RENTON, Wash. -- A tough closing stretch continues for the Seahawks as they head across the country to play the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX) in what will be Seattle's first game at EverBank Field since 2005.
Here's a closer look at the game from Seattle's perspective, starting with the key matchup.
Seahawks' O-line vs. Jaguars' pass-rush
You know a defense is good when it earns a nickname.
Jacksonville's pass-rush has become known as "Sacksonville" for good reason. The Jaguars lead the NFL in sacks this season with 45. According to ESPN charting, they've generated pressure on 31.8 percent of opposing quarterbacks' dropbacks, the third-highest rate in the NFL.
It will be an exceedingly difficult matchup for the Seahawks, but not an impossible one like it would have seemed earlier this season.
Seattle's pass protection has been considerably better over the past five games, and it's not an accident that the improvement coincides with left tackle Duane Brown's arrival. Before acquiring Brown in Week 9, according to Pro Football Focus, Seattle allowed pressure on 39.4 percent of its pass-blocking snaps, which ranked 30th in the NFL. That pressure rate has dropped to 22.8 since then, which ranks eighth.
That includes two-plus quarters of the Arizona game in Week 10 that Brown missed because of a sprained ankle. His replacement, Matt Tobin, was beaten on a few plays, so that rate would be even better if it only took into account plays with Brown on the field.
Seattle's offensive line may have improved to some degree on its own, independent of the Brown trade. Luke Joeckel has returned to left guard after missing five games following knee surgery. Rookie Ethan Pocic, who moved from left guard to right guard when Joeckel came back, is only seven starts into his NFL career. Center Justin Britt and right tackle Germain Ifedi are the only two linemen who have made every start this season.
But Brown has made a difference.
“I think you can see it," offensive line coach Tom Cable said. "It’s just consistency over there, and then you have Luke coming back. He had two struggles [vs. Philadelphia last week], and then the rest of the night, he was really good. Germain, Ethan, all of those guys are kind of improving together. I think it’s a result of having [Brown] and having that consistency at that spot.”
According to PFF, Brown has allowed one sack and nine pressures in five games with Seattle. His predecessor, Rees Odhiambo, allowed four pressures in his final start and 10 in one game earlier this season, per PFF.
The improvement along Seattle's offensive line has come in time for some difficult matchups against strong defensive fronts. Cable noted one difference between Philadelphia and Jacksonville is that the Jaguars don't blitz nearly as much. With Calais Campbell (12.5 sacks) and Yannick Ngakoue (10 sacks) book-ending a front four that also has Malik Jackson and Marcell Dareus in the middle, they don't have to.
"It’s a tremendous challenge," Cable said. "They’re really, really good up front, so we look forward to the challenge again and see if we can get better.”
By the numbers
609. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Russell Wilson leads the NFL in passing yards outside of the pocket this season with 609. The Jaguars have allowed a league-low 50 passing yards outside the pocket and a league-low Total QBR of 3 on such plays.
2.93. Seattle has allowed a league-low 2.93 yards per carry since Week 10, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Seahawks run defense has been excellent since the first month of the season, when long runs by Carlos Hyde and DeMarco Murray inflated Seattle's YPC against to a league-worst 5.3. Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette was averaging 4.58 YPC over his first six games but has averaged only 2.94 over the last four since returning from a two-game absence.
60 percent. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, a victory Sunday would push Seattle's chances to win the NFC West to 60 percent while a loss would drop the Seahawks' chances to 33 percent.
Wilson can make history: Wilson has 15 fourth-quarter touchdown passes this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that ties the NFL's single-season record that Eli Manning set in 2011. Wilson has four games to break it. More on Wilson's MVP-caliber season here.
Expect Davis to start: While the Seahawks haven't declared Mike Davis to be their starting running back, it seems almost certain that he will be. Davis returned from a groin injury and combined for 101 yards on 20 touches last week against Philadelphia. That's production Seattle hasn't gotten from a running back since Chris Carson went down in Week 4. Seattle's coaches have talked about the need for stability at that spot after going back and forth between Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls, so there's little reason to not stick with Davis now that he's producing.
Prediction: The Seahawks' defense may not be great like it was when its secondary was at full strength. But holding the NFL's highest-scoring offense to 10 points last week was the latest indication that it can still be very good even without Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. And very good should be enough against a Jacksonville offense that, as ESPN Jaguars reporter Mike DiRocco notes, is banged up at the moment. Two strong defenses is a recipe for a close game. And if it comes down to the fourth quarter, I trust Wilson way more than Blake Bortles to lead his team to a win. Seahawks 21, Jaguars 18.