Defense, schedule cause Seattle's decline

 
AP Photo/L.G. Patterson
Seattle’s Richard Sherman after the Seahawks' loss to St. Louis on Sunday.

After opening the season No. 1 in the weekly ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings, the Seahawkshave dipped to 11th following back-to-back losses. It’s the first time the Seahawks have been outside the Top 10 since Week 14 of 2012.

Seattle’s defense has taken a step back from last season’s dominating performance, but can it bounce back?

The decline Last season, the Seahawks allowed the fewest points and fewest yards in the league, and they also forced the most turnovers. They were the first team to do that since the 1985 Bears.

This season, the Seahawks' defense ranks 19th in points per game and ninth in yards per game, while forcing the fourth-fewest turnovers.

Diving deeper, the Seahawks' defensive efficiency has taken a major hit. Expected points added (EPA) is a measure of the impact every play has on a team’s potential points, factoring in down, distance, field position, game clock and other situational factors.

The Seahawks' defense added 7.2 expected points per game last season to the team's potential scoring, best in the NFL. This season, the Seahawks' defense has cost the team 4.7 points expected points per game, 23rd in the league -- all while the offense has performed better, contributing three more expected points per game.

The problems
The Seahawks' defensive problems start up front. Although their rush defense has improved, ranking second in yards per rush allowed, the front line has not been able to pressure the quarterback.

Seahawks Defensive Pressure Pct
Last 2 Seasons

		NFL Rank
2014	17%	Last
2013	34%	1st

Last season, the Seahawks had the top pass rush in the NFL, generating pressure on a league-best 34 percent of dropbacks. This season that pressure percentage has been cut in half, leading to a league-worst rating.

The Seahawks lost defensive linemen Chris Clemons, Red Bryant and Clinton McDonald in the offseason, breaking up one of the deeper defensive line rotations in the NFL.

The Seahawks had six defensive linemen playing at least half of the team’s defensive snaps in 2013, with none playing more than 57 percent of the snaps. This season only three linemen are playing half the snaps, and Michael Bennett (80 percent) and Cliff Avril (60 percent) have gotten the lion’s share.

Without good pressure, the secondary has struggled to create turnovers.

The Seahawks have two interceptions in six games this season. Last season, the Seahawks had multiple interceptions in 10 different games, leading to a league-best 28 interceptions overall.

The schedule’s impact 

Seahawks Opposing QBs This Season

	Total QBR	NFL Rank
Peyton Manning	88.9	1st
Philip Rivers	86.2	2nd
Tony Romo	85.0	3rd
Aaron Rodgers	83.9	4th
Austin Davis	60.9	19th
Kirk Cousins	46.8	30th

In defense of the defense, the Seahawks have played the season's second-hardest schedule, which has included the top four quarterbacks in the league, according to Total QBR.

Still, even the lower-ranked quarterbacks found success against Seattle. Kirk Cousins has thrown an interception in all but two games this season (Jaguars and Seahawks), and Austin Davis (along with punter Johnny Hekker) completed the highest percentage of passes (86.4 percent) against any Seahawks defense ever. 

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