After the Seattle Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5, head coach Mike Macdonald refused to go into detail about trying to get cornerback Josh Jobe help covering San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans. Maybe the coach didn't have any real answers; Jobe certainly didn't.
Meanwhile, Nehemiah Pritchett only saw four reps on defense (and had a crunching hit on special teams), and Trevon Diggs only saw eight. Diggs aside, as he hasn't yet shown he can be a good player for the Seahawks, Pritchett might at least have been given a chance to give Evans issues when trying to catch passes.
Pritchett was targeted just once by quarterback Brock Purdy, and Purdy learned to regret it. The cornerback undercut a pass for an interception. As maddening as Seattle not changing how it was trying to cover Evans was, Pritchett not playing more. He had an ankle issue in practice ahead of the game, but no injury designation for the game.
Seattle Seahawks couldn't solve their Mike Evans problem with Josh Jobe in Week 5
Even if he was still dealing with an injury, he was electric when given the chance to play against San Francisco. The only target thrown his way was wide receiver Jacob Cowing.
Mike Evans finished the game with seven catches on 10 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. Eight of those targets came against Jobe, and the receiver caught six of them for 98 yards. The only other target against a Seahawks defensive back was against Nick Emmanwori, which Evans caught for 15 yards.
Jobe was simply overmatched by the bigger receiver. Evans is 6'5" and 230 pounds. Jobe is 5'11" and 190 pounds.
Pritchett isn't a big cornerback, but he is 6'1" and should have at least been given some opportunity to challenge the 49ers wideout. Instead, Jobe was left on an island, one in which he ultimately drowned. Jobe has struggled for most of the season, and arguably saved his worst outing in Seattle's most important game of the season so far.
But Josh Jobe did need help, and the Seattle Seahawks never gave him much. Mike Macdonald is obviously a brilliant defensive coach, and he will have good reasons for not switching up on Evans. The most obvious reason might be a worst-case scenario. Maybe Jobe is the best Seattle can do at outside corner. If that's the case, it isn't good enough.
It is easy to ask for Trevon Diggs, now that he is signed to the active roster, to get more chances, but he hasn't been elite in years. It is easy to suggest Nehemiah Pritchett to get more opportunities, too, but this season is his first playing consistently at a good level.
What is clear is that teams will continue to target Jobe, especially near the goal line. Unless the cornerback continues to play a lot better, the Seattle defense is in real trouble.
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