Seattle Seahawks: 3 studs and 3 duds from Week 16 loss to Bears

The Seattle Seahawks lost again on Sunday and have now fallen to 5-10 on the 2021 season. Still, there was good to come out of the loss to the Bears.

The problem with the Seahawks overall is that two of the duds below are possibly the best players. And not just in 2021 but for many of the previous years. If these guys aren’t playing that well, how can the team succeed?

Either way, Seattle will need to make lots of changes after this year. Seattle needs that to help be more successful not just next year but in the seasons beyond.

Studs and duds for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16

Stud: Rashaad Penny

Rashaad Penny had his second 100-yard rushing day in three weeks. And he isn’t just barely going over 100 either. Against the Bears, Penny ran for 135 on 17 carries. In Week 14, Penny ran for 137 yards against the Texans he ran for 137 yards on 16 carries. Penny looks fast and strong and finally like a first-round draft pick, though it may be too late to keep him in Seattle past 2021.

Dud: Darrell Taylor

Darrell Taylor was magnificent early in the season but seems to have hit a wall in what is basically his rookie season (he missed 2020 with an injury). After having 4 sacks in the first 5 games of the year, Taylor has had 2 sacks in the last 9 games. He had 8 quarterback hits in his first 7 games of 2021 but has just 3 in his last 7. Versus the Bears, Taylor had no sacks or QB hits but had a costly roughing-the-passer penalty on the Bears final drive which helped give Chicago great field position.

Stud: Carlos Dunlap

The problem with Dunlap is he did very little for most of the season until the last two weeks. But Dunlap was great again against the Bears with 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, 1 pass defended and 5 tackles.

Dud: Bobby Wagner

Bobby Wagner is a great football player. But all those tackles he amasses cover up his issues in coverage and his declining ability to get game-changing plays such as tackles for loss. Wagner has 1 TFL in the last 13 games. Wagner was in on 12 tackles versus the Bears but no impact plays.

Stud: Jordyn Brooks

Brooks is becoming the new Wagner, or at least the closest thing the Seahawks have to Wagner. For the seventh straight game, Brooks was in on double-digit tackles. He also had 2 passes defended. No, he still isn’t great in coverage but he is getting better and he is currently better than Wagner is in that department. Brooks also leads the team in TFL (8). If Seattle makes huge changes and release Wagner (due to the fact he is due to make $20 million in 2022), Brooks will slide over to Wagner’s spot and Seattle would be OK.

Dud: Russell Wilson

Wilson’s raw numbers do not tell his 2021 story. He has consistently missed open receivers this year, before and after his injury. On one third down pass to Tyler Lockett in the flat against the Bears, Wilson threw it well short and it skipped in. On another third down play, he overthrew a wide open DK Metcalf on a short pass that would have been an easy first down. Wilson also runs a lot less this season and that has nothing to do with his finger. Wilson looks like an old 33 years old right now.