Whoever faces the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game will have to deal with “one of the best” defensive lines in the NFL, “a very selfless group” that’s already dominating the playoffs, according to one of the fearsome front’s latest victims.
Veteran San Francisco 49ers starting center Jake Brendel was full of praise for Seattle’s D-line after the Seahawks trounced their NFC West rivals 41-6 in the Divisional Round on Saturday, January 17.
Brendel told reporters, “I think this defensive front is one of the best in the league at bringing pressure. They are a very selfless group, and they rush very selflessly. One guy might pick a guy for the guy next to him to get open. You don’t see that across the league, you see a lot of more selfish ups. They executed on third downs, and second-and-long. I feel like if we were more productive on first and second downs, we wouldn’t be in those situations,” per Seahawks.com Senior Reporter John Boyle.
Those words are apt for two reasons. First, because Brendel’s take about the “selfless” game-wreckers up front for the Seahawks echoes praise from seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady about a pair of “unselfish” hidden gems on offense.
Brendel’s praise is also timely because dominating in the trenches is how these Seahawks are powering their bid to win a second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Defensive Line Taking Over Playoffs
The Seahawks are winning up front because of the talent and versatility of their personnel. Versatility summed up by flexible edge players like Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe and DeMarcus Lawrence.
All three are flexible enough to operate as standup rushers or put their hands on the ground as traditional defensive ends. Lawrence can even slide inside and make an impact.
Inside is where the Seahawks have an embarrassment of riches. It’s a group led by Byron Murphy II, who is seeking to redefine playing nose tackle.
Murphy is a force against the run, but he’s ably supported in this area by 33-year-old Jarran Reed. Both offer a brute-force complement to the more dynamic pass-rushing skills of Leonard Williams.
The latter broke free for one of the two sacks surrendered by Brendel and Co. a takedown of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy on 4th down in the third quarter.
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Williams revealed he took advice from rookie left guard Grey Zabel on how to get to Purdy. Zabel, the 18th player taken in the 2025 NFL draft, told Williams not to slide when Brendel was getting across on a double team.
Instead, Zabel urged Williams to “just try to burn the B-gap,” per the Tacoma News Tribune’s Gregg Bell.
DeMarcus Lawrence razzed him for getting advice from a rookie
This kind of communication and the willingness of a veteran to listen to a first-year player speaks to the team spirit the Seahawks have fostered. It also endorses the adaptability that’s making this defense better each week.
Seahawks Still Haven’t Peaked Defensively
Two games in a row feasting on the usually prolific 49ers proves the Seahawks have something special on defense. Special enough to hold the Niners under seven points twice out of the only four times it’s happened on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s watch, according to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak.
2 of the 4 have come in January 2026 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Performances like these are made possible by the Seahawks being able to stuff the run and collapse the pocket at will up front. Better still, the group is far from done, according to Williams, who told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, “That’s why we call us the ‘Dark Side.’ If you can’t get into the end zone, it’s pretty tough to win a game. We’ve only given up field goals for the last two games now, we’ve had goose eggs at certain points throughout the season, and this defense is just tough to deal with.”
Being carried by a great defense is nothing new for the Seahawks. The 2013 team lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy largely thanks to the legendary ‘Legion of Boom.’
That unit was defined more by its physical secondary, but this year’s vintage is a force thanks to the elite and creative line no team left in the playoff bracket will relish facing.
49ers Veteran Sends Warning About Seahawks Defensive Line