Seahawks CB Riq Woolen Makes Big Interception, Playing 'Winning Football'

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen has made some key plays over the past couple of weeks.

Jon Alfano | 16 Hours Ago

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In this story:

Seattle Seahawks

How a player responds to a benching can reveal a lot about them, and in the case of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen, it's revealed a good deal of character.

OK, it wasn't quite a full-on benching, but Woolen was noticeably missing on the opening drive of the Seahawks' loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday due to what head coach Mike Macdonald described as "a team rule thing." He resumed his normal role after that and played quite well, allowing just two completions for 16 yards on seven targets according to Pro Football Reference.

Then in Thursday's win over the Chicago Bears, Woolen played every snap and helped the Seahawkws suffocate their opponent. To cap it off, the third-year cornerback came down with the game-sealing interception in the final seconds, the first interception thrown by Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in his past 10 games.

Riq said nope. pic.twitter.com/yQPMf8XEg9
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 27, 2024

Woolen, a 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist, has had his ups and downs throughout the season, but he seems to be playing his best ball when it matters most.

"Well, I'll speak to the last game. I thought Riq played a really strong game. I thought he was sound, he played poised, he played fast," Macdonald told reporters Friday. "Assignments, just felt like he was on his stuff. I thought he had a really really good football game. Definitely winning football for us to help us win. To top it off with the interception at the end, that's kind of a sneaky tough play when the ball's in the air that long and high-pointing it and doing all of those things as well. I thought it was great to see."

Seattle's young secondary, which features Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Coby Bryant and more, is supposed to be one of the team's biggest strengths, but there have definitely been some peaks and valleys throughout the season. With Woolen playing like this, though, it seems to be trending up right now.