RENTON, Wash. -- Cliff Avril can admit it now. When he heard the words coming out of Michael Bennett's mouth on the sideline at the Georgia Dome back in 2013, he felt like taking a swing at his teammate.

"I wanted to fight Mike," Avril said.

It was Week 10, and the Seattle Seahawks were taking on the Atlanta Falcons. Avril came off the field after a third-down pass rush, and Bennett started chirping.

"I don’t know what I said to him," Bennett said. "I’m pretty sure it was something vulgar."

The Seahawks will surely be counting on Pro Bowl pass-rushers Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril to step up in the postseason, with the team's secondary weakened by the loss of safety Earl Thomas. Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

Avril recalled more of the details.

"He's just talking to me like, ‘Hey, you need to do this … on this pass rush,'" Avril said. "I’m looking at him like, ‘Bro, I know how to pass rush. What are you telling me?’ I took offense to whatever he said. Somehow we got going back and forth like, ‘You shut the f--- up. You shut up.’ Then they had to move me to the other side of the bench."

After the game, Avril was still heated. He showered, got dressed and boarded the team bus to go to the airport.

"I have my headphones on or whatever, and he walks by," Avril said. "We sat across from each other. And I thought we were still mad at each other, honestly. He’s like, ‘So now I’ve got to go tell my wife that she can’t be friends with your wife because we don’t get along.’ That just broke the ice, and we were cool ever since."

Said Bennett, "He busted out laughing."

2013 was the first year in Seattle for both Avril and Bennett, and it was difficult for both of them. They signed as free agents and were used to being starters. But they were rotational players for the Seahawks in 2013, combining for just five starts.

They weren't happy, but they eventually leaned on each other as they tried to make the best of the situation. Avril said the incident in Atlanta had more to do with his lack of playing time than with Bennett getting under his skin.

"I just think it was a combination of just being frustrated with the situation at the time of not playing and all these different things," Avril said. "It just rubbed me the wrong way at the time. It was mostly me just being sensitive, honestly."

These days, when Bennett gets heated, he'll listen only to Avril. During training camp, at which Bennett was especially feisty last summer, coaches would call on Avril to calm Bennett down when no one else could reach him.

And they're obviously no longer rotational players. Bennett and Avril form one of the league's most dynamic pass-rush pairings.

Last year, the Seahawks and New York Jets were the only teams to have multiple players rank in the top 10 in QB hits. Bennett was sixth with 21, and Avril was ninth with 17. Bennett had 10 sacks and Avril had nine.

This year, Avril has set a career high and is tied for fourth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks. His 25 QB hits rank second behind only Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and Avril is headed to his first Pro Bowl.

Bennett has played through injuries and missed five games. But he still has 17 QB hits and 12 tackles for loss to go along with four sacks. Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, he looked like his usual disruptive self with a sack, three tackles for loss and four QB hits. He's headed to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

Since Seattle safety Earl Thomas is out for the season, the Seahawks will need to lean on their pass rush more than ever. According to Football Outsiders, the defense ranked fifth against the pass in Weeks 1-11. But in Weeks 12-16 (when Thomas was on the field for less than two quarters), they were 26th.

The pass rush needs to be dominant for the defense to contain opposing quarterbacks this postseason. And that means big performances from Bennett and Avril.

On third down, the Seahawks will often line up Avril at left defensive end, with Bennett next to him. The pair have a great feel for how to work off each other on stunts and twists.

Bennett said that if he could steal one trait from his teammate, it'd be Avril's speed. Avril said he'd love to be as good as Bennett is with his hands.

Their wives and families have grown close over the years, and now when Avril and Bennett look back at that dustup in Atlanta, they can laugh about how it was actually the start of a tremendous friendship.

"It’s like a brother relationship that we have," Avril said. "For both of us to be doing some good things, it’s pretty cool. I think we both motivate each other, and we’re competitors too, so Mike has nine sacks, I want to get 9.5 or 10. That drives us as well."

Added Bennett: "We learned a lot from each other, and to see him keep taking steps in his ninth year, he’s better than he was in his fifth year or sixth year. To be getting better as you get older, that’s always amazing."