Seattle Seahawks

Reign men: Seahawks proud of yielding fewest points 4 years in row

Published Jan. 7, 2016 6:32 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Seattle Seahawks were six weeks into the season and coming off consecutive losses in a pair of high-profile matchups against Cincinnati and Carolina.

Standing at 2-4 and having blown fourth-quarter leads in each of their defeats, the Seahawks suddenly were facing questions about a defense that had carried the team to consecutive Super Bowl appearances in each of the previous two seasons.

Seahawks were @NFL's top scoring defense 4x during the most prolific 5-year scoring span in league history. #LOB pic.twitter.com/JvseUpGaVP
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 6, 2016

"That kind of standard is difficult to uphold for so long, because you have your peaks and your valleys," Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman said. "To make 11 guys play like one is very difficult to do over time. I think guys have found a way to motivate one another and to play for one another; to understand that you’re sacrificing, and that it means more to the guy next to you. It’s worked out well.”

It's worked out well enough that by the end of the season, Seattle's defense was in its accustomed place among the NFL hierarchy - leading the league in scoring for the fourth consecutive year. That hasn't been done since the Cleveland Browns of the mid-1950s.

“We take a lot of pride in that,” Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “It just goes to show -- the whole year everybody questioned the defense -- to show how consistent we’ve been.”

While the 17.3 points per game amounted to the highest total surrendered during Seattle's four-year reign, the road to this season's title may have been the most impressive. The Seahawks held seven of the last 10 opponents to 13 points or fewer, capped by a 36-6 rout at high-scoring Arizona in the season finale.

“It’s a lot of hard work that goes into it," defensive end Cliff Avril said. "It’s a lot of mental preparation that gets you to that level. You can easily take it for granted if you get here for a few years and it’s just happening.”

Half of those final 10 games came away from home, and yet the Seahawks permitted a total of 34 points in sweeping the last five five road games. Magnifying the accomplishment is the fact that Seattle has had three different defensive coordinators over the past four seasons. Two of them, Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn, went on to head coaching gigs with Jacksonville and Atlanta, respectively.

“I think (coach Pete Carroll’s) done a great job implementing his system and his philosophy,” Sherman said. “He’s created a Ferrari and just kept handing the keys off.”