Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Seahawks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The latest SB Nation Reacts results offer an interesting vote of confidence in the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive philosophy. When asked which NFC West team will finish the regular season with the most sacks, 56% of respondents picked Seattle, comfortably ahead of the Los Angeles Rams at 41%. The Arizona Cardinals received 3%, while the San Francisco 49ers finished with just 1%.
At first glance, Seattle’s position at the top is somewhat surprising considering the arms race taking place within the division. The Rams made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by acquiring Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who set an NFL single-season record with 23 sacks in 2025. Los Angeles also remains in the middle of the increasingly serious possibility of Aaron Donald returning from retirement.
And yet, even with that collection of star power, the Rams trail Seattle by 15 percentage points.
That speaks to something important about how the Seahawks generate pressure. Seattle doesn’t necessarily need one player to dominate the sack leaderboard for its defensive front to be one of the NFL’s most productive units.
In fact, that’s almost the point.
Mike Macdonald’s defense is built around creating problems for offensive protections rather than simply asking one elite pass rusher to win his matchup every down. The Seahawks can use overload fronts, simulated pressures, stunts, rotations and creative pressure packages to manipulate where the offense believes the pressure is coming from.
That versatility allows Seattle to generate pressure with different players and from different locations on the defense. Macdonald’s system has repeatedly emphasized making every defender a potential rusher while maintaining the ability to drop players into coverage.
That’s why the idea of Seattle leading the NFC West in sacks is much more plausible than the idea of one Seahawks defender winning the individual sack title.
That could once again be the identity of this unit in 2026.
Seattle may not have the obvious individual advantage that comes with having a Myles Garrett, or potentially an Aaron Donald, on the defensive line. But Macdonald’s scheme gives the Seahawks another way to create pressure: make the quarterback and the offensive line wrong before the snap.
The most surprising result may actually be San Francisco finishing with only 1% of the vote.
The 49ers have traditionally been associated with an aggressive and talented defensive front, making such a low number stand out. But injuries could have influenced the perception of their pass rush, particularly the latest setback involving Nick Bosa.
Bosa is currently considered week-to-week with tendinitis in his right knee as he continues his recovery from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season. He has already missed multiple practices, and San Francisco’s pass rush struggled when he was unavailable last season.
That context makes the 1% figure easier to understand. It may not represent a lack of respect for the 49ers’ defensive talent as much as uncertainty surrounding the health and availability of their most important pass rusher.
Arizona, meanwhile, received just 3%, leaving Seattle and Los Angeles responsible for 97% of the total vote.
Ultimately, this poll feels particularly fitting for Seattle because of the way Macdonald wants his defense to operate.
The Seahawks aren’t necessarily built around having the player who finishes the season with 15 or 20 sacks; they’re built around creating pressure as a unit. One week it might be a defensive lineman winning an isolated matchup. The next, it could be a linebacker attacking a protection adjustment. On another snap, a defensive back can become the unexpected rusher.
That unpredictability is part of Macdonald’s defensive identity.
So while Seattle probably won’t have the NFC West’s most obvious candidate to lead the league in individual sacks, finishing with the most sacks as a team is entirely realistic.
The results suggest voters see it the same way.
And perhaps that’s the most interesting part: even after the Rams made a blockbuster move for Myles Garrett and opened the door for one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history to potentially return, Seattle remains the team most people expect to finish on top.
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