Patriots vs Seahawks: Final Report Card, Player Grades for Seattle

New England 23, Seattle 24

With a two-interception performance, the Seahawks defense guided Seattle to its fourth win of the season.

It wasn't all defense however, as Russell Wilson came up with the biggest play of the day as he found Sidney Rice on a 46-yard touchdown pass. That pass came with a little over a minute remaining in the game and sealed the victory for the Seahawks.

The defense surrendered 460 yards, but they came up with two big picks and stopped the Patriots on a crucial fourth quarter drive.

Wilson had his best game as a pro and made the play of the day for the Hawks.

Russell Wilson: A+

Q4 - A+

The 46-yard touchdown pass to Rice was the most crucial play of the game, but Wilson looked excellent in the fourth quarter.

He guided the offense down the field and worked the defense en route to scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

It was Wilson's best game as a pro and sealed his role as the starting quarterback in Seattle. He finished with 293 yards passing and protected the ball well. He took what the defense gave him and in the end, he came out on top.

Q3 - C

Another quarter in the books and yet another dismal performance.

Only 22 yards passing in the third quarter, and the Hawks simply can't get it done on offense. After a strong start to the game, Wilson has not maintained his performance.

He has not been able to advance the ball on third down and his ineptitude has caused the Seahawks to surrender the ball too quickly.

Seattle had three drives in third quarter with all of them lasting for less than two minutes.

Wilson has to play better in the fourth for the Hawks to have any chance to win.

Q2 - C

After looking excellent in the first quarter, Wilson seemingly fell back to Earth.

He had only 24 yards passing in the second quarter and looked rattled compared to the opening quarter. Wilson must settle down and take what the defense will give him.

His decisions took too long and the Pats made him pay as they were getting in the backfield to disrupt his flow.

He must settle down and come out of halftime with the confidence to move the ball down the field.

Q1 - A

Wilson looked simply spectacular in the first quarter.

He completed seven of his first eight passing attempts for 131 yards and a touchdown. He completed a 48-yard pass on third down to Doug Baldwin and sealed the drive with 24-yard touchdown pass.

He also had a scramble for nine yards where he evaded rushers and got upfield.

If he can continue this play, the Seahawks will be in good shape.

Offense: A

Q4 - A

When Braylon Edwards comes up with a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, then the offense must be clicking. It was more than just Edwards however, as Rice came up with a huge play and Lynch got a key first down.

I expected more from Lynch in this game, but Wilson was the catalyst for the Seattle offense.

The offense still looked good in the fourth quarter and the wide receivers came up with big plays throughout the fourth quarter.

The offensive line kept Wilson calm in the pocket and that definitely helped guide the ball down the field.

With a solid all-around performance, the Hawks showed they are more than just a rushing attack.

Q3 - C

Same story, different quarters.

The offensive line has not opened up any lanes for Lynch and because of that the offense has only stalled. With no time of possession in the third quarter, the offense is trying to rely on the defense, although they have been no better.

For as well as Doug Baldwin played in the opening quarter, he and Sidney Rice have not had a catch since that quarter.

It would be nice to see the receivers making plays down the field.

Q2 - C

No points in the second quarter for the offense. That was the main problem.

Lynch only had three carries during the second quarter and the passing game slowed down as well. Without being able to move the ball down the field, the Hawks offense put more pressure on the defense to perform.

The offense must be able to take advantage of a strong run game in the second half if they want to cut the deficit.

It was not a good quarter for the offense, they will need to figure out how to move the ball against the Patriots.

Q1 - B

It was mostly Wilson in the first quarter, but the rest of the offense did contribute as well.

Sidney Rice had two catches and Doug Baldwin made an immediate impact. It's great to see Baldwin back in form after not doing much for the beginning of the season.

Lynch only had six carries in the first quarter, and he is only averaging three yards per carry. Look for Lynch to get some more touches as the Seahawks attempt to tire out the Pats' defense.

Defense: A

Q4 - A

They came up with stops when it mattered.

It is not very often that a defense surrenders 395 yards passing and they still get an "A". But the Hawks did not need to be pretty on Sunday, they needed to get the job done.

And they did just that.

They did not put much pressure on Brady, but they forced him to throw two interceptions, and held Stevan Ridley to only 34 yards rushing. They finished with five quarterback hits and only one sack, but by the end of the game, Brady was feeling more uneasy in the pocket.

