Seattle Seahawks: 3 Big takeaways from win vs. Cardinals in Week 17

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 30: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks and Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals hug after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-24 during their game at CenturyLink Field on December 30, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

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SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 30: Josh Rosen #3 of the Arizona Cardinals avoids a tackle by Quinton Jefferson #99 of the Seattle Seahawks in the third quarter at CenturyLink Field on December 30, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

The pass rush has to make up for the secondary

The Seahawks secondary isn’t the most experienced and struggles against true number one wide receivers. While the Seahawks pass defense performed well for the first half of the season, it slipped in the second half of 2018. Right now, the Seahawks rank 22nd in pass defense. The pass rush has the ability to cover these shortcomings though. When Seattle, or any team for that matter, manages to pressure the opposing quarterback, the whole defense benefits.

Seattle recorded 43 sacks this season, the 11th most by any team this season, and they have two of the best pass rushers in the game today. Frank Clark is the team’s star defensive end. The fourth-year pro has 16 sacks this season, two of which came against the Cardinals in Week 17.

Jarran Reed is a third-year defensive tackle who has flown under the radar for most of the season. But NFL teams and analysts should start paying more attention to him. Reed has 10.5 sacks this season from the defensive tackle position. It’s not extremely rare for an interior pass rusher to reach the ten-sack mark, but it is uncommon. Only a few defensive tackles get to ten sacks each year.

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We saw how the pass rush helped out the secondary in Week 17. The Seahawks sacked Josh Rosen six times and held the rookie quarterback to just 149 passing yards. Rosen isn’t a great passer because he’s only a rookie, but Dak Prescott isn’t exactly Peyton Manning either. If the Seahawks pass rush can make Prescott uncomfortable next week, the secondary won’t be as exposed.

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