Seahawks Defense Aims For Better Start vs. Vikings

The Seattle Seahawks don't want to put themselves in another early hole.

Jon Alfano | 12 Hours Ago

Dec 15, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) stiff arms Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant (8) during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

There's no real way to sugarcoat it, the Seattle Seahawks were thoroughly outclassed in Sunday night's 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. While the offense has taken the brunt of the blame, the defense isn't entirely without fault.

Early on, the Green Bay offense flat out had its way with the Seattle defense. The Packers marched 63 yards down the field on their 10-play opening drive, then went 80 yards on just eight plays on their second drive. After building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Packers were essentially able to cruise to victory for the rest of the game.

To no surprise, the Seahawks were not happy about that start whatsoever. Heading into Sunday's crucial game against the Minnnesota Vikings, starting on the right foot is a major point of emphasis for Aden Durde's unit.

"As you continue through this season, you've got to understand, we all have to understand as a defense that really you're in a world where every play does matter," Durde told reporters Thursday. "I know they're cliche things to say, but as you go through this, you just have to understand that how we start is ultra important and then how we continue and they're the things you're chasing every week, like to be a team that's playing at the end of this month. They're the things you're chasing and we've just got to keep improving."

Unfortunately, slow starts have been a pattern for Seattle this season. For just a few examples, the Seahawks fell behind 14-0 against the New York Jets in Week 13, 16-0 against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 and 14-0 against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Even though they won that Jets game, falling behind so often is definitely cause for concern.

With just three weeks left in the regular season, the Seahawks can't allow this trend to continue if they want to make the playoffs.

"I think just getting settled down, not making a moment too big and getting settled down," outside linebacker Derick Hall said. "We did some stuff up front movement-wise. I think once we got that settled down and got the corrections in the second half we played a lot better ball."