Seahawks must target a franchise legend to secure victory over Washington

This Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks’ offense will line up against former Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner for what could be the final time. Wagner, 35, is still playing at a high level, but his most recent primetime performance gave Seattle the blueprint to make him the weak link of the Washington Commanders’ defense.

It’s not lost on Commanders fans that Wagner’s usefulness on the field is starting to wane, especially in pass coverage. Despite ranking second in the NFL in total tackles, Wagner has given up 247 yards and two scores in coverage this season, allowing 12.1 yards per catch, by far the worst mark in his career since the stat was first tracked in 2018.

While Washington has injury questions on offense to answer, particularly with quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is battling knee and hamstring injuries, Seattle’s primary path to victory likely means picking on Wagner in coverage, as gut-wrenching as that may be for Seahawks fans.

Monday Night Football gave Seattle Seahawks the blueprint to pick on Bobby Wagner

Wagner did get an interception on Patrick Mahomes in the Commanders’ Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, Wagner became the only player in NFL history to pick off Mahomes and Tom Brady, putting another feather in the cap of a career destined to finish in Canton, Ohio.

But, he also gave up one of his two passing touchdowns of the season when the Chiefs drew up a play to Rashee Rice, intended to capitalize on Wagner’s drop in athletic ability over the years.

The only hard part about envisioning replacing Rice with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on this play for Seahawks fans is that it is directly designed to pick on one of the most beloved defensive players in franchise history. But, in the spirit of trying to win the game, it’s the right thing for Klint Kubiak’s offense to do.

But other teams have done the same. As Ryan Fowler pointed out, multiple teams this season have matched up their most dangerous and athletic players against Wagner and the Washington linebackers, and it has paid off week after week.

The Commanders are tinkering with their personnel as the issues at linebacker continue to grow, as Frankie Luvu is having an underwhelming season himself alongside Wagner. That sacrifice for athletic ability over experience could certainly play into Seattle’s favor, too, especially with a veteran like Cooper Kupp weaving through the intermediate levels of the defense.

Wagner played against Seattle twice during his 2022 stint with the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle won both of those games and seems poised for a third win over their beloved defensive captain of the 2010s, especially if Daniels can’t play and the Seahawks follow the blueprint of putting Wagner on an island.