Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks 27-13 Win vs. Giants
Staying red hot and maintaining their stranglehold on first place in the NFC West, the Seahawks outlasted a pesky Giants squad behind a sensational defensive effort to secure a huge 27-13 win at Lumen Field on Sunday.
Sending New York to just its second loss of the season, several players shined in all three phases of the game in Seattle's third consecutive victory. Here are my top five grades along with other notable performances from Week 8.
Uchenna Nwosu
Overall Grade: 90.5 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 94, Pass Rush 92, Coverage 90)
Continuing to thrive in Clint Hurtt's hybrid 3-4 defense, Nwosu did a bit of everything spearheading Seattle's dominant defensive effort. Rewarding coach Pete Carroll for giving him free reign to be aggressive and shoot his shot off the edge, he rocketed inside past an overmatched tight end to stuff Saquon Barkley on the Giants fourth drive for one of his three tackles that limited the star running back to two or fewer yards. After the Seahawks extended their lead to 14 points in the fourth quarter, the explosive pass rusher went to work pinning his ears back hunting down Daniel Jones, strip-sacking the quarterback on 2nd and 1 with less than four minutes to play and setting up a turnover on downs. Moments later, with the outcome already decided, he looped back inside on a stunt behind L.J. Collier and exploded past the left guard for his second sack of the afternoon. Showing off his versatility, Nwosu also stayed hip to hip with Barkley on a wheel route down the sideline late in the third quarter, leading to an incomplete pass.
Geno Smith
Overall Grade: 88.0 (Passing 90, Rushing 84*)
*Weighted for four carries
Playing at an MVP level, Smith has been a regular here on the All Seahawks weekly report card and while he didn't have his best game statistically against the Giants, he remained incredibly efficient guiding Seattle's offense. Excelling at pre-snap reads against a blitz-heavy New York defense, the veteran signal caller consistently got his team into ideal looks to capitalize on the opponent's aggressiveness and delivered several picturesque throws. Facing 3rd and 14 on their fourth drive of the game, he stared down Leonard Williams bearing down on him and fired a dart to DK Metcalf for a 15-yard completion to move the chains. After a pair of fourth down conversions, he connected with the star wideout for a three-yard touchdown to open the scoring. In the second half, Smith should have had three touchdown passes, but Tyler Lockett couldn't get his feet down after he dropped a dime into the bucket on a corner route against Cover 0 and later had a 33-yard touchdown bounce off his face mask. Still, the quarterback went right back to the former All Pro and connected with him on a 33-yard score that looked near identical to the drop. Completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and scrambling for 26 yards on four carries, he overcame some miscues by teammates to turn in another signature performance in a remarkable breakout season.
Mike Jackson
Overall Grade: 87.5 (Run Defense 85, Tackling 92, Coverage 86)
Overlooked due to Tariq Woolen's impressive play racking up interceptions opposite of him, Jackson has quietly turned in a strong first season as an NFL starter and played his finest game across the board against the Giants. A physical defender who takes pride in sticking his nose into the fight both as a run defender and bringing down receivers after the catch, he finished with a team-high seven tackles and didn't leave any tackles on the field, bringing down Barkley in space multiple times. He also made several bone-jarring hits in coverage, including decking tight end Tanner Hudson on 3rd and 9 and forcing New York to punt after an incompletion. Most notably, Jackson's hands were active in coverage all afternoon, as he registered a career-high three pass breakups while being targeted by Jones a whopping 11 times. Allowing just five completions for less than 35 yards and no touchdowns, he yielded a 52.8 passer rating and only six combined yards after the catch, proving himself capable of being a shutdown corner in his own right.
