Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins: Full Report Card Grades for Seattle
The Seattle Seahawks nearly let penalties take away what ended up being a 27-17 victory over the Washington Redskins on Monday night, but the game could have just as easily been a blowout. The Seahawks racked up 13 penalties for a loss of 90 yards, three of which nullified touchdowns.
The offensive line was awful, and Richard Sherman was beaten deep for a 60-yard touchdown catch by DeSean Jackson, but the Seahawks remained poised and never seemed to falter. Alfred Morris ran into the great barricade that is Seattle's defense, rushing for just 29 yards on 13 carries.
With the Redskins forced to be one-dimensional, it was tough sledding for the NFC East bottom dwellers for most of the game. The difference in this game, though, was the play of Russell Wilson. I'll delve into his performance on the next play, but it's deserving of mention here as well.
Now let's take a closer look at how each unit of the Seahawks performed and whether it contributed or hindered the team's success in the game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Russell Wilson put together perhaps the best performance of his still young career in Monday night's prime-time affair with the Washington Redskins. The third-year quarterback impressed by utilizing both his arm and his legs to carry the offense.
Wilson finished with 201 yards and two touchdowns, completing 18 of 24 passes. He was also able to tack on 122 yards rushing and a score on just 11 carries, leading his team in the category by a fairly wide margin.
The Redskins didn't seem to have any answers for when Wilson would take off in the first half, but they were better prepared in the second half. His 11 yards-per-carry average proved to be the difference in an otherwise tightly played game.
The offensive line had a particularly poor performance, even by its own average standard at best. But Wilson often nullified things with his elusiveness and ability to scramble.
One particular play stood out late in the game, with Seattle facing 3rd-and-4 at the 50-yard line. A failure to pick up a first down would have given Washington another opportunity to tie the game, but Wilson evaded two pass-rushers and threw a lob to Marshawn Lynch for a 30-yard gain that put the game on ice.
"Russell Wilson escape and pass https://t.co/y2X1StYgZL
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 7, 2014"
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
Though Russell Wilson ended up being Seattle's top rusher, Marshawn Lynch was still able to contribute effectively. The Pro Bowl running back picked up 72 yards on the ground on 17 carries, for an average of 4.2 yards per carry. He also pulled in a receiving touchdown for the third consecutive game.
To go along with his nine-yard touchdown grab, Lynch hauled in an additional four catches and 36 yards. Though 30 of his receiving yards came on one play, he was consistently able to cause issues for the Redskins defense. Rushing for first downs, breaking tackles and drawing penalties are just par for the course for Lynch.
The Washington Redskins offered a true test for the running back, but with all the smoke and mirrors the Seahawks use involving Percy Harvin and Wilson in the read-option, Lynch was still able to produce solid numbers.
Robert Turbin had to start the game, while Lynch took a bit longer than usual to get warmed due to a sore back, finishing with just five totes for 19 yards.
Grade: A-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Either the referees in the game had it out for Percy Harvin in this one, or he just had terrible luck. Harvin scored three touchdowns in the game, but none of them will count for anything. The Seahawks seemed to be trying to give the game away with their 13 penalties.
Three of those penalties occurred on Harvin's touchdowns. The first was a 16-yard run, and the other two were passes from 26 and 41 yards out. He ended up with just four catches for 27 yards and two carries for seven yards.
Doug Baldwin led all receivers with four grabs for 50 yards, and tight ends Cooper Helfet and Luke Willson combined for four catches and 64 yards. Jermaine Kearse's only catch of the game was a 15-yard touchdown.
No one player in particular stood out, as half of Baldwin's catches came on two short throws on a pointless drive before the end of the first half. Helfet making his first career catch in his second career game was nice to see.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Russell Wilson was sacked three times in the game, he was pressured and hit on several dropbacks and still improved to 4-0 on Monday Night Football. As usual, the unit was able to create enough room to run the ball but struggled in pass protection and in pre-snap focus.
As a group, the offensive line combined to account for more than half of the team's penalties and yards. Left tackle Russell Okung was called twice for holding and once for a false start. Center Max Unger had two false start penalties of his own, and left guard James Carpenter had two penalties that cost Percy Harvin two of his three nullified touchdowns.
Right guard J.R. Sweezy was a turnstile, allowing two of the three sacks allowed in the game. Rookie right tackle Justin Britt appeared to be the only serviceable member of the unit. If not for Wilson's ability to escape pressure, things would have been much worse.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Seahawks defensive line was dominant in stuffing the Redskins' zone-blocking run scheme, holding Morris to the previously mentioned 29 yards on 13 carries and allowing 32 yards rushing total. The defensive line didn't get a lot of pressure on Kirk Cousins, though; the only sack of the game came from a linebacker.
