Seattle Seahawks: 3 Big takeaways from win vs. Chiefs in Week 16
By Samuel Teets
Bobby Wagner and the defense deserve credit
Head coach Pete Carroll was right to say Wagner has put together a Hall of Fame resume. I’ve covered Wagner’s many great accomplishments time and time again, but I’ll run through them really quickly here. He was drafted in the second round, 47th Overall, in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Through six completed seasons he has made four Pro Bowls and three First All-Pro teams. He made his fifth Pro Bowl this season and I’m willing to bet he’ll earn another All-Pro selection despite being a little beat up earlier this season. The only middle linebacker who has been better than Wagner in the last couple of years is Luke Kuechly.
Wagner put on a clinic Sunday night, showing just why he’s one of the defining defenders of his generation. In the first half alone Wagner recorded eight combines tackles, four of which were solo, and was all over the field. By the end of the game, he had 12 tackles. But it wasn’t just Wagner involved in managing the Pro Bowl-studded Chiefs offense.
The whole defense played well enough to force the Chiefs into settling for three field goals instead of scoring on those drives. The team did give up 31 points, which is a pretty large number, but Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are capable of scoring much more.
The Seahawks defense specifically did a good job handling some of Kansas City’s biggest offensive threats. Speedster Tyreek Hill recorded just four receptions for 74 yards, but he was kept out of the end zone. Tight end Travis Kelce was also kept from scoring and managed to record just five receptions for 54 yards. In the end, Damien Williams ended up being the second biggest threat for the Chiefs, only behind Mahomes. All in all, the defense did enough to help the team pull off the upset win.