Ryan Neal
Overall Grade: 86.5 (Run Defense 90, Tackling 88, Coverage 82)
One week after racking up four passes defensed and an interception against the Chargers, Neal didn't quite replicate that performance in Week 8. Still, the veteran safety continued to play the best football of his career flying all over the field, starting with a clutch tackle on 3rd and 4 to keep receiver Marcus Johnson a yard short of the first down marker on the Giants first drive to force a punt after a three-and-out. On the very next series, he once again came through on third down, quickly identifying a screen to Barkley and slipping past the guard's block to trip up the running back for a three-yard loss on 3rd and 9 to cap off another three-and-out effort by the defense. Before eventually exiting due to cramps, he would later add another tackle for loss on Barkley in the third quarter and finished tied for second on the team with six tackles. In addition, though he failed to produce a pass breakup this time around, he allowed three catches for a meager 11 yards in coverage.
DK Metcalf
Overall Grade: 84.0 (Receiving 88, Run Blocking 72*)
*Weighted for 11 run blocking reps
A game-time decision hours before Sunday's contest due to a patellar tendon injury, Metcalf not only suited up for the Seahawks, but he made several game-changing plays while battling through the pain. Smith targeted him three times on the first drive of the game and while he only caught one of those passes, officials appeared to miss a defensive pass interference call on a third down deep ball that he likely would have caught if his arm wasn't being grabbed. Three drives later, he hauled in a 15-yard catch from Smith on a 3rd and 14 pivot route to move the chains, setting up his third touchdown of the season when he came wide open in the middle of the end zone for six points. On the decisive game-winning drive where Smith connected with Lockett for a 33-yard touchdown, Metcalf caught two passes for 24 yards that each picked up first downs, setting the table for his teammate's touchdown to put Seattle back in front 20-13. Catching six out of 10 targets for 55 yards, four of those receptions went for first downs and the other six points in a gutsy performance by the star wideout. He also deserves mad props for running a fake fade route to help Ken Walker III score a 12-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Other Notable Performances
Run blocking proved to be a struggle for Seattle's entire offensive line with none of the team's six starters scoring above a 70.0, but right tackle Abraham Lucas earned the highest mark in pass protection (85.0) after allowing one pressure and no sacks. Charles Cross put good reps in pass protection on film as well, though he did allow a sack and three pressures, dropping his overall grade to 72.0. Both Gabe Jackson and Phil Haynes did well protecting Smith, splitting reps at right guard to earn 79.0 and 78.0 pass blocking grades respectively. Lockett and Marquise Goodwin each had bad dropped passes that hindered their grades, though Goodwin's 43 yards after the catch netted him a 74.0 overall mark. Ken Walker III was bottled up as a runner and limited to under 2.5 yards per carry after contact, but he still earned a respectable 74.0 grade thanks to two excellent blitz pickups in pass protection. Earning an 80.0 mark, Will Dissly was the only tight end to score above a 75.0 with two receptions for 12 yards and a forced fumble/fumble recovery on special teams.
Away from Nwosu, the Seahawks received several other strong performances along the defensive line. Al Woods narrowly missed out on the top five with an 82.5 overall grade after generating a pair of pressures as a rusher and holding serve in the middle of the line thwarting Barkley. Poona Ford and Shelby Harris each received 81.0 grades with multiple quarterback pressures apiece and stellar outings defending the run. Off the edge, Boye Mafe benefitted from two poor throws by Jones against him in coverage, but he did generate a sack and two pressures rushing the passer and did a quality job setting the edge for a 77.0 grade. Two missed sacks lowered Bruce Irvin's grade (73.0), but he also threw Jones into Barkley like a bowling ball for an eight-yard loss and proved disruptive against the run. At linebacker, Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton didn't rack up as many tackles as they have in other games this year, but they each played well in coverage, allowing a combined 49 yards on four receptions with a pass breakup to earn identical 75.0 grades. In the secondary, Quandre Diggs dished out a few big hits and the Giants weren't able to get any opportunities throwing the ball downfield with him roaming center field, quietly receiving a 78.0 mark. Tariq Woolen dropped a potential interception that wound up being caught by Darius Slayton and missed a tackle, leading to a 71.0 mark, his lowest score of the season.
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