The Seahawks Defense has Erased Big Plays to a Historic Extent

The 2000 Baltimore Ravens. The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. The 2013 Seattle Seahawks. The 2015 Denver Broncos.

Those are the five defining defensive units of the 21st century, in some order. They were all top dogs in their respective years, they all went on to win the super bowl, and they all featured iconic players. The 2025 Seahawks hope to add their name to the list in a few weeks, although they will be in the unique circumstance of not having any first team all-pros.

In the last few weeks, however, the Seahawks have done something that none of those teams did. Or any team in any season since 2000. Including some of the lesser-remembered elite defenses, such as the 2004 Buffalo Bills, 2005 Chicago Bears, or 2006 Baltimore Ravens. Nearly a thousand different defensive units in that quarter-century, and none could pull this off.

Per Doug Clawson, a researcher at CBS Sports, the Seahawks have not allowed a play to gain more than 20 yards in three straight games. Pretty much three games on the nose as well, given their last play of more than 20 yards was the final defensive snap of the week sixteen game against the Los Angeles Rams, a 41-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua in overtime.

Since that game, which featured several big plays by the Rams offense, the team has played the Carolina Panthers and then two games against the San Francisco 49ers. They allowed 11 yard runs to Rico Dowdle and Bryce Young against Carolina, a 20 yard reception to George Kittle in the first 49ers match, and a 19 yard catch by Jauan Jennings in the rematch.

It may not be the highest level of competition. The Panthers had one of the worst offenses in football this year, and the 49ers were down several significant pieces in both matchups. But it’s not as if the 2025 Seahawks are the first team to play a series of games against weaker offenses. It’s an incredible accomplishment, yet another reason why this unit is so special.

Watch any random NFL game and take note of how common 20 yard plays are these days. It’d be odd if there wasn’t at least one every quarter. Some offenses do it practically every time they get the ball. Sometimes it feels like it happens almost by accident. Going three straight games, with 154 total defensive snaps, without allowing a single one, is not normal.

And it’s not as if the defense is compromised in some other notable way in order to prevent these larger gains. The defense has allowed a total of 19 points in those three games, with 3 of them coming off a short field from a turnover. When you play football like this, it’s almost unthinkable to actually lose a game. So hopefully, they keep playing like this for a couple more.

It's a suffocating defensive unit that you rarely see in the modern NFL. — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) is strip sacked by Seattle Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0). | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

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