Commentary: Colts’ Philip Rivers may be another gift for Seahawks defense

SEATTLE – The Saints’ Spencer Rattler, the Vikings’ Max Brosmer, the Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett. They aren’t scaring anybody. Those were gifts.

Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence? Hype machines that have starred in years past but not year present. Kyler Murray has been underwhelming in each of the past four seasons. Aaron Rodgers is 42. Kirk Cousins lost his starting position in Atlanta for a reason. Cam Ward is a first-year player who’s now at 250-to-1 odds to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. And Jayden Daniels, banged up when he played the Seahawks, ranks 30th in the NFL in passer rating in the seven games he’s played.

Those are the quarterbacks the Seahawks have defeated this year. It’s not a nameless or fame-less list, but it is one composed of struggling and non-starting signal callers. On Sunday, Seattle likely will face off against 44-year-old Philip Rivers, who will replace the injured (and previously thriving) Daniel Jones for Indianapolis. Rivers is a likely Hall of Famer, but his over-the-hill nature is unlikely to get the Colts over the hump. It’s another break for the Seahawks’ defense, which is second in the league in points allowed.

But that ranking might come with an asterisk – the Seahawks’ success against elite QBs is limited.

Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield had one of the more prolific first two months in football this season and absolutely lit up Seattle, throwing for 379 yards on 29 of 33 passing in a 38-35 win. The Rams’ Matthew Stafford is the betting favorite (-180) to win NFL MVP, and though he was held to 130 yards on 15 of 28 passing, he did enough to get his team a 21-19 victory over Seattle. Same with Brock Purdy, who finished fourth in MVP voting in 2023 and led the Niners to a four-point win over the Seahawks in Week 1 of this season while completing 26 of 35 passes for 279 yards.

Don’t get it wrong, the Seahawks’ defense is daunting. It is every bit as responsible as the offense for them being tied with the Rams for the NFC’s best record. But the sample size is still too small to know if they’ll be able to sustain this type of success in the playoffs. It will likely remain that way after Sunday.

Jones could have been a telling test. He ranked in the top 10 in passer rating and QBR before going down with an Achilles tendon injury. Seeing the Seahawks shut him down en route to another dominant win would have added validity to their Super Bowl chances. Now, anything less than a double-digit win would be cause for concern.

The idea that Rivers – whose last snap was during the 2020 season – will have an impact is great for media fodder. It’s almost impossible in the real world.

We will get a bit more information on how the Seahawks handle elite quarterbacks as the season progresses. They have a rematch with the Rams next Thursday night. They’ll get Purdy again in the last game of the season. But in addition to Stafford, Purdy and Mayfield, the likes of Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff and an emerging Caleb Williams permeate the NFC.

This isn’t me calling fool’s gold on Seattle’s defense. It has done almost everything it has supposed to on that side of the ball despite dealing with injuries to key players throughout the season. Coach Mike Macdonald – hired primarily due to his defensive prowess – has more than earned his keep.

But it is pointing out a hole – which has been outside of their control – on the Seahawks’ defensive résumé.

Again, they gave Stafford trouble despite the two-point loss. They picked Purdy off twice. They have almost as complete a defense as one could ask for, with the secondary being as potent as the front seven. There is just still a little more to show.

Few fans without Seahawks tattoos thought this team would be 10-3 at this point. There was a new quarterback, a new No. 1 wide receiver and a “D” that, while solid, finished 14th in total defense last season. Improvement would have been noteworthy. Dominance is borderline shocking.

And yet, here we are. Seattle at 10-3, a near two-touchdown favorite to move to 11-3 and a potential first-round bye in its future. It’s been among the most surprising storylines in the NFL considering the Seahawks’ over-under for wins was 8.5 when the season started.

Macdonald’s defense is a chief reason this all happened. The “D” has been great against the bad to pretty good, but it still needs reps against the elite.

Those reps will come eventually. Fans should hope they’ll have had enough experience when they truly matter.

The Seahawks defense celebrates a fumble recovery against the Falcons last week in Atlanta.