As the Seattle defense prepares to face a star quarterback for the third straight week, coach Pete Carroll says, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Having beaten Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and lost to Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, the Hawks now prepare to host Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a Super Bowl rematch. And Carroll cracked that they ought to add Tom Brady and the New England Patriots during the Seahawks’ Week 4 bye.

“It’s as hard as it can get,” Carroll said, not meaning that in a bad way. “It’s great for us. It’s going to help us during the course of the season. You can’t get any better challenges than these guys throwing the football. Aaron is phenomenal. And look what we just saw (with Rivers). And here comes Peyton.

“This is a great stretch for us. It’ll only help us,” Carroll said of playing the three top-rated active quarterbacks in the NFL. “We have to be so on the mark and so right in everything we’re doing to defend these guys.”

After largely shutting down Rodgers in a 36-16 victory in the opener, the Hawks couldn’t stop Rivers, who sliced them up in a 30-21 win Sunday.

And now they will face Manning, who gets a shot at a little redemption after a 43-8 Super Bowl debacle.

Manning has the Broncos off to a 2-0 start. He has completed 69.4 percent of his passes (43 of 62) for 511 yards and six touchdowns, with nary an interception, as Denver has beaten Indianapolis and an undermanned Kansas City team by a touchdown each.

Carroll and his defense know all about Manning, having held him to one TD pass and picked off two throws — one returned for a score by Malcolm Smith — in the Super Bowl. After what happened in San Diego, though, they surely won’t be taking Manning for granted.

“(Rivers and Manning) are similar — experienced quarterbacks who really know what’s going on and don’t hold the football (too long),” Carroll said. “Both of these guys have years of experience behind them and they have great decision making and just wonderful expertise. They are tremendous challenges for us. So we have our hands full again.”

The Broncos might get wide receiver Wes Welker back, too. He missed the first two games on a league-administered suspension but is expected to have the remaining two games rescinded under the new drug rules.

Without him the Broncos have used two tight ends more often. The Seahawks will have to be prepared for Julius Thomas, who scored three touchdowns and surpassed 100 yards against the Colts and also scored against Kansas City.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are just as concerned with facing Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson — the third straight week they are going against a QB who can move very well. They faced Andrew Luck and Alex Smith in the first two games — Luck ran for 19 yards on five carries, and Smith gashed the Broncos for 42 yards on five runs.

“It’s something that’s been happening, been around for a while,” Denver coach John Fox said of dual-threat quarterbacks. “(There are) probably a few more now than maybe 15 years ago. But there were always those guys as far as I can remember, I mean going back to Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings QB in the 1960s and ’70s).

“It’s a dimension, and that makes it a little tougher to corral and contain,” Fox said. “(Mobile QBs) can bide time and put stress on your pass defense. There’s no doubt that our first three opponents—two we’ve already faced, one we’re about to face—have that dimension.”

As for coming to Seattle for the Super Bowl rematch, Fox said, “It’s a tough place to play. … It’s a very hostile environment. They’ve done well. It’ll be a huge challenge, and we’re looking forward to it.”