Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks 31-21 Victory Over Cardinals
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Staying hot into the month of November and continuing to turn doubters into believers, the Seahawks rattled off their fourth straight win by using three second half touchdown drives to finish off the Cardinals for a 31-21 win at State Farm Stadium.
Enjoying another well-rounded game with plenty of standouts shining on offense, defense, and special teams, Seattle extended its lead in the NFC West by half a game over idle San Francisco and remains the No. 3 seed in the NFC. Here are my top five grades and other notable performances from another impressive divisional victory in Glendale.
Shelby Harris
Overall Grade: 88.0 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 86, Pass Rush 90)
Continuing a torrid stretch of play where he has been highly disruptive defending the run and rushing the passer over the past month, Harris made life miserable for Kyler Murray, particularly in the second half of Sunday's win. Registering four quarterback pressures for the third time during Seattle's four-game win streak, he produced one of five second half sacks by the Seahawks when he slanted hard inside from 2-tech alignment and exploded past center Billy Price, promptly devouring Murray in the backfield for a drive-ending sack to open the fourth quarter. On two other occasions, his immediate interior pressure forced the quarterback to throw the ball away after vacating the pocket. As a run defender, he made a clutch tackle tripping up the speedy quarterback on a scramble that could have gone for significant yardage and netted only six yards, forcing a punt two plays later after a Tariq Woolen pass breakup on third down. Even though his stat line shows only two tackles and he let a second possible sack slip through his fingertips, his presence in the middle helped create several opportunities for teammates in another dominant effort in the trenches.
Noah Fant
Overall Grade: 86.5 (Receiving 92, Run Blocking 76*)
*Weighted for 10 run blocking snaps
As was the case for Harris, Sunday proved to be an excellent day for veteran Seahawks such as Fant who joined the team as part of the Russell Wilson trade, making that deal look even more lopsided halfway through the season. Continuing to become more and more comfortable catching passes from Geno Smith in Shane Waldron's offense, he caught a season-high five passes for 96 yards, including helping put the dagger in the Cardinals late in the fourth quarter when he caught a short pass in the flats, slipped through a tackle attempt by Zaven Collins, and then rumbled 51 yards deep into opposing territory to set up Walker's second touchdown run. Prior to that explosive YAC-filled reception, he made three clutch third down catches in the first half, including hauling in a contested catch from Smith with three defenders converging on him in coverage for a 12-yard gain on 3rd and 3 and snagging an 18-yard double pass. Along with amassing 71 yards after the catch, he helped chip in late in the game as a run blocker as the Seahawks demoralized their opposition with three consecutive touchdown drives.
Damien Lewis
Overall Grade: 85.5 (Run Blocking 81, Pass Blocking 90)
Much like the rest of Seattle's offensive line on Sunday, Lewis had a mediocre first half as a run blocker and while he made a few quality blocks, he wasn't necessarily creating consistent push off the line of scrimmage to help open up lanes for Walker. But he was near flawless in pass protection throughout the game, winning several battles against J.J. Watt and Zach Allen along the way. On 41 pass blocking reps, he allowed a single pressure and one hit on Smith. Then, after halftime, he elevated his game in the run game department with Waldron dialing up several counters and power runs that sent him on the move as a pulling guard. Shooting out of his stance ready to inflict punishment, he laid several nice blocks pulling across the line of scrimmage, including making a pivotal block peeling back to seal linebacker Tanner Vallejo on a 12-yard run on Seattle's final scoring drive. Showing off of his underrated athleticism in the process, the third-year guard keeps getting more comfortable on the left side and may have played his most complete game as a pro in Arizona.
Uchenna Nwosu
Overall Grade: 85.0 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 78, Pass Rush 95)
Looking at Nwosu's overall stat line, one would think the veteran edge rusher dominated from start to finish. But shockingly, after racking up a pair of sacks and an additional tackle for loss to go with seven quarterback pressures, his game could have been even better. On two different occasions in the first half, he had Murray in his grasp for a potential sack but couldn't finish the play, including allowing the magician to slip away from him for a 21-yard scramble on Arizona's opening scoring drive. But the emerging star more than made amends in the second half, rocketing inside on a tackle-exchange stunt to sack Murray early in the third quarter and help force another Cardinals punt. Later in the quarter, he shed a pair of blocks and managed to bring down Murray on a designed option run for a one-yard loss. Putting the finishing touches on another dynamic performance, he found his way to the quarterback a second time on the Cardinals final drive, bringing him down to put an exclamation point on the Seahawks' victory.
Ryan Neal
Overall Grade: 84.5 (Run Defense 90, Tackling 80, Coverage 84)
Playing the best football of his career and thriving in a scheme that allows him to best utilize his versatile skill set, Neal keeps coming through with pivotal game-changing plays for a surging Seahawks defense. Coming off impressive performances in wins over the Chargers and Giants, he got off to another fast start by flying up from his safety spot and stuffing Murray on a designed quarterback run on the opening drive for a one-yard gain and making another run stop on James Conner two plays later. Then, with the Cardinals threatening inside the two-minute warning, he hustled from his hook zone responsibility to chase Murray from behind and punched the football out of his hands, leading to a Josh Jones fumble recovery to turn the opponent away with no points before halftime. While he had a somewhat quiet game statistically with only four tackles, his positive impact went well beyond box score numbers, as he played lockdown coverage allowing no catches on just one target, helping limit tight end Zach Ertz to just five catches for 40 yards.
Other Notable Performances
Though he didn't have near as much yardage as Fant, Will Dissly remained an important factor in Seattle's offense with two first down receptions and stellar run blocking to receive an 83.0 overall grade. Racking up nearly 80 yards after halftime with hard-nosed running and adding three catches out of the backfield, Walker narrowly missed out on the top five due to rough performance in pass protection, earning an 81.0 mark. Overcoming a bad pick six and a few other fortunate throws that weren't intercepted, Geno Smith showed great resiliency completing 76 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, salvaging a 77.0 grade. Receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett scored 81.0 and 80.0 respectively combining to catch 10 out of 11 targets from Smith. Finishing second behind Lewis, tackle Abraham Lucas enjoyed a strong game with the exception of allowing a sack in the third quarter, as he didn't allow any other pressures and made several key run blocks in the second half to earn a 79.0 grade. Buoyed by a strong 84.0 run blocking grade, Phil Haynes scored favorably (77.5 overall) in a platoon role with Gabe Jackson. Allowing six total pressures and also getting nailed for a false start penalty, Charles Cross had one of his tougher games in pass protection so far as a rookie with a 71.0 grade.
Despite failing to record a tackle, sack, or quarterback hit, Poona Ford continued his recent resurgence with four pressures and stout play in the trenches for an 82.0 grade. Receiving one of his highest scores of the season thus far, an active Quandre Diggs produced an excellent pass breakup in coverage and didn't allow a single reception while locking down the back half of the secondary for an 80.5 grade. While he allowed a touchdown to Ertz late in the fourth quarter and missed a tackle on Murray, Woolen impressed by not allowing any catches to DeAndre Hopkins and generating a clutch third down pass breakup defending the perennial All-Pro for a 79.0 score. Across from him, Mike Jackson turned in another steady performance allowing four catches for just 13 yards to earn a 78.0 grade. At linebacker, while Jordyn Brooks let Hopkins slip past him in coverage for a touchdown early in the first quarter, he racked up 12 tackles and also had the game-ending pass breakup to receive a 75.0 grade. Off the edge, Bruce Irvin had an uneven game as a run defender with two missed tackles but also produced four pressures and a sack as a rusher to net a 74.0 score.
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