Is Seahawks opponent Deshaun Watson really one of their biggest tests?
The Seahawks face a dangerous opponent Sunday in the Houston Texans. Is Deshaun Watson really one of their toughest challenges this year?
It’s no surprise that the Seahawks are a nightmare for opposing rookie quarterbacks. We’ve taken one look at this already. But it never hurts to look twice. Especially with a moving target like Deshaun Watson.
Jared Dubin of CBS Sports wrote this excellent article on the Seahawks history of rookie quarterback destruction. Technically, it includes second year quarterbacks as well. The group only managed a 4 -13 record versus Seattle, with a pretty terrible average passer rating of 71.8. There were some standout performances against the Legion of Boom, though. Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill and Jameis Winston all played well and beat Seattle. The only other win by a young quarterback against the Seahawks? Surprise, it’s our own backup Austin Davis! All he did was complete 17 of 20 passes for two touchdowns and the best passer rating of the bunch, 132.3.
As for everyone else, Seattle victimized Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, among others. That group is arguably just as good, if not better, than the group that defeated Seattle. Seriously, Winston is the only one starting right now while Wentz is balling like an MVP.
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Which group does Watson fit in with?
As previously presented by our own Steve McGrain, the Seahawks have struggled with dual threat quarterbacks. Of the winners in the past, Tannehill and Winston are both certainly mobile. Marcus Mariota wasn’t included in the group as he’s a third year player. He didn’t exactly shred the LOB, but he played well enough to win.
But Mariota is irrelevant, anyway. We’re talking about rookie quarterbacks. The other two winning quarterbacks were the not so mobile Andrew Luck, who ran four times for nine yards, and the great Austin Davis, who ran twice and lost two yards.
Cam Newton? Yeah, you could say he’s a mobile quarterback. Like you could say the sun is hot. Colin Kaepernick? Yeah, he runs even more than Russell Wilson himself.
Deshaun Watson is mobile, for sure. And he’s having an excellent season. But take a look at the teams he’s beaten. The Patriots pass defense is terrible this year, allowing the most yards in the league and second-most touchdown passes. The Titans are 26th in touchdown passes allowed. The Browns – come on man, they’re the Browns. Even the once-great Chiefs pass defense is ranked in the bottom half of the league.
And where is the Legion of Boom ranked? 8th in yards allowed, 2nd in touchdowns allowed, 3rd in net yards per attempt. The Seahawks are the best in the league at protecting their goal, too. No doubt, Deshaun Watson presents a challenge to Seattle. But he’s seen nothing like the challenge he’ll get from the Seahawks this Sunday. I like Watson, and think he’ll be a great player. But Sunday, he hits a major detour on his road to Rookie of the Year.