Key Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Host Buccaneers in Battle of 3-1 Teams

Though it’s only Week 5, when the Seattle Seahawks welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town for a Sunday afternoon battle at Lumen Field, the game will have far more at stake than bragging rights between the two franchises sporting their 50th anniversary throwback uniforms.

For an early October game, Sunday’s contest carries significant playoff implications, as Seattle and Tampa Bay both enter with 3-1 records near the top of the NFC standings. For the Seahawks, a win would keep them at pace with the 49ers atop the NFC West, while the Buccaneers already have a somewhat comfortable cushion in the NFC South and could further strengthen their grip on the division. And in the event both teams end with the same record at the end of the season and wind up facing off again in the playoffs, a head-to-head matchup would carry significant weight in seeding purposes as well.

With both the Seahawks and Buccaneers aiming to make a statement to show they belong in the upper echelon of the NFC’s contenders, which matchups will have the greatest impact on who snags a signature victory? Here are six positional battles to watch at Lumen Field:

Seahawks guards Grey Zabel, Anthony Bradford and center Jalen Sundell versus Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea: Through four weeks, Seattle has received improved, yet far from great, production from their new-look interior trio. Bradford has made strides in the penalty department, as he has yet to draw a yellow flag, but he has been plagued by giving up quick pressures in pass protection off the line, which explains why he has a dreadful 29.6 pass blocking grade from PFF even with only eight pressures and a sack allowed. As a rookie, Zabel has flashed more than he has struggled with eight pressures and no sacks allowed, although he has been susceptible to power in both the pass and run game with a tall, leaner frame for a guard, while Sundell has been quite solid with a 98.1 pass block efficiency rate. The group has been helped to an extent by not facing any elite game wreckers aside from Cameron Heyward so far.

But that will change on Sunday going up against Vea, who will play his second game back in his old stomping grounds after starring at Washington collegiately. The massive 347-pound disruptor tortured former quarterback Russell Wilson back in 2019, registering five pressures with relentless interior pressure while also registering a pair of tackles for loss in the backfield. He had been relatively quiet for his standards in the first three weeks, but he helped will the Buccaneers back into the game last week against the Eagles by becoming a one-man wrecking crew with two sacks on Jalen Hurts, helping provide an opportunity for Tampa Bay to crawl back within a score late in regulation. Among qualified defensive tackles, he ranks 17th in Pass Rush Win Rate (13.8 percent) and quarterback hurries, so aside from being a major problem stuffing the run, he will present arguably the toughest matchup Seattle’s guards as well as Sundell have seen yet.

Seahawks cornerbacks Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, and Derion Kendrick versus Buccaneers receivers Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Sterling Shepard: For the third time in four games, Seattle will have to make due without the services of Pro Bowler Devon Witherspoon, who re-aggravated a knee injury during a road win in Arizona and was ruled out on Friday. In the first two games he missed against Pittsburgh and New Orleans, the trio of Woolen, Jobe, and Kendrick held their own, as Jobe allowed eight catches for just 64 yards with a pass breakup and no touchdowns, Woolen allowed six catches for 52 yards with no touchdowns, and Kendrick picked off two passes with three additional pass breakups from the slot in those contests. But Jobe had his toughest game of the year in Arizona and Woolen got picked on late by the Cardinals, drawing three total penalties, which may not be the best omen rolling into Week 5.

Even without future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, who remains sidelined by a hamstring injury, Tampa Bay has continued to field a prolific passing game in large part due to Egbuka’s rapid star turn. The first-round pick out of Ohio State ranks in the top five among receivers in yards per reception (15.7) and touchdowns (four), including a 77-yard scoring catch against the Eagles last week. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers finally got Godwin, a perennial 1,000-yard receiver when healthy, back from a severe ankle injury last week, and he was on pace for over 100 catches and 1,200 yards in 2024 before suffering the injury. His size, quickness, and route running savvy create mismatches against most slot defenders and he will represent the toughest assignment for Kendrick in a Seahawks uniform so far. Look for rookie Nick Emmanwori to get some reps against him in his return to the lineup, but regardless of who covers him, defending the slot will be critical to slowing down the Bucs’ passing attack.

