The Seattle Seahawks are struggling.
Since their season-opening win against Green Bay, they have an even-point differential while splitting their four contests against the Chargers, Broncos, Redskins, and Cowboys. Now at 3-2 on the year and coming off of a home loss, many people are starting to panic about the defending Super Bowl champs.
It's way too early for that.
First off, four of the five teams Seattle has played thus far will be playoff teams (everybody but Washington), so while they've been favored to win every game, it's not a big surprise that they've come up short a few times. In their two losses to San Diego and Dallas, the Seahawks had chances to win the game at the end but couldn't convert.
What's more important is that Seattle is still showing the signs of being a dominant team once crunch time comes. They're averaging over five yards a rush as a team - which is an astounding number - while giving up about three yards a carry.
As strange as it seems, the Seahawks' weakness has been defending the pass. Playing four of the top ten quarterbacks in this league will certainly inflate these numbers, but opponents are averaging a solid 261.8 passing yards per game compared to 190.6 a season ago. To make matters worse, the defense has only intercepted two passes this year, a number that is way too low for them.
The biggest reason for this increase isn't the secondary - Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor are still some of the best in the league at their respective positions - it's Seattle's lack of a pass rush. The Seahawks have managed only seven sacks so far this season, and that's allowed the elite quarterbacks they've played time to find the weak spot in the coverage.
Last year Seattle's defense was so good because they scared the quarterback. So far this year, they're playing like just another really good defense.
However, don't expect it to stay this way all season. If Seattle's defensive line doesn't figure it out, head coach Pete Carroll has shown in the past that he's not afraid to add linebackers to bolster the pass rush. Once that happens, this unit will get back to being the terrifying Seahawks defense we've come to expect.
Seattle's schedule gets lighter in the coming weeks, and with Russell Wilson elevating his play and Marshawn Lynch still playing at a high level, there's no reason to drop expectations for this team.
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