CINCINNATI – For the first time this season, the Seattle Seahawks played an entire game with their preferred defensive lineup on Sunday. Injuries in the secondary prevented them from doing so until Week 4, and that experiment ended when safety Jamal Adams suffered a concussion nine plays into the game. All along, Seattle figured if it could keep Adams and the rest of the defensive backs healthy, the whole unit would be dominant.
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Their performance on Sunday is only going to strengthen that belief.
“The guys played about as good as they could play on the defensive side of the ball,” coach Pete Carroll said after Seattle’s 17-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Seahawks started slow, surrendering touchdowns on each of their first two defensive series. Then the defense tightened up the rest of the way, adjusted to how quickly Joe Burrow wanted to get the ball off and limited Cincinnati to just three points on the final eight meaningful possessions. The Bengals had just 52 yards in the second half, and their only scoring drive in the final 30 minutes came on a series that netted zero yards (they were already in field goal range because of a Geno Smith interception).
Seattle’s defense undoubtedly played well enough for the team to win.
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“We just got a lot of good football players, bro,” linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. “We’re finally figuring out how to jell together and feeling confident. I think that’s what it is. We started off a little slow, but we settled down, and I feel like we finished the game right.”
Seattle began the game with Adams and Quandre Diggs at safety, with Tre Brown (left) and Riq Woolen (right) as the outside cornerbacks with rookie Devon Witherspoon as the nickel. That lineup hadn’t been used all season because of injuries. Ditto for Seattle’s dime package Sunday, which featured those five defensive backs and safety Julian Love taking the place of Brooks.
On the second defensive series, Adams moved to nickel, Love played safety next to Diggs and Witherspoon bumped over to left cornerback. The Seahawks stayed with that lineup for most of the drive until Cincinnati reached the red zone, which is when Brown returned to the field in favor of Love. Adams was on a pitch count and sat out a couple of drives in the second half, but he still ended up playing 84.9 percent of the snaps. Brown played 71.7 percent, while Love was on the field only 45.3 percent of the time, by far his lowest snap count of the year. Michael Jackson played eight plays at left cornerback spread across two drives, one in each half.
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Joe Burrow began the game 13 of 15 for 123 yards and two touchdowns. After that, he completed just 11 of 20 attempts for 62 yards and was picked off by Brown on a deep ball intended for Ja’Marr Chase in the second half. Brown was one-on-one with Chase on the backside of the formation and knew a back-shoulder ball was coming, so when the receiver snapped his head around, Brown did the same and nabbed his second interception of the year.
“It was another impressive game from him, terrific with the interception,” Carroll said. “It was perfect coverage, and he finished the play, which was great.”
Big play made, courtesy of @T_Brown25!
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/1jBZypyNkV
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 15, 2023
Burrow was sacked three times, all in the second half. Nose tackle Jarran Reed got Burrow in the third quarter by beating the center on a play-action dropback, then defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones dropped Burrow on third-and-8 after plowing through the left guard.
Jones’ sack was also an example of the pass rush and coverage units working together. Burrow wanted to take a shot to Chase, who was one-on-one against Woolen, but the coverage was too tight, and the quarterback held the ball long enough for Jones to get home. (Boye Mafe also had a fourth-quarter sack, though that was due to a blown protection that left him unblocked.)
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By expected points added per dropback, Seattle’s defense performed like a top-10 unit Sunday (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise). That was in addition to remaining stout against the run, holding running backs Joe Mixon and Chase Brown to 42 yards on 13 carries, with only two first downs (both in the first half). Seattle’s defense leads the league in yards per carry allowed on design runs (2.8) and is top 10 in sack rate, with a passing unit that flashed its potential against an explosive Bengals offense.
“We’re all trusting each other, and we know what each other is about,” said Brown, who also won a one-on-one with receiver Tee Higgins on third down in the fourth quarter to give Seattle’s offense a chance to win the game. “First time we’ve actually been healthy all year, and we haven’t scratched the surface. When we really get this together it’s gonna be big.”
Asked how good Seattle can be when it all comes together, Brown said: “We’re gonna be the best team, I feel like. I have confidence in this team. When we get this rolling? We’re gonna be a really good team.”
When Seattle signed Love in the offseason, the plan was to put him and Adams on the field together. But if Sunday’s rotation was any indication, Brown’s return to form and Witherspoon’s emergence as a high-level player at multiple spots might result in Love being more of a situational player while Adams takes on a full-time role.
“We were pretty effective when all of us were on the field,” Love said. “It’s different, for sure. Last year, I didn’t leave the field too much at the beginning of the season. But I understand that my goal is for us to be winning games, and to win games, Jamal needs to be on the field.”
In his first full game since the 2021 season, Adams had four total tackles, including one for loss on a pass in the flat on third-and-12 in the fourth quarter. He also had a quarterback hit on a third-down play in the second quarter. Diggs led Seattle with eight tackles and often rotated down toward the line of scrimmage, while Love and Adams played deep. Seattle can now put Diggs closer to the action more often because it has three trustworthy cornerbacks who can win one-on-one situations. Diggs rotated into the box on Brown’s interception and Jones’ sack.
Bringing the pressure.
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/V2FNiYSnFG
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 15, 2023
Seattle feels its defensive showing Sunday was a sign of what’s coming when everyone is healthy. Having two capable nickel defenders in Adams and Witherspoon gives coordinator Clint Hurtt more flexibility with his play calls, especially since both guys can be trusted to rush the quarterback. Trusting Woolen and Brown on the outside will allow Hurtt to send more heat at the quarterback.
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And when they rush four and play coverage behind it, there’s reason to believe the secondary will give guys like Mafe and Reed — the team leaders with three sacks apiece — enough time to get home. That was always the plan on paper, and now Seattle has a feel for what it looks like in a game against a quality opponent. The first impression was a strong one.
“I feel like we’re just getting started,” Adams said. “Having everybody out there, that’s the key. Just flowing and understanding where everybody’s going to be. Communication-wise, playing as one. But the sky is the limit.”
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(Photo of Jordyn Brooks, 56, and Jarran Reed tackling Joe Burrow: Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)
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