The Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 and clearly have the best defensive unit in the NFL this season. However, the national media still doesn't seem to be taking them seriously. ESPN catapulted Seattle into the top five in their most recent power rankings, but most still have them in the teens and in some cases the high 20s.
Let's ask somebody who knows ball what they think about these Seahawks. Here's what former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt had to say about Seattle when he was on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN earlier this week.
J.J. Watt on the 2024 Seahawks
"One of the teams that's currently flying significantly under the radar is the Seahawks. I think Macdonald's got them playing extremely good, Geno's obviously playing at a high level but, that defense, what he's been able to do, youngest head coach in the NFL, brand new head coach, yet all they've done is go out there and win. Three in a row. Kenneth Walker is extremely difficult to tackle, he's a phenomenal running back. DK with a massive catch from Geno this week. And then that defense. That's what he's known for. That Baltimore defense last year. I mean, every stat off the books leading the NFL in every category and now he's just brought it with him to Seattle, and they're a very, very good football team..."
Why J.J. Watt is right
You don't need to be a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner in order to see that the Seahawks have an exceptional defense this year. But as it happens, Watt has done it three times. Watt also earned five first-team All Pro honors and was arguably the best defensive player of his generation aside from Aaron Donald.
Watt or not, the Seahawks have decimated every single quarterback they have faced so far this season. That bodes well for the long-term outlook for this defense, even if they are missing a piece here or there. Remember, they're already doing all this without their top edge rusher, Uchenna Nwosu and they haven't even had a full month of live games to gel together as a unit. Odds are they will keep pummeling quarterbacks all season long, which gives them a great chance to finish with the top defense in the NFL this year.
However, as Watt mentioned a moment later they only played a backup quarterback last week in Skylar Thompson and it's true that thus far they haven't faced an above-average starter yet this season. That will change when they visit Jared Goff and the Lions in Detroit on Monday night and we'll finally get to evaluate how this team looks against a real contender.
The top two AFC heavyweights are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, who should rightfully be ranked 1 and 2 in everybody's power rankings right now. Their schedule is about to get much more difficult, but if the Seahawks can pull off an upset against the Lions this week and take down the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 then any reasonable analyst will rank them as high as any team in the NFC.
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