SEATTLE — At the time, that Seahawks bye week felt like a "goodbye" week.

After dropping two straight and five of their past six, it seemed as if the Seahawks were saying sayonara to their season before their seven days off earlier this month.

The defense that Mike Macdonald was supposed to repair in his first year as head coach was a welcoming committee for opposing touchdowns. That Geno Smith-led offense was a charity that gave away footballs.

A 3-0 start had morphed into a 4-5 record marked by four losses by at least two scores — and the wins weren't exactly works you'd see hanging in the Louvre.

But now? Now, the 6-5 Seahawks look like a team that can not only win the NFC West but do so convincingly. After Sunday's 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, they can say their defense has shut down two highly potent offenses in back-to-back weeks.

Yes, this is the ever-undulating NFL, where streaks and skids are the norm for most teams in the league. But for the first time all year, this "D" feels legit.

"A credit goes to our coaches and our players and everyone in the building of just what we're trying to build," Macdonald said. "And when it's not that way, then you just hammer away and just go to work."

The Seahawks are a different team than what they were during their slalom-steep slide in October and early November. And it's not just because they cut ties with linebacker Tyrel Dodson and watched center Connor Williams retire. The defense has looked like what the brass envisioned when it hired Macdonald this offseason after spending three straight seasons as one of the most porous teams in the league.

Two Sundays ago, it held the 49ers — averaging over 400 yards per game before kickoff — to 277 yards in a 20-17 win. This Sunday, it kept the — Cardinals — who had won four straight and scored a combined 88 points in their past three games — to a pair of field goals.

It's not as if the Seahawks suddenly look elite. These weren't wins over the Chiefs, Lions or Bills — two of which have played and dominated the Seahawks this season. They do, however, look as if they can hang a division banner, and the defense is the reason why.

What changed?

"I mean the biggest part is being able to handle the run in my opinion," Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams said. "Because if you allow teams to run the ball, then they're staying on their terms down the stretch of their drive."

Sunday, Williams controlled the run (and pass) almost single-handedly. In his most dominant game as a Seahawk, he had two tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits. But it is true that heading into the bye week nine games in, the Seahawks were in the bottom fourth of the league in run defense and total defense.

Sunday, they kept the Cardinals to 49 rushing yards on 14 carries. This came seven days after limiting San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey — the NFL's leading rusher by nearly 300 yards last season — to 79 yards on 19 attempts. The result has the once-spiraling Seahawks tied at the top of the division with six games to play.

It's not just what the team is doing to running backs, though. Sunday, the Seahawks sacked Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray five times. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon nearly added another one when he closed on a scrambling Murray midway through the third quarter but instead forced him to throw the ball into the hands of fellow cornerback Coby Bryant, who returned it 69 yards to the end zone to make it 13-3.

Bryant's backward-diving, um ... below-the-waist-grabbing touchdown celebration was a shoutout to former Seahawk running back Marshawn Lynch. But his team's play over the past two weeks has been a nod to that era's impenetrable defense.

I know, I know — let's not get carried away here. Anyone who thinks the Seahawks are suddenly "fixed" is delusional. The offense has averaged 16.5 points over their past four games and hasn't scored more than 20 over that span. Smith, meanwhile, has thrown six interceptions over his past four games (he had one in the Cardinals' end zone Sunday) and has 12 picks against 12 TDs on the year. Plus, any decent team in the NFL is capable of putting together two sensational games. Doesn't mean it will last.

Still, something looks different about this squad. Unraveling one second, unreal the next. We'll see what happens over these next six games, but it's clear the Seahawks can take the division.

Funny how that works, isn't it? A few weeks ago, it felt like "goodbye season." Now, it's more like "hello world."

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