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Factoid

Seattle Seahawks

Earl Thomas injury a key loss for historic defense

Earl Thomas is out for the year, and that’s big. He’s probably the best safety in the game right now, and he’s probably the most valuable player on one of the league’s best defenses.

There are a lot of good players on that defense – Michael Bennett, Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman – but Thomas is probably the guy they would least want to lose. He covers a lot of range in the secondary, and it won’t be quite as good without him (good turn their game at Lambeau on Sunday from a win to a loss).

Even without Thomas, the Seahawks might hold on and lead the league in scoring defense. Two of their final four games are against teams with inept offenses (Rams, 49ers).

It’s been a remarkable run for The Legion of Boom, which potentially could lead the league in scoring defense five years in a row. That puts it in the discussion with the greatest defenses ever, in my opinion.

Games and eras change, but since the merger in 1970, only nine other defenses have been able to rank in the top 5 in scoring defense four years in a row. Only three of those defenses have been able to lead the league in scoring defense two years in a row. The Seahawks have done it four straight.

The Steel Curtain is one of the great defenses (and cemented that reputation with four Super Bowl wins). But it never ranked in the top 5 in scoring defense four years in a row. It peaked in the 1974-76 seasons, when it ranked 2nd, 2nd and 1st in scoring defense.

The 49ers from 1983-92 had a remarkable run, in the top 5 in scoring defense in nine of those 10 years. Those defenses arguably had the disadvantage of working with a lot of good offenses (meaning the 49ers were up big in the second halves of a lot of those games.

TOP-5 SCORING DEFENSES (4-plus years)
TeamYearsStreakRanks
Chicago Bears1983-8865th, 3rd, 1st, 1st, 4th, 1st
Los Angeles Rams1973-7864th, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th
Dallas Cowboys1992-9655th, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd
San Francisco 49ers1983-8754th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd
Seattle Seahawks2012-1651st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st
San Francisco 49ers1989-9243rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd
Baltimore Ravens2008-1143rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd
Green Bay Packers1994-9745th, 4th, 1st, 5th
Miami Dolphins1970-7345th, 3rd, 1st, 1st
Minnesota Vikings1973-7642nd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index