GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Last month, as the Seahawks were in the midst of preparing for the 2026 season, linebacker Ernest Jones IV made it clear that expectations were about as high as possible for a defense that a season ago allowed the fewest points in the NFL while helping lead Seattle to a Super Bowl title,

"Our standard is perfection," Jones said while the team was in Nashville for joint practices with the Titans. "When I say perfection, we don't want you to get a yard. We don't want none of that. When you do get that, it pisses us off."

So when the Cardinals scored a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter -- a fourth-and-goal conversion from the 2-yard line -- Jones and company were, well, pissed. But from that point on, the Seahawks defense came awfully close to perfection as the Seahawks pulled away for a dominant 31-7 victory, scoring 24 unanswered points after that Trey McBride touchdown reception tied the game.

Following that touchdown, the Cardinals had six more full possessions, not counting the two plays they ran in the final seconds of the game, and five of those ended in punts, while another ended on a Julian Love interception, the second in as many games for the veteran safety. And it wasn't just that the Seahawks were keeping the Cardinals from scoring, they were barely letting Arizona move the ball, allowing only three first downs on those last six possessions.

At halftime, head coach Mike Macdonald and his defense made sure they made necessary adjustments to respond to some unexpected things the Cardinals were doing, and the result was Seattle holding the Cardinals to just two first downs and 44 yards in the entire second half, with 24 of those yards and one first down coming on a couple of meaningless handoffs in the final seconds of the game.

"We came in at halftime, made our adjustments," said defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who had one of his team's two sacks. "I thought we started playing sound ball, everything we needed to do, fixing the little things."

Said Macdonald, "We had some uncharacteristic communication -- not issues, but we just weren't ahead of plays as much as we should have been. I think it was just a matter of taking a deep breath, realigning and then just keep playing. We made a couple adjustments in terms of setting the front and things like that. They ran a run that they hadn't shown yet, so we had to adjust to that but other than that, we kept finding solutions and guys kept playing."

Thanks to another dominant defensive performance, not to mention a second-half offensive explosion, which included two of Jaxon Smith-Njigba's three touchdowns, and a very impressive 16-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took 10:14 off the clock in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were able to turn a game that was tied at halftime into a lopsided victory, making it a game that epitomized the style of play Macdonald wants his team to play.

"That's our identity," said defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who had six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. "You hear Coach Mike talk about it a lot, we want to be like a boa constrictor. That's how we want to win games, meaning we slowly defeat teams, out-physical teams, and towards the end of the game, they're just going to tap out. I think we've done a great job of creating that identity, and it shows up on tape."

The Seahawks defense still feels like it's a work in progress, but the first two games of the season have been awfully impressive. In 18 possessions for the Patriots and Cardinals, again, not counting the final two plays on Sunday, Seattle's opponents have managed only three scores, a touchdown by each team plus a field goal for New England, and have punted 11 times and thrown four interceptions. In other words, the Seahawks defense has so far this season been more likely to force a turnover than yield a scoring drive every time it takes the field. And over the course of those two games, the Seahawks have allowed a total of just 382 yards, 29 first downs and 17 points.

"It's tough," Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett said of facing Seattle's defense. "I think Mike (Macdonald) does a really good job and he teaches those guys to play their rules well. Like our coaches said, there are no weaknesses on that defense. You have to pull teeth to try to find a weakness, but at the end of the day, you have to snap the ball and go play good football."

Seattle's defense doesn't feel like it has found its highest level of play yet, but the early results have still been awfully impressive. Starting next week, they'll try to get even closer to their lofty goals.

"We don't want them to score at all, of course, but it's going to happen," said safety Julian Love, who has an interception in each of Seattle's two wins. "But what is great about our defense, especially early in this season, is, 'All right, how do we battle back? Things aren't going to be perfect, but what does it look like now?' That's what we're chasing, trying to figure out who we are for this year. I'm happy with how we responded; we've just got to be cleaner now early."