Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks thrashed the New Orleans Saints in a 44-13 laugher, marking their biggest margin of victory since a 40-3 mauling of the New York Jets (led, at the time, by Sam Darnold) back in the 2020 season. Blowouts have been hard to come by for the Seahawks in recent years, so this game being functionally won in the first quarter was a welcome sight.
One observation through the early portion of the 2025 season has been Seattle’s stingy defense. They’ve allowed (in order) 17, 17, and 13 points, which is the hallmark of a potentially elite group. Even the 17 allowed against the Steelers involved a touchdown off of a short field, while the Saints didn’t score a TD until they were already down 44-6.
This stretch of holding the first three opponents below 20 points is far from frequent in Seahawks franchise history. The last time was in 2013, which ended pretty well.
The 2013 Seahawks held the Carolina Panthers (eventual NFC No. 2 seed) to 7 points in Charlotte, stymied the San Francisco 49ers (NFC Championship runner-up) to 3 points in Seattle, and dispatched the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars in a 45-17 blowout. Naturally, the 2-14 Houston Texans broke the streak but still lost 23-20 in overtime.
Of course, the 2025 Seahawks lost on opening day to the 49ers before beating the Steelers and Saints, and I don’t think the 49ers and Steelers of 2025 rate compared to the 49ers and Panthers of 2013. It’s nevertheless another example of the Seahawks building off of last year’s success, finishing 11th in points allowed. This has the makings of a top five scoring defense, something the Seahawks haven’t had since the “Legion of Boom” days.
And to think, Nick Emmanwori has only played a handful of snaps, Julian Love missed Week 3, and Devon Witherspoon has missed two straight games. The schedule will get tougher, but the Seahawks are on course to get healthier and (presumably) better on defense.
