Seahawks MVP for game 12: the unsung hero George Fant

The Seahawks had the chance to take over the division lead and the second seed in the NFL playoff picture. No one came up bigger than George Fant.

On a night that saw multiple Seahawks make huge plays to win a critical contest, it wasn’t easy to single out just one player for the game MVP. Both Jadeveon Clowney and Rasheem Green forced key fumbles. Tre Flowers came up with a huge interception. Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny finally came through with the tandem rushing performance we’ve been waiting for all year. Yet my pick for the MVP in this big, big win is a big, big man. That would be tackle George Fant.

Am I crazy? Most likely, yes, but not because of this choice. Hear me out. Bradley McDougald played an excellent game – that is, until he forgot to drop back in coverage and allowed the Vikings a ridiculously easy 58-yard touchdown. That play turned the momentum back in the Vikes favor. Russell Wilson made some excellent throws but also made two incredibly bad plays.

The first was strictly a reaction play. He tried to slap a batted ball down to the ground, but things didn’t quite work out. Instead, he tipped the ball up into the air and gave the Vikings a pick-six. The second was his decision to hold onto the ball for about 38 seconds and take his second sack of the night. Luckily that didn’t lead to more Minnesota points, but it cost Seattle a chance to ice the game.

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Back to the good stuff. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Travis Homer, who came up with two huge plays. The first was his beautiful 29-yard run on a fake punt. His second big moment came on the penultimate play of the game when he recovered a Minnesota fumble on the kickoff with seconds left in the game. If only DK Metcalf hadn’t fumbled on the drive Homer extended, the third-string running back might have been a serious contender for the MVP. As it stands, his great play didn’t have much impact on the game.

Speaking of running backs, the Seahawks ran for a season-high 218 yards. As I said earlier, both Carson and Penny came through with big games. Which brings me back to the 6’5″ 322-pound tackle, George Fant. The former tight end and power forward checked in for 42 plays by my count. With Luke Wilson out, the Hawks needed some extra blocking power. Man, did they ever get it.

With Fant in the lineup, the Hawks running game eclipsed their previous season’s best by 44 yards. Wilson was sacked just twice, and the second sack was absolutely on him, not his offensive line. In the previous 11 games, Wilson had been sacked 33 times. He’d been sacked 11 times in the two previous games. Advantage, George Fant. The Seahawks had their best run game of the year, even taking away the 29-yard run by Homer on the fake punt. Again, advantage George Fant.

Yes, a lot of Seahawks made a lot of great plays tonight. That’s how you win big matchups. Seattle has a lot of big names, and they made a lot of big plays tonight. For me, I’m going to sing the praises of a guy who would typically be overlooked. That’s not happening tonight, big man. Tonight, George Fant is my MVP.