Seattle Seahawks: 3 Big takeaways from loss vs. Chargers in Week 9

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 04: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers meet after the Chargers beat the Seahawks 25-17 at CenturyLink Field on November 04, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 04: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers meet after the Chargers beat the Seahawks 25-17 at CenturyLink Field on November 04, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 04: Keenan Allen #13 of the Los Angeles Chargers attempts to make a catch while being guarded by Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter at CenturyLink Field on November 04, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 04: Keenan Allen #13 of the Los Angeles Chargers attempts to make a catch while being guarded by Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter at CenturyLink Field on November 04, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

The Seahawks pass defense is for real

The Seahawks pass defense was allowing around 220 yards through the air going into Week 9. The team gave up just 228 yards to Philip Rivers, a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Prior to this week the Seahawks faced several easier quarterback matchups including: Case Keenum, Josh Rosen, Dak Prescott, and Mitchell Trubisky (before he started playing better).

More from NFL Spin Zone

The matchup against Jared Goff in Week 5 is the exception. In that game the Seahawks gave up 321 passing yards. So there were questions regarding how legitimate the Seahawks secondary was, or if they’d just gotten lucky by facing mostly mediocre quarterbacks.

All of those doubts should be erased after this most recent game. The Seahawks recorded nine passes defensed and only allowed Rivers to complete fifty percent of his passes. This was the new secondary’s first time this season holding down a high level quarterback. The only blemish against them was how well Keenan Allen played.

The 2017 Comeback Player of the Year beat the Seahawks for 124 receiving yards on six receptions from ten targets. The most likely reason for this is the Seahawks don’t have a top cornerback yet.

Don’t get me wrong, Shaquill Griffin is a solid cornerback, but he isn’t on the level of players like Allen. That top cornerback, basically the role Richard Sherman played for the Legion of Boom defense, is what’s missing from the Seahawks secondary.