Defensive end Cliff Avril had two quarterback hits, and fellow end Michael Bennett had one of his own, but that was the extent of the pressure Cousins faced in the game. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams was able to knock down a pass at the line of scrimmage that was nearly intercepted, as well.
The defensive tackles made most of the plays for the unit with Williams racking up five tackles, while Jordan Hill and Brandon Mebane had three tackles apiece. Stopping the run appeared to be the priority in the game. The Seahawks constantly left their corners in man coverage while stacking the line with up to eight defenders.
The strategy obviously paid dividends, despite the big plays allowed to DeSean Jackson.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was an absolute handful for the Redskins. On a rare blitz by the Seattle defense, Wagner picked up the team's lone sack of the game. He also led the team in tackles with eight and had three tackles for a loss, two passes defensed (one nearly intercepted) and a quarterback hit.
It seemed as though Wagner wanted to make up for the unit's poor performances on underneath throws earlier in the season. With Redskins tight end Jordan Reed unable to play, the threat of two-tight end sets vanished immediately. Second-stringer Niles Paul was never able to get anything going as Washington opted to have him stay in line and block.
Paul and third-string tight Logan Paulsen combined for three catches for 17 yards, disappearing for large stretches of action. K.J. Wright got in on the pass-defense action with one knockdown of his own and finished with five tackles. Bruce Irvin made a relatively quiet return to the field with three tackles.
It looked like the coaching staff made some adjustments during the bye week to improve the defense's performance in underneath and tight end coverage.
Grade: A-
Secondary
7 of 10
Richard Sherman took a gamble trying to bait Kirk Cousins into an interception by playing between two receivers, but he came up empty on the play and was beaten deep for a 60-yard score. DeSean Jackson made another monster play on the other side of the field for a gain of 57 and had a 22-yard reception as well.
In total he had 157 yards on five grabs. Pierre Garcon was almost nonexistent if not for a skirmish with Sherman in the second half. Byron Maxwell did a great job of using press coverage to consistently knock Garcon off his routes and timing.
Early in the game it appeared the Redskins might try to beat Seattle's defense by going at Marcus Burley with Andre Roberts, but he was not able to get open often enough. Roberts finished with five catches for 29 yards and a score.
Kam Chancellor and Maxwell had five tackles apiece. Burley had one pass defensed and four tackles of his own. Other than Jackson, the Redskins receivers and tight ends were pretty much held in check throughout the game. It was still a solid performance from the unit when the scheme seemed to leave corners on an island more than usual.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
One of the key factors to this game that may have otherwise gone unnoticed was the starting field position. The Redskins almost never started a drive outside of their own 20-yard line, while it was the exact opposite for the Seahawks.
The two main reasons for Seattle's dominance on special teams were Percy Harvin and Jon Ryan. The Redskins refused to kick the ball off to Harvin, which meant the Seahawks often were receiving the ball on their own 20 before making a return. On the flip side, Ryan consistently planted his punts inside Washington's 20 to keep the field position battle in Seattle's favor.
And let's not forget Ryan's five-yard run for a first down on a 4th-and-1 fake punt. The first down extended the drive for Seattle and resulted in what would be the game-winning touchdown. Steven Hauschka nailed his two field-goal attempts, with a long of 43, and Bryan Walters performed well on punt returns.
The Redskins were only able to make one return on both punts and kicks combined, which was for just five yards. The coverage units did an incredible job of staying in their lanes and beating their man to force fair catches and down balls when possible.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
The Seahawks won the game, but I had a few gripes with the performance. They got the ball with a bit over two minutes remaining in the first half and ran one play. They could have let the clock run down to the two-minute warning but instead rushed another play that set up 3rd-and-4 and didn't force Washington use a timeout.
After the break, Russell Wilson was sacked, and the Redskins had a chance to put some more points on the board before the half. The sequence could have easily changed the outcome of the game. Luckily for head coach Pete Carroll, the defense held its own, and the Redskins came up empty.
Another issue is the amount of penalties the team took in this game that allowed Washington to hang around throughout the evening. Though the Seahawks were able to maintain their composure, it was disappointing to see from a team coming off a bye week.
Otherwise, every unit had a great showing. Offense, defense and special teams were strong and schemed well to attack Washington's weaknesses.
Grade: B+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A+ |
| RB | A- |
| WR/TE | B |
| OL | F |
| DL | B |
| LB | A- |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B+ |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
It's strong sign that the Seahawks were still able to stay ahead the entire game despite their ridiculous number of penalties and having to travel across country. The team played well under the circumstances, but the 1-4 Washington Redskins aren't exactly a tough opponent.
Seattle will need a stronger performance next week against the surprising 4-1 Dallas Cowboys. The Seahawks are now tied with the Arizona Cardinals for first in the NFC West with a 3-1 record.
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