Seahawks offensive and defensive grades from regular season finale

Defense

The San Francisco offense was able to hit their stride heading into the second half. They were able to put together 4 scoring drives, putting 16 unanswered on the board. Down 16-6 in the fourth quarter, the Seattle defense knew they would have to play near perfect in order to secure this victory. Knowing they would have to hold the Niners scoreless, they stepped up to the challenge and forced a big turnover. Up 19-16, Benson Mayowa was able to force a fumble, which was recovered by Rasheem Green. The Seahawks then turned to Alex Collins, who rushed it into the end zone to put this game away.

Overall, this Seattle defensive line put together another nice performance on the road. They tallied 3 sacks while also getting 7 quarterback hits. Over the last month and a half, this defensive line has shown significant improvement. What is critically important heading into Wild Card weekend will be the health of DT Jarran Reed. He has been a pillar of this defensive front and will be needed in order to stop that Rams rushing attack.

The rookie LB Jordyn Brooks once again led this team in tackles for a second straight week. Going up against more two-tight end sets, Brooks has been seeing more playing time and he has not disappointed. Although Jeff Wilson rushed for over 70 yards, this linebacker group did a good job of containing him for the majority of this game. The 49ers were trying to work the outside game with a mixture of power runs and tosses, but, they were unsuccessful for the most part.

K.J. Wright played another fantastic game in coverage. He has such great discipline for a linebacker in pass coverage and he breaks on the routes so hard to deliver vicious blows. Bobby Wagner of course did Bobby Wagner things. His mere presence alone has an impact on games. This Seahawks rush defense has turned the corner in the 2nd half of the season and has allowed this defense to become better in other aspects. Looking ahead to the Wild Card round, this defense will once again have to set the edge. The last time these two teams met, K.J. Wright did an excellent job in coverage.

A couple of weeks ago, when D.J. Reed started at the CB2 spot, it didn’t appear as if it was going to work out. But, he has been on a tear in a three-game span. With Tre Flowers being activated off the IR, expect Reed’s snaps to go down. But, when he does come onto the field, you can expect good play from the youngster. The San Francisco offense was able to hit two explosive plays down the field. The first going to Richie James who ran by Shaquill Griffin on a post route. The second coming on a ridiculous one-handed catch by George Kittle. If he doesn’t make the catch, the ball was falling right into the arms of Quandre Diggs.

Although he got beat in coverage, Shaq Griffin did a nice job of stopping the run. He is one of the better tackling corners in this league and it has shown over the last month. Quandre Diggs once again showed his explosiveness in the run game by landing a hard shot on Jeff Wilson. The duo of Diggs and Adams has to be considered one of the best in the league. Unfortunately, Jamal Adams did miss some time in this game after it appeared he injured his shoulder. After the game, Coach Carroll said early indication is that he should be able to play next week. Overall, another impressive performance from the secondary.