SEATTLE – In the Seattle Seahawks’ locker room after Sunday’s win over Arizona, players kept talking about “the meeting.”
Ten key players and coach Pete Carroll huddled earlier this week. Egos were checked at the door.
Trust and swagger had been lost. Things needed to be said.
“Hard talks, arguments, like a family” safety Earl Thomas said. “And just like a family we came together.”
No word about whether an Ouija board was involved in that meeting, but the Seahawks summoned the spirit of 2013.
On Sunday, it was fearsome.
While the Cardinals’ beastly defense tried to make roadkill out of Russell Wilson, who was sacked seven times, the Seahawks played like a cornered animal.
A loss would have ended the Seahawks’ hopes of winning the NFC West and might have dealt their playoff chances a mortal blow.
In holding Arizona to a season-low 204 yards, the Seahawks defense showed it can still pummel opponents into pulp. This battle of the birds wasn’t for featherweights.
And while Seattle is still two games in back of the Cardinals in the NFC West, the Seahawks feel as if they have rediscovered the winning attitude they need for a five-game sprint toward the playoffs.
Receiver Doug Baldwin, never one to hide his thoughts, turned introspective after Sunday’s game.
“We have to be vulnerable to each other,” he said. “When you’re vulnerable to each other it opens up different avenues of communication. … You could see the enthusiasm and all the pieces playing together.”
Baldwin said there was a gnawing feeling in the locker room that something has been amiss. For all the public proclamations of team unity and chemistry, reports of turmoil have cropped up this season with alarming frequency.
“It’s hard to get to that point, but once you open the floor up, then it’s easy to talk about it,” Baldwin continued. “The feeling was mutual throughout the locker room. There was something missing.”
Seattle entered Sunday with the third-best defense in yards allowed and 12th best in points allowed. That’s not shabby, but it’s a far cry from last year’s unit that led the league in both categories.
On Sunday, Seattle’s defense played with an energy and swagger it has lacked. They will need to summon that same energy every game in this five-game sprint for the playoffs, four of which will be against NFC West foes.
The Seahawks talked about trust-building and teamwork like they had just been on a corporate retreat. As the playoff chase heats up, they better hope those lessons stick.
Currently holding on to the last NFC playoff spot, the Seahawks can’t afford another bad day at the office.
Micah Rice is The Columbian’s sports editor. Reach him at 360-735-4548, via email at micah.rice@columbian.com or on Twitter @col_mrice .
