahawks currently rank 4th in yards per play allowed (4.7) after being ranked 29th in the first 3 games. The Seahawks are averaging the most sacks per game in the league at 6 per game since week 4. The Seahawks' defense is the best in football when it comes to EPA/play and success rate since Jamal Adams has come back.

These eye-popping numbers haven't been seen in the Pacific Northwest since the 2015 season, during the ladder stages of the LOB era. The Seahawks currently have the number 12 ranked scoring defense at 19.7 per game, but only 10 points per game in their last three contests.

This defense will miss Uchenna Nwosu, but I still feel strongly that the defense is on the up, and just be the biggest storyline of not just this season, but of the next phase in becoming a Super Bowl contender.

More Seattle Seahawks news and analysis