Analyst points out one key flaw for the Seattle Seahawks' elite defense

There's a whole lot to like about the 2025 Seattle Seahawks. Their special teams went from dead-bottom to one of the best. Their offense has transitioned extremely well from Geno Smith and Ryan Grubb to Sam Darnold and Klint Kubiak. Most of all, their defense is just as good as we expected.

That's a high bar to clear, but in most metrics Seattle is playing at an elite level on that side of the ball in Year 2 under head coach Mike Macdonald. However, no unit is perfect and there is one flaw that coule be problematic. Here's Cameron Van Til at Seattle Sports radio pointing it out.

"But for as good as Seattle’s defense has been, the unit has twice failed to close out a game in the fourth quarter... Seattle’s defense certainly looks like a top-five unit so far. But for the Seahawks to truly solidify themselves as an elite defense, they need to do a better job of closing games in the fourth quarter."

The numbers do support this case - as the Seahawks have a negative point differential in the fourth, while dominating opponents in the first, second and third.

However, they may be somewhat misleading. A good chunk of their opponents' production in fourth quarters has been a direct result of coverage lapses from fourth-year cornerback Riq Woolen - who may get dealt some time in the next month before the trade deadline.

Devon Witherspoon also gave up a couple of late touchdowns against Arizona, but that came in a game where he was playing for the first time in three weeks without any practice to go on - and he also re-injured himself at some point.

If you assume the Seahawks are going to either trade Woolen or keep him on the sidelines in crunch-time, and that Witherpsoon will eventually fully recover, then this weakness might disappear on its own.

However, head coach Mike Macdonald has to make sure that these are flukes in individual coverages, not part of a broader pattern that can be exploited by future opponents.

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