It was a great showing by the defense as they were out to prove they are the top defense in the game.

Q3 - B+

The defense played better in the third quarter, but they will most likely be tired by the end of this one.

They were on the field for the majority of the third quarter, and only surrendered a field goal.

That alone is encouraging for the defense that has surrendered over 300 yards of offense through the air so far. They came up with an interception from Richard Sherman to stop one drive, and the defense has been playing better.

If there's any chance for the Seahawks, they will need the defense to continue their strong play.

Q2 - B-

Without any pass rush, Brady is picking apart the Seattle secondary.

The Hawks have missed opportunities as well, as they have dropped two interceptions. They must take advantage of those if they want to hang with the Patriots. With no takeaways or sacks, Seattle is just not playing their game.

Where has the pass rush been? The New England offensive line is swallowing up the Seahawks front seven.

The goal line stand before the half was encouraging and that is a good sign for the second half, although the intentional grounding call helped.

Q1 - C

This is the toughest test they have faced so far this season.

They simply have not gotten the job done so far. With no sacks and only one quarterback hit on Brady, he has been comfortable in the pocket and has made the Seahawks pay.

He navigated down the field with ease on the New England touchdown drive and has been going at Richard Sherman all day long.

The defensive line needs to get in the backfield if the Hawks want to slow down the Patriots' offense.

Special Teams: B

Q4 - B

Jon Ryan averaged 60 yards per punt, but the biggest special team's play of the day was by Leon Washington.

Washington had a 25-yard return at the end of the game to set up the game-winning Seattle drive.

Without it, the offense would have had a harder time scoring.

The special teams did just enough to help the Seahawks win. That's all that counts.

Q3 - B

Jon Ryan redeemed himself with a couple thundering punts, but Leon Washington hasn't had an opportunity to bring a kick back so far.

This game is not going to come down to special teams play, but it seems like special teams haven't had an impact.

Seattle has only forced one punt, not a helpful sign for the remainder of the game.

Q2 - F

How did Jon Ryan drop that snap?

That fumble was the main reason this grade is so low, but that was inexcusable. Outside of that play, there was simply nothing else of note with special teams. 

Leon Washington still hasn't made a beneficial impact, and the kicking game has not done much.

Q1 - B

Special teams have not really made an impact during the first quarter of play.

Outside of Steven Hauschka's field goal, the Seahawks' special teams have not done much.

With one kick return apiece, both teams did not make a huge impact in the return game.

Leon Washington will have more chances to return throughout the game, hopefully he can find a lane and set up the offense with some good field position.

Coaching: A

Q4 - A

They trusted Russell Wilson. They let the defense get the ball back. They made the right choices.

You can't fault the coaches after the big victory because they did everything they needed to. They opened up the playbook in the fourth quarter to move the ball down the field.

They were aggressive on fourth down and got the ball to Braylon Edwards for a fourth quarter touchdown. They punted the ball with three minutes left and trusted the defense.

Pete Carroll could run for Mayor right now and have a good shot at winning.

He did no wrong in this game and the team responded in all the right ways.

Q3 - C+

No points in the second or third quarter. The Hawks need to put the ball in the endzone soon or there will be no hope of coming back.

It will be hard to move the ball against the Patriots defense, but Wilson needs to use both his arm and his legs in the fourth quarter.

They need to count on their quarterback to lead their offense down the field.

The defense was solid in the third quarter and forced a New England turnover, which is a bright spot for the Hawks today.

Q2 - C+

The offense went out the window in the second quarter. The defense maintained their poor performance.

The coaching staff must figure out how to put pressure on Brady or this game will get out of hand in the second half. With no offensive production from Lynch, the Seahawks have nothing to fall back on.

If the Hawks come out flat in the second half they will need Russell Wilson to move the ball downfield with his arm.

The coaches can't be happy with the first half performance, but they only find themselves down by a touchdown.

Hopefully Pete and company can figure out a way to exploit the New England defense.

Q1 - B-

Offensively, the Seahawks coaching staff is doing a great job.

But what is going on with the defense? The Seahawks are making Tom Brady look pretty invincible at the moment. There has been basically no pass rush and no protection in the secondary.

On offense, the coaches have trust Russell Wilson move the ball and it has worked so far. They will need to keep dialing up plays to keep the Patriots' defense on their heels.

However, if the defensive schemes don't change, Brady will continue to simply pick apart the Seahawks.