Seattle Seahawks Report Card: Top Performers in Win vs. Washington Commanders
Coming out on top in a thrilling back-and-forth contest, the Seattle Seahawks used a Jason Myers field goal as clock expired to beat the Washington Commanders 29-26 and stay atop the NFC West standings on Sunday.
Snagging their sixth win of the season and staying on pace with the 49ers in the division, several players starred in all three phases of the game, including an unexpected vintage performance from a future Hall of Famer. Here are my top five grades and other notable performances from a Week 10 victory at Lumen Field.
Jason Peters
Overall Grade: 89.0 (Run Blocking 92, Pass Blocking 86)
Though Stone Forsythe earned the start at right tackle, Peters played the majority of the snaps after the first couple of drives, playing so well in all facets that the Seahawks couldn't justify taking him out of the lineup. The 41-year old veteran performed as if the clock spun back to 2010, allowing only one pressure on 34 pass blocking reps, consistently keeping Geno Smith upright by keeping edge rushers away from him in the pocket. He also made a nice downfield block on a 16-yard tight end screen to Will Dissly, showing off his athleticism in his 19th NFL season.
But while Peters held up well in pass protection and moved well on screens, he made his greatest impact creating running lanes for Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Consistently driving defenders off the ball and using his agility to win the positioning battle on reach blocks, he helped spring Charbonnet for several long runs. This included a critical fourth down run early in the fourth quarter where he took two defenders out of the play, blocking one with each arm and allowing the rookie back to run behind him for a seven-yard gain to move the sticks. It's no wonder Seattle rushed for 80 of its 120 yards on the ground to the right side.
Devon Witherspoon
Overall Grade: 87.0 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 84, Pass Rush 90, Coverage 88)
Witherspoon wasn't perfect on Sunday, missing a key tackle on Washington's final touchdown drive and letting Dyami Brown slip behind him on a crossing route on the game-tying score. But away from those two plays, the top-five pick continued to stake his claim for Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration, starting off fast by swatting down a pass from Sam Howell on a slot cornerback blitz on the game's first snap from scrimmage. He would add a trio of pass breakups, including nearly picking Howell off in the first quarter after jumping a throw to Terry McLaurin down the seam.
Aside from continuing to stack pass breakups on his resume, Witherspoon came through with a clutch turnover in the third quarter. After Howell kept the ball on a read option and turned upfield with plenty of green in front of him, the rookie defender instinctively started trying to pull the ball out of the quarterback's hands as he rolled over the top of safety Quandre Diggs, eventually forcing a fumble just before the ball carrier hit the ground. Riq Woolen recovered the loose ball, abruptly ending a promising drive for the Commanders.
Bobby Wagner
Overall Grade: 86.0 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 90, Pass Rush 85, Coverage 80)
The Commanders were able to expose Wagner in coverage in the fourth quarter with him matched up against speedy running back Antonio Gibson on a wheel route. But that play was more about the ridiculous throw by Howell than anything else and aside from that mishap, No. 54 continued his outstanding all-around play manning the middle of the Seahawks defense. Racking up a team-high 10 tackles, four of those stops netted two or fewer yards as he helped hold the opposition to just 10 rushing yards in the first half.
In the passing game, Wagner generated a pair of pressures on nine blitz attempts, getting home once to get a partial sack on Howell and helping free defensive tackle Leonard Williams for his first sack as a Seahawk. Getting the job done in coverage, he broke up a pair of passes, including laying a jarring hit on receiver Curtis Samuel to force a third down incompletion in the third quarter. Producing double-digit tackles, two passes defensed, and a sack, it was just another dominant day at the office for the future Hall of Famer.
Geno Smith
Overall Grade: 85.0 (Passing 86, Rushing 84)
In the first two quarters, Smith wasn't able to execute on several third down pass attempts in Washington territory, including throwing behind Charbonnet on 3rd and 5, leading to a trio of field goals and no touchdowns before halftime. He also made a poor decision on the final play of the half that led to an intentional grounding penalty. But he still threw for 152 yards in the first 30 minutes and after Walker took a short dump off pass to the house for a 64-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to give Seattle its first lead, the Pro Bowl quarterback started wheeling and dealing down the stretch.
