Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks 21-16 Loss to Buccaneers
Unable to overcome a sluggish first half on both sides of the football with a late rally, Geno Smith and the Seahawks saw their four-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in a tough 21-16 loss in Munich.
Despite the defeat, several players still shined on offense and defense for Seattle heading into its bye week, including multiple stellar performances along the offensive line in pass protection. Here are my top five grades and other notable performances from Week 10 at Allianz Arena.
Shelby Harris
Overall Grade: 87.0 (Run Defense 87, Tackling 90, Pass Rush 84)
Rushing for a season-high 161 yards on 38 carries, Tampa Bay imposed its will on Seattle with a suddenly competent ground attack, but Harris had nothing to do with the problem. Continuing his recent run of exceptional play, the Buccaneers couldn't get anything going when they ran in the vicinity of the veteran defensive tackle, who played the role of brick wall lining up in 1-tech and 3/4i-tech alignments and excelled shedding blockers to make plays at the line of scrimmage. Finishing with three tackles, each of those stops netted two or fewer yards, classifying them as negative plays for the offense. Meanwhile, the versatile defender was the only pass rusher who generated consistent pressure on Tom Brady, first forcing a rushed third down incompletion on a target intended for Chris Godwin in the first quarter and leading to a punt. After the Bucs scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, he came through with the only quarterback hit produced by the Seahawks late in the half to coax another Brady incompletion on third down, nearly drawing a hold in the end zone that would have resulted in a safety.
Damien Lewis
Overall Grade: 85.0 (Run Blocking 80, Pass Blocking 90)
Looking more comfortable at left guard by week, Lewis remained stout in pass protection and held his own against the powerful duo of Vita Vea and Akiem Hicks, allowing no pressures on 40 pass blocking reps on Sunday. Over the past two weeks while facing off against a talented trio of Vea, Hicks, and J.J. Watt frequently, he has been near flawless, yielding a single pressure on 81 pass blocking reps. Though he wasn't as effective in the run game as he was in Arizona in Week 9 and the team as a whole struggled to get much going on the ground, Lewis still dished out a pancake on a kickout block on a trap concept and his individual blocking remained solid at the point of attack despite the lack of success rushing for just 39 yards. He also showed off his underrated athleticism getting out in space to lay a nice block on a cornerback in front of Ken Walker III on a rare well-executed screen for the Seahawks.
Cody Barton
Overall Grade: 84.5 (Run Defense 78, Tackling 90, Coverage 86)
As stated by coach Pete Carroll on Tuesday, Barton wasn't perfect against the Buccaneers and struggled to get off of blocks on a few of the big runs allowed by the Seahawks. With that being said, the fourth-year linebacker has steadily been improving over the past month and made a number of impact plays in this football game as a run defender and in coverage. On Tampa Bay's second possession, Barton slipped past a block attempt by tight end Cameron Brate on second down to bring down Leonard Fournette for a one-yard gain on a swing route, eventually leading to a missed field goal. He also produced a pair of run stuffs stopping Rachaad White and Ke'Shawn Vaughn at the line of scrimmage for no gain and didn't miss any tackles in the game. Barton's biggest play came in coverage in the fourth quarter, as he capitalized on a rare bad decision by Brady by leaping from his Cover 2 drop assignment to register his first career interception, setting the table for Geno Smith's second touchdown pass to cut the deficit to five points.
Charles Cross
Overall Grade: 83.0 (Run Blocking 74, Pass Blocking 92)
Like most rookies, Cross has endured his share of ups and downs, including allowing a season-high six pressures against the Cardinals in Week 9. However, the first round pick out of Mississippi State turned his finest performance yet in pass protection against the Buccaneers, yielding no pressures on 40 passing plays. While it wasn't always pretty from a technical standpoint, the athletic blind side protector took care of business against an aggressive, blitz-happy defense, handling extra rushers and stunts with ease. In one-on-one situations, he held up well against bull rushes and counters off of them and used his smooth footwork to consistently ride speed rushes upfield to keep Smith clean. While run blocking remains an area of improvement coming from an Air Raid offense in college, Cross didn't have any notable misses in the run game on Sunday and continues to make progress in that department. Notably, he didn't draw any penalties for the third time in four games.
Marquise Goodwin
Overall Grade: 81.5 (Receiving 88, Run Blocking 68*)
*Weighted for seven run blocking reps
DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett received more targets than Goodwin on Sunday, but the speedy veteran continues to come through with clutch receptions in crucial moments for the Seahawks and has earned the trust of Smith due to his reliability. After missing Week 9 with a groin injury, Goodwin caught both targets thrown his direction, starting with a 19-yard reception on 2nd and 20 that set Seattle up with an ideal third down situation in the second quarter. Unfortunately, Walker was stuffed for a two-yard loss on the next play. But Goodwin's second reception, which also went for 19 yards, proved to be far more impactful. Nestled tight to the line of scrimmage as the outside receiver on the left side of a 2x2 set on fourth down, he blew by cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and beat him outside on a deep out route. Under duress, Smith delivered a perfect anticipatory throw leading the receiver and keeping the ball low to avoid it being knocked down. Goodwin finished by corralling a difficult diving catch and maintained possession through the ground to move the Seahawks within five points on the scoreboard.
Other Notable Performances
Tyler Lockett scored well thanks a clutch fourth down reception and a touchdown in the fourth quarter for an 81.0 grade. While he only had one explosive reception of more than 16 yards on Sunday, DK Metcalf caught six out of nine targets for a team-high 71 yards and five first downs, earning a respectable 80.0 grade. Noah Fant's inability to get both feet down on a potential touchdown hurt his grade a bit, but he still caught three passes for 34 yards and was serviceable as a blocker for a 78.0. Allowing only one pressure on the right side, Abraham Lucas finished with one of his better scores of the season with a 77.0 overall mark. At the right guard spot, Phil Haynes enjoyed a decent day with only one pressure allowed for a 76.0 grade, while Gabe Jackson allowed two pressures and a quarterback hit for a 68.0 score. Held to only 17 rushing yards and missing two blitz pickups, Ken Walker III had his worst start as a pro, but his contributions in the receiving game salvaged his overall grade (71.0).
If not for a touchdown allowed in coverage early in the fourth quarter, Tariq Woolen would have made the top five scores thanks to recording his fifth interception. Instead, his score dipped to a 73.0. Holding serve in the middle, Al Woods had a solid outing at nose tackle with a pair of pressures on Brady and four tackles for a 78.5 score. Sealed by blockers several times at the line of scrimmage and mustering no pressures, Poona Ford took a step back after two excellent games for a 66.0 grade. Playing through cramps late, Jordyn Brooks had a team-high 14 tackles and blew up White in the backfield, but he was tagged for allowing Julio Jones' 31-yard touchdown and also dropped a gimme interception for a 70.0 grade. At the safety spots, Ryan Neal didn't have the impact plays he's generated over the past five weeks, but did make five tackles and didn't allow a reception in coverage for a 76.0 grade. As for Quandre Diggs, a bad missed tackle while getting stiff armed by White lowered his score a bit (72.0) on an otherwise productive day.
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