Seattle Seahawks: 3 Standouts from Week 4 vs. Cardinals

Bobby Wagner

Wagner has been hampered by injuries for most of the season but he’s been toughing through them. The All-Pro middle linebacker led his team in tackles with seven on Sunday. Wagner was considered a Defensive Player of the Year candidate heading into the season but his injuries seem to have buried that possibility, at least for this year.

Still, Wagner is one of the best defenders in the game and he looked solid against Arizona. He’ll have to play at the highest level possible now that Earl Thomas is done for the year. Thomas was the focal point of the youthful secondary and with him gone the burden of the defense falls almost entirely on Wagner’s sturdy shoulders.

The Seahawks defense is going to face a harsh blitz by offenses in the coming weeks. With Thomas gone the secondary is fragmented and without its best player. Unfortunately, Wagner will only be able to mitigate this attack slightly because even he isn’t capable of playing everywhere on the defense. While Wagner’s play is game changing, it won’t be enough to win games for Seattle. As good as he is, he’s not Ray Lewis.

The offense and defense will have to combine to boost Seattle’s winning percentage this season. The issue is that so far neither unit has seemed healthy or consistent enough to put together a complete game. And with their first meeting against the Los Angeles Rams next week, the biggest challenges for the Seahawks have yet to come.