Seattle Seahawks grades vs. Panthers in Week 3 are two-halves of the same game
- Offense showed up in the first half
- Defense improved in the second half
- The special teams was just...special
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks defensive grades
Seahawks rushing defense
Maybe Seattle just changing almost all of its interior defensive linemen this year from last has fixed the run defense. Very possibly the players on the 2023 unit are just much better fits for Seattle's scheme than Poona Ford and others were. But whatever the reason, Seattle is third in the NFL after three games in terms of yards-allowed-per-rush (2.9) and seventh in yards allowed rushing per game (79.3). The Panthers running backs gained just 26 yards on 10 carries.
Seattle still needs expensive offseason signee Dre'Mont Jones to make a bigger impact and he isn't exactly earning his contract yet. But Jarran Reed played unbelievably well in Week 3 with 1.5 sacks and 3 quarterback hits. He is so far making a bigger difference in interior pass rush than anyone Seattle has had since, well...Jarran Reed was playing for Seattle three years ago.
Grade: B+
Seahawks passing defense
The Panthers threw the ball 678 times in Week 3. OK, they only passed the ball 58 times, though it felt like much more. Seattle's grade should be tempered a bit as the team was playing without starter Riq Woolen, and Week 2 star Tre Brown left early in the game with a concussion. Michael Jackson took a bit of time to be decent and gave up, or caused, two big explosive plays for Carolina but got better later in the game.
On the positive side, Devon Witherspoon looks like a potential superstar. He plays sticky coverage and hits like a linebacker. He led the team with 11 tackles and had 2 passes defended. Overall, the secondary had 8 passes defended, but again, the Panthers threw the ball 58 times.
Grade: B-