Seahawks offensive and defensive grades from week 7 defeat

Defense

The Seattle Seahawks just cannot apply pressure on the quarterback. At times, Kyler Murray had all the time in the world to go through his reads and even take off with his feet if no one was open down the field. Granted, the Seahawks had their chances at bringing Murray down, but, they ultimately failed in doing so. Early on in the game, Jarran Reed missed a sack opportunity that would have resulted in a safety. Later on, Bobby Wagner missed another sack opportunity by letting Murray slip out of his hands. These are the little things this defensive line needs to clean up.

But, they are earning a C+ because Benson Mayowa might have costed this team the game. Late in the game, while the Cardinals were driving down 34-24, it appeared as if the Seahawks were going to hold them to 3. On 4th and 12, the Cardinals kicked and made the field goal, but were given a first down due to a leverage penalty on Mayowa. He was also offsides, but this 15 yard penalty, gave the Cardinals a first down and they scored shortly after.

In the Week 7 defeat, rookie LB Jordyn Brooks made his return to the field. Brooks displayed his speed last night going coast to coast in an attempt to bring down Murray. KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner both had nice games once again. The Seattle rush defense was pretty solid last night. The Cardinals picked up a large chunk of their rushing yards late in the game when the Seahawks were backing off in coverage.

LB Shaquem Griffin impressed me the most, with his spy responsibility on Kyler Murray. We have seen the Seahawks do this late in games. They input Griffin on the line and have him drop back into coverage. Except, this time, they were using him as a spy on Murray and I thought he did a fantastic job. With Griffin’s speed, he was able to keep up with Murray and even almost force a sack or two as a result.

At the beginning of this game, it appeared as though the Seahawks secondary was going to have a nice game. They forced a 3 and out on the Cardinals first possession by playing great coverage. Although they gave up a touchdown on the second possession, the Seahawks were able to force a turnover and then get the 4th down stop on the ensuing two possessions. After the Budda Baker interception, the Seahawks secondary absolutely locked down the Cardinals receivers on 4th down in what was a crucial stop in this game.

In fact, Quandre Diggs got the ball right back for Russell Wilson after he threw an interception to Patrick Peterson in the second quarter. But, all in all, they just let up too many big plays down the stretch of this game. Coach Carroll had said on 3rd and 2, in an attempt to ice the game, he ran the ball because he trusted his defense.

Well, his defense let him down. I know Jamal Adams was missing and Shaquill Griffin suffered a concussion that forced him to miss the majority of this game, but the secondary needs to be better. I for one, think they will improve as the season continues.

All stats and scores provided by NFL Gameday