Seattle Seahawks: week 16 underachiever and overachiever of the game

Another week, another Seattle Seahawks loss. Sadly, that’s no longer a surprise. My underachiever isn’t either, although it’s nice to have multiple overachievers. I suppose I better pick just one, though.

Every time I write about a Seahawks loss this season, I feel like I’m discussing the Niners for most of this millennium. Six winning seasons in 21 years, and those guys think they’re special. The Hawks have 15 seasons with more Ws than Ls, so I can live with one bad year. Not that I want to, and not that it’s fun. Unfortunately, we’ve all had to do a lot of writing about a Seahawks loss this year. It’s even more unfortunate that one of the prime reasons for these losses is the player who’s my underachiever for the week.

I doubt it will shock even the most loyal of the 12s that this week’s underachiever is quarterback Russell Wilson. It feels like the fourth or fifth time I’ve named Wilson as the underachiever. That would have been unthinkable coming into this season.

Or, maybe not when you take a close look at his performance in the last half of 2020. That’s for another time. For this game, I think the overthrows, underthrows, and inexplicable sacks are all we needed to see. Russ explained it, but in that situation, he has to get the ball away.

The Seahawks overachiever of the game is – well, let’s think about this

On to a more pleasant topic: the overachiever of the contest. Despite the fact that the defense had an inexcusable lapse – well, several – when they allowed the Bears to mount an 80-yard drive and two-point conversion to take the game from the Seahawks, two of my candidates for overachiever of the game are on defense. First up, defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

It’s surprising what the 6’6″ 285-pounder can do when he isn’t lined up as a linebacker. I mean, he only made the Pro Bowl twice with the Bengals on the line. Since Dunlap has now had four sacks in his last two games, I can’t say he overachieved, though. More like the Seahawks are allowing him to play his natural position.

Let me jump to the offense. Rashaad Penny, like Dunlap, has now turned in stellar performances in the past few weeks. Yeah, yeah, I know; the Rams held him to 39 yards. The Seahawks held him to 11 carries. Who’s to say he might not have busted out another 30 or 40-yard run with a few more opportunities in that game? Regardless, the Hawks first-round pick of 2018 is finally playing up to his draft position. Great game, but can’t say he overachieved anymore.

This brings me to the man who is my overachiever for week 16: defensive end Rasheem Green. This must be the 23rd time I’ve selected Green; odd considering we’ve only played 15 games, but what can I say? The Hawks picked Green 52 spots after Penny, in the third round.

His career stats coming into 2021: 36 games with just eight starts. He recorded six tackles for a loss, 12 quarterback hits, and seven sacks in 1,112 snaps. His 2021 looks a bit stronger: 15 games, 14 starts, six TFL, 15 QB hits, and six sacks. That’s all in 748 snaps.

All he did against the Bears was match teammate Dunlap with two sacks of his own and bettered him with four QB hits and two TFL. Green has arrived. Unlike the 32-year-old Dunlap, Green has a lot of room (and time) to grow his game. He’s just 24, despite finishing up his fourth year in the league. This hasn’t been the best year for the Seahawks – or best game – but Rasheem Green has arrived.