Finding Consistency, Rasheem Green Emerging as Seahawks X-Factor Heading Into Playoffs

Turning 23 years old in May and coming off a stellar second season in which he led the Seahawks in sacks and finished second in forced fumbles, Rasheem Green entered the 2020 campaign with lofty expectations. This would be the year the former USC star put everything together and became a force to reckon with.

But despite enjoying a strong training camp, Green suffered a neck injury in Seattle's season opening win at Atlanta. A few weeks later, he landed on injured reserve, missing six games before finally being activated in early November. Upon his return, he struggled to carve out a role behind starter L.J. Collier, producing just four tackles over the team's next six games.

For the second time in three seasons, injuries had seemingly derailed Green's progress. Fortunately for the Seahawks, however, as their defense has turned things around in the second half of the season, the ex-Trojan has elevated his own play, quietly emerging as an under-the-radar contributor up front over the past six weeks.

"He's been growing, developing. Really happy with his attitude and his mindset," Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said on Tuesday. "He's very flexible, he can play inside and out. Very versatile, he can play the pass as well as the run and he's been more consistent."

After generating zero quarterback hits in his first five games, Green has been a disruptive force while logging extensive snaps at defensive end as well as defensive tackle as Seattle has rattled off five wins in its past six games. Per Pro Football Focus, he's generated at least three quarterback pressures in four of those contests and these pressures have started to translate into sacks and quarterback hits as of late.

In Sunday's 26-23 win over the 49ers in the season finale, Green produced three tackles, four quarterback pressures, and a tackle for loss. In the first quarter, he made a big hit on quarterback C.J. Beathard rushing from the interior to force a third down incompletion and a punt. Later in the third quarter, he came through with an 11-yard sack on Beathard in the red zone on third and goal, forcing the 49ers to settle for a short field goal.

Late in the contest, with Seattle nursing a 19-16 advantage, Benson Mayowa rocketed out of his stance past tackle Justin Skule, turned the corner on the blocker, and strip-sacked Beathard. With the ball on the turf, Green made the crucial recovery, giving him team outstanding field position that led to an eight-yard touchdown run by Alex Collins to put the game on ice.

Over the past three weeks, Green has amassed five quarterback hits, a sack, and two tackles for loss. After only playing 40-plus snaps once in his first seven games, he's played at least 41 in each of the prior three games, including logging a season-high 48 snaps against San Francisco. After Jarran Reed exited with an oblique injury in the third quarter, he stepped up and played substantial snaps at defensive tackle down the stretch.

From Norton's perspective, aside from Green getting healthier, his improved production has been a result of a change in mindset. Aided by the arrival of Carlos Dunlap, who has provided a veteran example for him to learn from on and off the field, he's sharpened his focus on the details and the results are showing on game day.

"I think his mentality is starting to understand how this program works and it's about performance-based and showing up every day and doing the little things. You can tell he's paying a lot of attention to what's going on and really like what he's doing. This is the right time of year for a guy like him to come up and play because we need his versatility down after down. Very excited about him."

As the playoffs approach, Green will have another chance to impress in a rematch against the Rams on Sunday. Two weeks ago, he generated a pair of quarterback hits on Jared Goff, helping the Seahawks keep their division rivals out of the end zone in a 20-9 division clinching victory.

With Reed's status still up in the air as he tries to recover from his injury, Green could be in line for another game with extensive action working from the interior. There will be plenty of challenges to deal with, including the return of rookie running back Cam Akers and potentially facing a more mobile quarterback in John Wolford, who may start for the second week in a row for an injured Goff.

Nonetheless, given how well he has performed recently, the Seahawks shouldn't have any reservations about Green seeing significant snaps anywhere along the defensive line. As Norton noted, such versatility will come in handy against a well-schooled Rams offense capable of beating opponents via both the run and the pass and his presence could be a major X-factor in determining whether or not the team advances to the Divisional Round.