SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks defense was pretty good through the first two quarters of Sunday’s game, yielding just six points to the visiting St. Louis Rams.
But through the third and fourth quarters, Seattle’s defense was off-the-charts sensational.
A 20-6 victory at CenturyLink Field was due in large part to some outstanding second-half defense by the Seahawks. Not only did the Seahawks hold St. Louis scoreless after halftime, they also scored a defensive touchdown on linebacker Bruce Irvin’s 49-yard interception return and gave the Seattle offense a short field after an interception by defensive tackle Jordan Hill.
Capping the second-half defensive masterpiece was a fumble caused by free safety Earl Thomas midway through the fourth quarter. The diving Thomas was able to knock the ball away from Rams running back Benny Cunningham just inches from the goal line, and the ball bounced into the end zone and then out of bounds for a touchback, giving Seattle possession at the 20-yard line.
The play of Seattle’s defense in the second half “is another example of us battling to the end,” Irvin said. “You just have to keep fighting, keep battling, and hopefully good things will happen.
“I don’t think I’ve been part of a group as connected as I am with these guys. It’s a brotherhood around here. I’ve said it every week and I’m going to keep saying it, right now we’re playing better than we did all last year. Guys are putting their egos to the side and are playing for one another, and you don’t (always) find that around the league.
“Like (teammate) Mike Bennett said, we’ve got the best defense ever and I’m not going to go against him,” Irvin added with a laugh.
Seattle’s second-half defensive heroics began with a remarkable interception by Hill. On the first play of the fourth quarter, and with St. Louis driving in a 6-6 game, Rams quarterback Shaun Hill tried to abort a short passing play by throwing the ball to the turf. But he threw the ball near the feet of Jordan Hill, who made a falling catch and then rose to run for 8 yards.
Even Shaun Hill was impressed. “Their guy made a crazy play on it,” he said. “He just made a great play.”
Six plays later, the Seahawks took the lead for good on a 9-yard TD run by Marshawn Lynch.
Two minutes after Lynch’s touchdown, Irvin’s TD return pushed Seattle’s lead to 20-6. Shaun Hill’s pass, intended for tight end Lance Kendricks, was popped into the air by Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and caught by Irvin, who raced untouched down the sideline to the end zone.
“Bobby Wagner made a great play of stripping it,” Irvin said. “I wasn’t even looking at the ball, it just ended up in my hands. That’s a sign of me living right, baby.”
Thomas’ subsequent play to force Cunningham’s fumble was no less impressive. The St. Louis player was extending the ball to the goal line, just inches away, when it was knocked free by Thomas.
“That was an amazing play,” Wagner said. “They were an inch away from scoring a touchdown, and (Thomas) punches the ball out and causes a touchback. That kind of shows how great our defense is.”
By giving up just six points in Sunday’s regular-season finale, Seattle’s defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed for the third straight season. And that, said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, “is frickin’ awesome. That’s a big-time accomplishment.”
Seattle’s defense, which gave up 245 yards against the Rams, also allowed the fewest yards in the NFL for the second straight season.
“It’s an outstanding defense,” said St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher. “What they have going here is special. You can’t hear on offense (at the line of scrimmage) … and when you can’t hear on offense in this venue, it’s hard to do (much), especially against a defense like that.”
Seattle’s defensive prowess is certainly encouraging as the team prepares for the upcoming playoffs. But as Wagner pointed out, “I definitely think we have some stuff to get better. We’re playing really, really good right now and we still have stuff to fix, but when we get those things right, (just think) how great our defense can be.”
“Defense wins championships,” agreed linebacker K.J. Wright. “And if we play good (on defense in the playoffs), we should win.”
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