With no offense meant to Houston, New England or Denver, the Seahawks have perhaps the scariest defense in the NFL. It was easy to see coming.
In 2024, Mike Macdonald put together a top-10 defense — led by Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Ernest Jones IV.
It was clear he was building the next dominant Seattle unit. John Schneider added DeMarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori, Uchenna Nwosu returned to health — and voila! Seattle ended up as the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL for the first time since the Legion of Boom days.
They call it the Dark Side.
“I think throughout the season we were just feeling like we had a really special defense, you know, special players, and we were also just doing special things,” Williams said. “We always hear of Legion of Boom, especially being in here. We were starting to get to a point like, ‘Hey, maybe we deserve our own name.’ … I think guys started coming up with names and … ‘Dark Side’ kind of stuck with us.
“We were talking about how it’s dark here and we always talk about a style nobody wants to play and (the wall leading to practice) shows Lumen Field with the (Space) Needle and the atmosphere here, and I think Dark Side just kind of represents that.”
Let’s look at all the great numbers that make The Dark Side such a force.
1
The Hawks were first in scoring defense, EPA and DVOA. The best defense in the NFL by every major measure.
2
They were second in yards per play, at 4.6. Denver barely edged Seattle for the top spot, at 4.5.
DeMarcus Lawrence returned two fumbles for touchdowns (in the same game, vs. Arizona). That led the NFL and helped earn him a Pro Bowl nod.
3
The Seahawks finished third vs. the run, allowing 91.9 yards per game.
Also, Lawrence recorded three forced fumbles and recovered three.
Three defenders — Lawrence, Williams and Witherspoon — were named to the Pro Bowl.
Williams, Witherspoon and Ernest Jones IV were named to the All-Pro second team.
4
Coby Bryant had four interceptions, second on the team behind Jones’ five.
5
Yards per game used to be the major metric outside points to measure defenses. It now matters little. But the Hawks were fifth at 285.6 yards per game.
Jones tied for second in the league with his five interceptions.
7
Williams, Nwosu and Byron Murphy II each had seven sacks.
10
Drake Thomas was one of the pleasant surprises on defense in 2025. He had 10 tackles for loss and was the only NFL player with all of these stats: 3+ sacks, 10+ tackles for loss and 8+ pass breakups.
7.4
The 7.4% explosive play rate allowed was the second best by an NFL defense in the past 15 years.
11
Lawrence led the team with 11 tackles for loss.
26
The Hawks have gone 26 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.
“As much as it feels good to get a sack, that feels just as good to hear,” Williams said. “When we can play with two-high safety and stop the run with just four down linemen, knowing that at least two or three of us are getting double teams. That means not only are we stopping the double team, but we are beating the double teams. (Byron Murphy II) is one of the best in the league that I’ve seen do it in my career, and he’s a young guy. To see our front be able to stop the run with just four guys is a testament to how we value and take pride in stopping the run.”
32.1
The Hawks led the league in lowest third-down conversion percentage allowed.
191
The Hawks set a team record for point differential at +191. Their 2013 ands 2005 Super Bowl teams are next on the list.
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