Completing 15 out of 20 passes for 217 yards after halftime, Smith completed six passes netting 15 or more yards to help orchestrate four scoring drives in the final two quarters of play. Among his most noteworthy throws, he feathered a 20-yard pass over the outstretched arms of a linebacker to Tyler Lockett for a 20-yard gain midway through the fourth quarter, eventually finishing off the drive hooking up with Lockett on a five-yard touchdown. With the game on the line inside a minute to play, he threw a pair of darts to DK Metcalf to push the Seahawks into field goal range, culminating with a 27-yard slant pattern to set up Jason Myers for the game winner.
Boye Mafe
Overall Grade: 84.0 (Run Defense 84, Tackling 88, Pass Rush 90, Coverage 60*)
*Weighted for coverage reps
Things didn't start off well on Sunday for Mafe, who found himself in a bind dropping back in coverage on a zone blitz. After taking a step forward from his coverage responsibility to go after Howell as he moved up in the pocket, the quarterback burned him by lofting a strike to a wide-open Brian Robinson, who did the rest running 51 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. From there, however, Mafe returned to his game-wrecking ways, making history in the process. Leading the team with five pressures, he found his way to Howell in the third quarter on a stunt to register a sack for the seventh straight game, a new Seahawks franchise record.
In addition to his historic sack, Mafe chased down Howell as he vacated the pocket scrambling to his right on a third down in the second quarter and swatted the quarterback's pass attempt away, forcing the Commanders to punt. He would later add a second quarterback hit late in the fourth quarter, only for Howell to somehow miraculously flick his wrist while his arm was getting hit to deliver a touchdown to Gibson. He also tacked on a pair of run stops for two or fewer yards and helped blow up a screen play, continuing his ascent as a potential All-Pro candidate off the edge.
Other Notable Performances
Narrowly missing out on a top-five grade, Metcalf took over late in the game with two catches for 44 yards on Seattle's final drive and averaged 14 yards per catch, receiving an 83.0 score. Earning a similar 82.0 score, Lockett bounced back from an early helmet-to-helmet hit to quietly snag eight passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. Running with physicality and decisiveness while also contributing four receptions in the passing game, Charbonnet received his highest grade of the season at 81.5. Along the offensive line, Phil Haynes didn't give up any pressures in pass protection and stood out next to Peters creating running room on the right side, earning a season-best 81.0 score. Left tackle Charles Cross and left guard Damien Lewis had up-and-down performances, particularly in the run game where Seattle struggled running to that side of the line, but received steady 80.0 and 78.0 grades with strong performances in pass protection. Walker's splash play in the receiving game gave his final grade (77.0) a significant shot in the arm, but he had several runs he tried to bounce rather than get downhill that hurt his score from a running perspective. Jaxon Smith-Njigba racked up 53 yards after the catch on four receptions, but did have a bad drop on a screen pass while receiving a 75.0 score.
Highly disruptive without necessarily producing gaudy statistics, Leonard Williams registered his first sack and had a hand in the sacks by Wagner and Mafe absorbing double teams, receiving an 82.5 score. While missed tackles continue to be problematic for Woolen, he had his strongest game in coverage this year allowing just two receptions on six targets with a pass breakup and recovered a fumble, netting an 80.0 score. Like Mafe, Dre'Mont Jones was on the wrong end of a botched zone coverage drop that allowed Robinson to snag a 48-yard catch, but he finished with four pressures and two quarterback hits, receiving a 79.0 grade. Missed tackles also were an issue for Jamal Adams, including a whiff on a sack opportunity on Washington's first touchdown, but he salvaged a 78.0 score with a tackle for loss and quality coverage play. Appearing to be limited by a hamstring injury that cost him practice time, Jordyn Brooks missed three tackles and wasn't overly effective moving in coverage, scoring a season-low 69.0 grade.
