For Your Consideration: the Seattle Seahawks

Filed under: 49ers, Seahawks, NFC West, Seattle

The Seahawks cruised to an easy 23-3 victory over the 49ers yesterday, taking the wind out of a San Francisco season that had been bolstered by two narrow victories. And while some are quick to point out the finger at an error-prone Niners offense, the bruising Seahawks defense deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the blowout.

Seattle’s offense is still inconsistent, suffering from a non-existent running game built around the fossilized Shaun Alexander, but the defense shows the kind of ferocity that carries teams deep into the playoffs. The ‘Hawks registered six sacks and forced four turnovers while knocking their opponent’s starting quarterback out of the game for the second time in four weeks. The numbers reflect the performance of a defensive unit that consistently ended up in the backfield, laid out punishing hits, and forced the ‘Niners’ offensive line to commit penalties.

There’s still a long way to go this season, but if Seattle’s defense keeps allowing just 13.3 points a game, a team loaded with veterans and a smart quarterback like Matt Hasselbeck could end up at the top of the NFC. We’ll all know more next week when the Seahawks travel to Pittsburgh for a much tougher test: an angry Steelers team eager to prove this week’s disappointment in Arizona was a fluke.

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