For a week, the Seahawks looked like themselves again, not like the team which sleepwalked to a 6-4 start.
And it might have been a team meeting last week which woke them up and reminded them who they were.
The Seahawks were reminiscent of the dominant defense which won a Super Bowl last year, in beating the Cardinals 19-3, and they said the difference was more mental than physical.
“There was something that was missing, a subtle difference,” wide receiver Doug Baldwin said, via Terry Blount of ESPN.com. “Today we found it. It’s about trusting each other and respecting each other. It was a feeling for each of us that we needed to get back.
“It’s about trusting each other and respecting each other. It was a feeling for each of us that we needed to get back.”
Baldwin said a number of players were consulted, including cornerback Richard Sherman, strong safety Kam Chancellor, free safety Earl Thomas, running back Marshawn Lynch and quarterback Russell Wilson.
“We’ve been talking,” Wilson said. “We had kind of a team meeting, and we were just talking about getting our swagger back. We felt like it kind of went away for a little bit, for whatever reason, but I feel like we got it back.”
The Seahawks have been dealing with distractions all year, from injuries to the trade of Percy Harvin, but last week’s $100,000 fine of Lynch for not talking seemed to galvanize them as well, and Baldwin said the players talked to coach Pete Carroll about what was said.
“We learned something this week about really playing for each other and believing in everybody,’' Carroll said. “We turned our focus to trusting one another. I think there was a really strong mentality for us in this game. I’m hoping it helps us reconnect with something we were looking for.”
If they find it for more than one week, it could be an issue for the rest of the NFC, as they looked dangerous against what had been the best team in the conference.
