3 problems Seattle Seahawks need to fix ahead of Week 3

Seahawks need to fix third down defense

The Seahawks are currently last in allowing third downs to be converted by opposing offenses and the next closest team isn't, well...close. Seattle is allowing a ridiculous 60.7 percent of third downs to be converted into first downs. That equates to 17 conversions on 28 attempts. The 28 attempts are 11th-most in the league. This means Seattle is doing an OK job on first and second downs, but they don't get teams off the field on third downs and teams keep driving down the field.

Seattle also allows 55 percent of opponent's drives to end in scores as well, 31st in the NFL, and opponent's hold the ball for 3:31 minutes, also 31st in the league. Seattle did a better job with clock management in Week 2, but the Lions still converted 6 of 11 third downs. A dominant defense does not allow such things.

Basically, if Seattle could simply do a better job on third downs, they could win 11 or 12 games this year. The Seahawks don't need to be perfect, either. Seattle's Super Bowl teams of 2013 and 2014 ranked 10th and ninth, respectively, in terms of allowing third down conversion. And we all know how great those defenses were.

The problem with the current defense is they don't have the talent and the scheme fit that the early 2010s Seattle teams had, but this only means that the Seahawks margin of error is a lot smaller now. One way to make the 2023 defense better is to simply get off the field when they have the opportunity to stop the other team.