With one week remaining in the regular season, the NFC West has been won.
For the first time since 2016, the Seattle Seahawks are champions of the NFC West following their 20-9 victory Sunday over the rival Los Angeles Rams.
Thanks to another stellar defensive effort, Seattle improved to 11-4 with the win and sent the second-place Rams to 9-6.
"This defense is good," Carroll said afterward. "They've shown it and declared it. This is the type of defense we've played in the past."
It's the ninth NFC West title for the Seahawks and the fifth under Pete Carroll, who arrived in 2010.
The division title also comes with a win over a Rams team that's been a thorn in Seattle's side. The Seahawks had lost two in a row to the Rams and five of the last six ahead of Sunday's triumph. This time around, they held L.A.'s offense to three field goals, picked off Jared Goff in the red zone and came up with a goal-line to stop to preserve a one-score lead in the second half.
It continued a remarkable turnaround from earlier in the season, when the unit looked to be the worst of Carroll's tenure. Since a Week 9 loss to the Bills in which Seattle allowed 44 points, the most in the Carroll era, the defense is allowing just 15 points a game.
"We're the best defense in the league," safety Jamal Adams declared. "You can quote that. And we haven't even played our best football yet -- that's the scary part."
