It took about a month of dominating and embarrassing every quarterback they faced, but the Seattle Seahawks are finally starting to get some respect in NFL power rankings from the national media. Last week both ESPN and Tom Brady sprung Seattle into their top-five teams. Now, the rest are catching up. In the latest batch of power rankings from Vinnie Iyer at the Sporting News, he has the Seahawks in the top 10.
Seattle came in at number nine in Iyer's rankings, up three spots from last week. Meanwhile, tonight's opponents, the Detroit Lions are ranked third. Here's what he had to say about both teams going into their massive Monday Night Football matchup.
TSN on no. 3 Lions, no. 9 Seahawks
"The Lions are maybe getting a little too aggressive with Jared Goff, as their winning identity is now tied more to their dominant running game and improving defense. Detroit can make a big statement at home vs. Seattle on Monday night before a Week 5 bye... The Seahawks have made great wholesale schematic changes to complement the uptempo offense of OC Ryan Grubb. They're unlocking all of their weapons to get timely big plays."
How good are the Seahawks, exactly?
Critics will say these Seahawks haven't faced a quality starting quarterback yet on their schedule and they would be correct. However, it's really not hard to see this defense shutting down and frustrating even some very-good quarterbacks around the league, as it did the last couple years for the Baltimore Ravens with Mike Macdonald calling their plays as their defensive coordinator. We've seen enough to say with absolute confidence that this is a top-10 team at a minimum when they are relatively close to full strength.
Seahawks-Lions key matchup spoiled by injuries
The most-interesting matchup in this one would normally be Seattle's loaded defensive line against Detroit's elite offensive line unit. Unfortunately, both teams are missing key pieces for that matchup. The Lions will miss starting center Frank Ragnow, while the Seahawks won't have practically their entire defensive line, as Uchenna Nwosu, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II and Boye Mafe have all been ruled out.
Perhaps we'll get to see that matchup later this year in the playoffs. For now, we'll still learn a whole lot about this particular team either way it goes. If Macdonald can fluster the Lions offense and pull off an upset win, then we'll know these Seahawks are not only a legitimate playoff threat, but a serious Super Bowl contender - provided they can stay healthy. If they lose it will depend on the particulars, but by rights Detroit should be favored by at least a touchdown with Seattle's defense so short-handed.
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