Seahawks defensive grades in win versus 49ers

The Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday 12-9. But it was not pretty for Seattle. Here are how Seattle’s defense graded in week two.

Defensively, the Seahawks were better against the 49ers as far as stopping the opposing offense on third down. San Francisco was just 2 for 12 on third down conversions. Seattle is still struggling with an interior pass rush, though. 49ers “quarterback” Brian Hoyer (the quotations are there because one might actually wonder if Hoyer should actually be playing the position) had time to throw. He just isn’t very good and missed receivers.

Also, the 49ers chose to run Carlos Hyde only 15 times. This was good for Seattle because Hyde average 8.3 yards-per-carry on those runs. The 49ers only had one weapon. And they still almost won this game.

Now for the grades!

Defensive line

Well, one does not like to criticize Seattle’s defense. It is very good. Sheldon Richardson has been great since coming to the Seahawks. The top ten plays the 49ers had on Sunday were ten plays when Richardson was not in the game. Think about that for a second.

Michael Bennett had the fourth-highest grade on Seattle’s team on Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus, at 82.4 and had a sack and a tackle for loss.

Still, this unit did give up those Hyde yards. And Brian Hoyer had time to throw.

There is, of course, a ton of pressure at this point for the defense to carry Seattle to wins. It shouldn’t be there, but it is. It is not realistic to expect the Seahawks defense to be perfect. But they almost have to be. And they know this.

Oh, and Frank Clark – who had a sack on Sunday -, if he doesn’t keep drawing penalties, will be an All-Pro this year.

Grade: B 

Linebackers

Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright form the best duo of linebackers in the NFL. No argument. It’s a fact.

Against the 49ers, Wagner had an interception, two total passes defended and seven tackles. Wright had eight tackles and was also active in coverage. If the Seahawks were to lose either Wagner or Wright this year for an extended time it would be very bad.

Also, just to finish the linebackers off, Michael Wilhoite was also great.

Grade: A

Secondary

Well, what is there to say here? Brian Hoyer and his receivers are terrible. The 49ers threw for 99 yards. Their longest gain was 14 yards. San Francisco stinks offensively. Jeremy Lane, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor were third, fourth and fifth on the Seahawks in tackles Sunday, respectively.

Related Story: Seahawks offensive grades from win over 49ers

Still, it is really hard to judge this group from Sunday. Were they good? Yes. But they were going up against a team unable to do much against anybody. Not the Seahawks fault, of course, and they did their job.

Grade: A