Seattle Seahawks: Studs and duds vs. Packers in Divisional Round
By Samuel Teets
Stud: Russell Wilson, QB
The Seahawks are not a winning team without Wilson. He does so much to facilitate the offense, and fans around the NFL rarely fully appreciate his work. Against the Packers, Wilson completed 21 of his 31 pass attempts for 277 yards and a touchdown. He posted a 106.5 passer rating.
Wilson also led the Seahawks in rushing yards. He carried the ball seven times for 64 yards, covering Lynch’s struggles on the ground. In all, Wilson contributed to 341 of Seattle’s 375 total offensive yards.
Wilson extended several plays, some of which turned into significant gains. For instance, with 10:37 left in the fourth quarter, he stepped up to avoid the initial pass rush and threw a ball out to Travis Homer as a defender jumped on the quarterback’s back. The play gave Seattle a first and goal, which eventually resulted in Lynch’s second touchdown run.
However, Wilson’s heroics came up short, and Seattle is headed home for the offseason. The quarterback is 0-4 in his career at Lambeau Field.
Dud: Pass protection
With the pocket constantly crumbling around him, Wilson still kept Seattle in the game. Green Bay sacked Wilson five times and delivered ten quarterback hits. In comparison, Seattle sacked Rodgers twice and produced six quarterback hits. Wilson’s 48 regular season sacks taken tied Kyler Murray and Matt Ryan for the most in the league.
Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, who combined for 25.5 sacks during the regular season, recorded two sacks and four quarterback hits apiece. The Seahawks could not counter Green Bay’s top two pass rushers, which damaged the team’s running and passing games. Wilson even took a sack on Seattle’s two-point attempt in the fourth quarter because Lynch missed his assignment.
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The Seahawks face some tough decisions this offseason. George Fant, Joey Hunt, Germain Ifedi and Mike Iupati are all unrestricted free agents. Ifedi and Iupati served as regular starters throughout the 2019 season while Fant and Hunt played when starters went down with injuries.