Surging Seahawks Ready For San Fran Rematch

The Seattle Seahawks defense has been the most dominant in the National Football League in the last three weeks, first holding the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers to three points apiece before grounding the Philadelphia Eagles in a 24-14 win.

Now Earl Thomas and Co. will double back and face the Niners once again, and they’re doing so with the form and confidence that won them a Super Bowl title last season.

“It’s the whole defense. All of us are just playing for each other and having a blast,” said corner Richard Sherman. “I think anytime all 11 guys are out there having fun and hitting and enjoying the moment, you’re going to have great stats…it’s a testament to the way everyone is playing.”

The Hawks baffled the 49ers offense on Thanksgiving night, forcing three turnovers and holding them to just 164 total yards in a dominant 19-3 victory at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

A week later, the Legion Of Boom held the high-flying Eagles offense to just 139 yards, the fewest in the Chip Kelly era. ET recorded a key fumble recovery that set up a Seattle touchdown in that tilt, as the Hawks dominated from start to finish.

The last two times the Seahawks defense has hit the field have been against teams with a combined 16-7 record heading into the game, and it held the two teams to a combined 303 yards of total offense.

Earl, who was recently called a little “Tasmanian devil” by nine-time Pro Bowl safety John Lynch, has been an integral part of the Seahawks’ defensive dominance. Against San Francisco, he will once again be used primarily to force throws toward star cornerback Richard Sherman, who picked off two Colin Kaepernick passes in the first matchup. In that game, San Francisco’s longest play of the game was just 16 yards, primarily due to ET III’s lockdown coverage of the deep middle of the field.

Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn told reporters he had no reason to change the game plan after such dominant performances in recent weeks, and he doesn’t expect the 49ers to drastically alter their game plan either.

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot different,” Quinn said about the matchup. “It comes down to making it about us and our execution and our style of how we play. We know how hard this team plays, it’s going to be another battle just like they all are when we play this team. We’re prepared for that.”

Earl has been nothing short of elite so far this season; heading into the weekend, ET III is third on the defense in tackles with 71, and he’s added six pass breakups, two tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.

While he hasn’t dominated in any one statistical category this season, No. 29 has helped his team in just about every area possible. He is the only member of the Seahawks defense who has completed the turnover trio —intercepted a pass, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble — so far, and he leads the Legion Of Boom in tackling.

ET and the L.O.B. will look to continue their phenomenal play and give a major boost to their playoff hopes. Arizona’s Thursday night win over the St. Louis Rams put pressure on Seattle to win this weekend to keep pace in the NFC West. At 11-3, the Cardinals are 1.5 games ahead of the Hawks (9-4). They’ll have a meeting next week in Phoenix that could prove to decide the division title.

Seattle’s chances at the Wild Card are strong, but with the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys both at 9-4, every game will matter over the final three weeks.

Sunday’s game is scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff and will be broadcast on Fox.