The Seattle Seahawks' defense is good enough to withstand a few injuries – even to some of its best players – without really missing a beat. Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon missed five games earlier this season, and the heart of the unit, linebacker Ernest Jones IV, has missed all or part of three of Seattle’s last four games.
Still, the defense and the team keep surging forward to a likely playoff spot. That defense has only surrendered more than the league average of 23 points twice this season. Once was in an anomalous shootout with Tampa Bay back in Week 5.
The second time was this past Sunday, and though Seattle won the game, the Tennessee Titans' point total may be cause for concern. And it may signal that Mike Macdonald needs safety Julian Love back on the field as soon as possible.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald teases a potential Julian Love return
Macdonald said last week that Love may be back on the field in the next week or two. The 2023 Pro Bowler has appeared in just three games this season. This has been quite a change for the Notre Dame alum, who had missed just two games out of a possible 100 entering 2025. He has been dealing with a hamstring issue for much of the year.
His absence has been negligible against teams with weak offenses, like New Orleans in Week 3. But he was sorely missed (as were Witherspoon and edge DeMarcus Lawrence) in that defensive collapse against Tampa.
Ty Okada has proven to be a solid backup, and with rookie Nick Emmanwori joining regular starter Coby Bryant on the back end, Seattle’s safeties have performed very well. D’Anthony Bell even got in on the action with a few big tackles against the Titans in Week 12.
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But there were troubling signs nonetheless.
Seattle did not put the Titans away. That’s what they have typically done this season. Get a lead and then suffocate opposing offenses. Seattle has held opponents to under 20 points in more than half of its games this season.
Against Tennessee, they allowed an inferior team to hang around until the very end. Seattle’s three losses have come by a total of nine points. Until last Sunday, only one of their wins had been by fewer than eight points.
The most troubling thing about the performance was that it came against one of the worst offenses in the league. The vaunted Hawks’ defense allowed Tennessee to score 10 points more than their season average and surpass their average yardage total by more than fifty. (To be fair, one score came on a punt return.)
Love’s absence was not the only culprit. Missing both Jones and his backup, Tyrice Knight, certainly left a hole in the middle of the field, despite a pretty solid effort from Patrick O’Connell in reserve. And Titans’ rookie QB Cam Ward is growing more comfortable and played one of his best games.
Still, Seattle should have crushed the life out of the Titans’ offense, and they did not. Love’s absence was particularly acute on fourth down conversions. Tennessee converted five out of seven. Coupled with their six of 17 third down conversions, that means that of the 17 times Ward and company faced a third down, they eventually converted on 11 of them. That is a large part of why they held a 15-minute time of possession edge.
That kind of stat is not sustainable if Seattle expects to advance in the playoffs this year.
With Love out, Titans’ tight ends Gunnar Helm and Chig Okonkwo did a lot of damage. Though their numbers were nothing special, they combined to nearly double their average yardage for the season and converted seven first downs, also nearly double their average entering the game.
Emmanwori is supremely talented, but he is still just a rookie. Besides, Macdonald wants him free to roam whenever possible. Okada is very solid in coverage as well. But neither is as good as Love, who finished in the top ten of all safeties against both the pass and the run last season.
Seattle faces playmaking tight ends like TJ Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, Tyler Warren, and George Kittle as they wrap up the 2024 regular season. They also have a crucial showdown with the LA Rams, who may not boast the best tight ends, but currently have the league’s best quarterback.
Hopefully, Jones, Knight, and Love will all be back by that time. A healthy Julian Love, in particular, will be essential to shutting down Matthew Stafford, the Rams, and all the other high-powered offenses Seattle will face as the season enters crunch time.