Skip to main content
All Seahawks

Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny's Top 5 Plays of 2021

Rushing for over 700 yards in the final six games alone, Penny finally had the backfield coming out party Seattle had been waiting patiently for and emerged as one of the NFL's most dangerous running backs. Which plays stood out as his best in 2021?
Corbin K. Smith|
Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny's Top 5 Plays of 2021
Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny's Top 5 Plays of 2021

Rebounding from three injury plagued seasons in which he missed nearly 30 regular season games, Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny rewarded coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider for their patience sticking by him with a scintillating finish to the 2021 campaign.

Penny, a 2018 first-round draft choice out of San Diego State, led the NFL with 706 rushing yards over the final six weeks of the season. During that span, he busted eight runs of 25 yards or more, tying Colts star Jonathan Taylor for the most such runs in the league on 200 fewer carries, while scoring six touchdowns and averaging nearly seven yards per carry.

Given his extended injury history, including a torn ACL suffered in 2019, Seattle understandably didn't want to break the bank signing Penny to a long-term deal. However, the front office prioritized bringing him back and re-signed him on a one-year contract worth close to $6 million in March, setting him up to be the team's bell cow back for the first time in 2022.

As Penny looks to prove his late season surge wasn't a fluke and earn himself a lucrative contract in free agency next spring, which highlight-reel worthy plays stood out as his five best from the 2021 season?

5. Penny puts Lions on skates, kicks off scoring with 15-yard scoring run.

Score: Seahawks 0, Lions 0

Situation: 2nd and 2, ball on Lions' 15-yard line (5:51 - 1Q)

Down the stretch, a healthy Penny demonstrated his all-around talents as a ball carrier, running through and around defenses while ripping off chunk plays in bulk. Bringing down a 230-pound back with 4.4 speed isn't easy and the Lions learned that the hard way on several occasions in Week 17.

While it wasn't one of his longest runs of the season, few plays exhibited Penny's complete skill set better than the first of his two touchdowns against Detroit. Toting the rock on a midzone concept to the right, defensive end Charles Harris appeared to have Penny dead to right at the line of scrimmage but couldn't wrap up the powerful runner as he built a head of steam. From there, using nifty footwork at the second level, he left a safety and cornerback grabbing for nothing but air cutting back to his left as he strolled into the end zone to give Seattle an early seven-point lead.

4. Dashing through the snow, Penny eludes multiple Bears' tacklers for a 32-yard scamper.

Score: Seahawks 24, Bears 17

Situation: 2nd and 10, ball on Bears' 46-yard line (10:12 - 4Q)

After a rare snowstorm struck the Pacific Northwest, players were struggling at times with their footing on the slippery Lumen Field turf when the Seahawks and Bears played on the day after Christmas. But if anyone wasn't deterred by the conditions, it was Penny, who was brilliant once again with 135 yards on only 17 carries and averaged nearly eight yards per carry while breaking tackles in bunches.

With the Seahawks past midfield and looking to close out a hard-fought home victory, Penny appeared to be bottled up at the line of scrimmage after taking a handoff out of shotgun on a gap concept. However, he managed to slip through a tackle by Duke Shelley and bounced the run back outside to his right, promptly breaking another arm tackle and stiff-arming cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. into the turf. With tons of room to run on the sideline, he broke one more tackle from behind before finally being pushed out of bounds inside the Bears' 15-yard line.

3. Showing pass protecting chops, Penny cuts down a blitzing safety like a tree.

Score: Seahawks 23, 49ers 23

Situation: 2nd and 7, ball on Seahawks' 49-yard line (9:32 - 3Q)

Throughout his six-game tear ripping through opposing defenses, Penny showcased his rare explosiveness and speed at 230 pounds by breaking off a bunch of long runs. But one of his most impressive plays didn't even involve touching the football and saved Russell Wilson from getting blasted by the blitz against the 49ers.

Not known for his pass protection skills coming out of San Diego State, Penny immediately identified a safety coming screaming off the edge and broke off from his play fake to pick him up. Dropping to a knee and lowering his shoulder into the defender's legs, he chopped the blitzer down before he could get to the quarterback, giving Wilson time to slide to his left in the pocket and find receiver Dee Eskridge along the sideline for a first down into 49ers' territory. The block drew unprompted praise from coach Pete Carroll after the game and further illustrated the back's changed mindset in year No. 4.

2. Putting a dagger into the Texans, Penny explodes for a 47-yard game-clinching score.

Score: Seahawks 27, Texans 13

Situation: 2nd and 7, ball on Texans' 47-yard line (5:35 - 4Q)

Surprisingly, for the better part of three quarters, the lowly two-win Texans gave the Seahawks everything they could handle and kept the game close. But they had no answer for Penny all afternoon as he ripped off 137 rushing yards on only 16 carries and found the end zone twice on a pair of long touchdown runs.

Up by two scores with a chance to truly put the game on ice, Seattle dialed up a midzone run away from the strength with three tight ends on the right side of the formation. Winning the 3-on-3 matchup on the left side and Jake Curhan seals the 3-tech defensive tackle away from the play, allowing Penny to accelerate through a crease, slip through a poor tackle attempt by a safety, and put the finishing touches on a much-needed victory with a 47-yard score.

1. Penny makes a 62-yard house call to put away the Cardinals in season finale.

Score: Seahawks 31, Cardinals 27

Situation: 2nd and 8, ball on Seahawks' 38-yard line (4:45 - 4Q)

Coming off back-to-back performances with at least 135 rushing yards, Penny saved his best for last to cap off one of the best stretches to close out a season by a running back in NFL history. Already well past the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in five games, he ensured the Seahawks would close out a difficult year on a winning note by torching the Cardinals' defense with his elite wheels.

Nursing a four-point advantage inside five minutes left to play, Wilson handed it off to Penny on an inside zone and he immediately found space to operate behind an excellent combo block by Curhan and guard Phil Haynes. With Curhan getting a piece of a linebacker at the second level working off the combo and All-Pro safety Budda Baker taking a poor angle on a tackle attempt, the explosive back was off to the races, managing to outrun an oncoming cornerback and tumble in the end zone for a 62-yard score to push the lead back to double digits late.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Corbin K. Smith
CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.

Home/GM Report