Spotting the Seattle Seahawks a 17 point head start is rarely a recipe for victory and so it proved for the Washington Redskins who fell to their second consecutive home defeat. Unable to contain Russell Wilson in the first half they recovered somewhat in the second but were still unable to prevent the inventive duo of Wilson and Marshawn Lynch from picking up the right plays at the right time to see out the victory.
The long travel didn’t look to bother the Seahawks at all as they fired out of the blocks and but for a couple of well executed deep passes from Kirk Cousins to DeSean Jackson their defense had comfortable control of the Washington offense. A playoff matchup not even two years ago this game served as a clear reminder of how far the two teams fortunes have drifted apart since then.
Seattle Seahawks – Performances of Note
Russell Wilson, QB, +5.2
Breakdown: Somewhat of a game manager in the opening month Wilson became the focal point of the Seahawks’ attack as Washington failed to get to grips with his running threat on scrambles, option plays or even bootleg keepers. More than 40% of Wilson’s dropbacks used play action but both of his touchdown passes came off of straight drops devoid of deception; the first finding a hole in the zone and the second beating the blitz to let Marshawn Lynch do the heavy lifting.
Signature Stat: Four of Wilson’s five scrambles last night came on plays with no pressure, simply taking advantage of a lack of containment from the Washington pass rush and underneath coverage.
Bobby Wagner, MLB, +4.4
Breakdown: A strong performer ever since he arrived in Seattle two years ago, Wagner’s performances this season just keep getting better and better. He did his best work in the passing game here, pairing a sack on a well timed blitz with stellar coverage that saw him surrender -2 yards on four targets (one catch), defending two passes into his coverage.
Signature Play: Got his second pass defense of the second quarter diving around Andre Roberts on a crossing route with 07:39 left in the first half to see Washington off the field on third down.
Jon Ryan, P, +5.0
Breakdown: The Seahawks won this game in all three phases of the game with Ryan’s punting ensuring that they had the upper hand in the field position battle all night long. As ever with Ryan there were no return yards to be had with four of his punts resulting in a fair catch and one downed at the one yard line.
Signature Play: Even added a first down run to his impressive night punting, bursting through the line with 11:24 remaining in the fourth to keep the Seahawks’ final touchdown drive alive.
Washington Redskins – Performances of Note
DeSean Jackson, WR, -0.9
Breakdown: His overall grade is hurt by two early drops but his impact was undeniable and goes beyond what a single number can say about his performance. In two plays Jackson displayed his devastating threat beating the Seahawks’ coverage deep for two deep balls either side of half time that brought Washington back within a score but the Seahawks didn’t allow them any closer.
Signature Play: The touchdown catch may get more air time in the media but the corner route immediately out of half time was just as impressive, working over the top of double coverage to kick start the second half for the home team.
Bashaud Breeland, CB, -4.0
Breakdown: Taking over DeAngelo Hall’s starting role Breeland seemed to be a marked man for the Seahawks, especially early in the game. Targeted six times Breeland’s biggest problem in this game was his tackling, coming up with four misses (as many as he made) and adding a fifth on Percy Harvin’s second nullified touchdown.
Signature Stat: In his two starts at left corner Breeland’s coverage grade is a combined -5.8 in the home defeats to New York and Seattle.
Kirk Cousins, QB, +0.3
Breakdown: Not quite the displays we saw in Weeks two and three but also a marked improvement on his disastrous display against the Giants last Thursday, which up against this Seattle defense is to his credit. There were still a couple of questionable short passes but his placement on deep balls was very good, more than playing his part in DeSean Jackson’s two deep gains either side of half time.
Signature Stat: No quarterback in the league has more yards from deep passes than Cousins’ 415 yards on 22 attempts.
PFF Game Ball
Jim Haslett and his defense seemingly set up to let Russell Wilson beat them early on and he did just that, taking the game out of their hands before they knew how to respond.
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