Seahawks receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Tory Horton versus Buccaneers cornerbacks Zyon McCollum, Josh Hayes, and Jacob Parrish: Seattle fortunately won’t be the only team down at least one starting cornerback on Sunday, as Tampa Bay will fly out to the Pacific Northwest minus starters Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison, and those two players represent massive losses for Todd Bowles’ defense. Dean has enjoyed the best start to a season in his NFL career, yielding just six catches on 16 targets with an interception and a pass breakup for a 19.8 passer rating against, while Morrison has been outstanding in the early stages of his rookie campaign giving up three catches on six targets for 14 yards with a pass breakup. Replacing them, McCollum has been wildly inconsistent in the first four weeks, giving up two touchdowns and a 112.1 passer rating, while Hayes hasn’t played any defensive snaps and Parrish has yielded 10 receptions on 12 targets with a touchdown with four missed tackles from the slot already as a rookie.

Tampa Bay’s lack of experience and rough numbers from the top three cornerbacks available on Sunday could present an opportunity to feast for Seattle, which boasts one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL thus far. Smith-Njigba has taken another big step forward after his first 1,000-yard season to become a top-five caliber wideout in his third season, ranking in the top five in receptions, receiving yards, yards per reception, and receptions on passes traveling 20-plus yards. Showing he has plenty of tread left on his tires Kupp has also been effective creating chunk plays over the middle and creating after the catch, ranking in the top 25 among receivers with five receptions of 16 or more yards. Kupp has four inches on Parrish in the slot, which could pose serious problems for the rookie trying to physically match up against one of the best in the business at working between the hashes, while Smith-Njigba hasn’t found a corner yet who can slow him down and has to be licking his chops without Dean or Morrison suiting up.

Seahawks outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, and Derrick Hall versus Buccaneers tackles Tristan Wirfs and Charlie Heck: Protecting Baker Mayfield’s blind side, the Buccaneers have one of the best left tackles in the sport in Wirfs when he’s healthy, but he has been limited to just one game this year because of injuries. He missed practice time this week as he continues to deal with a knee at less than 100 percent, which could make him more susceptible against speed off the edge than usual and impact his movement in the run game. On the other side, Tampa has struggled mightily without injured starter Luke Goedoke, as Heck has surrendered a whopping 18 pressures in the past three games and resembled a turnstile in pass protection, including giving up eight pressures in two of the past three games with a sub-90 percent pass block efficiency rate.

The Seahawks won’t have Demarcus Lawrence due to a quad injury, but even without him, the trio of Nwosu, Mafe, and Hall will pose a formidable threat for a less-than-100 percent Wirfs and the maligned Heck. Rounding back into 2022 form before a litany of injuries dogged him the last two years, Nwosu tormented Kyler Murray with a pair of sacks in Arizona, using outstanding hand technique and quickness to regularly put Jonah Williams on skates. Mafe and Hall have yet to produce a single sack combined, but those statistics are misleading. Both players rank in the top 21 among qualified edge rushers in Pass Rush Win Rate with 21 combined pressures, and it will only be a matter of time before each of them starts benefiting from better fortune getting to the quarterback. Especially when lined up across from Heck, who is protecting a quarterback in Mayfield who likes to hang onto the ball, Sunday could be the day for a breakout from the young duo.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold versus Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles: Few quarterbacks have been more efficient and explosive than Darnold during his first year in Seahawks threads. Thriving in Klint Kubiak’s offense, the veteran gunslinger ranks seventh in completion rate (70 percent), first in yards per attempt (9.1), eighth in Big Time Throws (eight), first in turnover-worthy play rate (0.9 percent), and seventh in passer rating (106.5). He also leads the league averaging 22.4 yards per attempt on throws traveling 20-plus yards, consistently torching opposing secondaries with the deep ball as a prolific downfield passer, while taking just seven sacks in the first four weeks with an average time to throw of 2.56 seconds, fifth-quickest in the league.

For all the success Darnold has had so far this year, however, some would argue he hasn’t been quite as sharp against the blitz. Aside from ranking 16th in completion rate against extra rushers, his turnover-worthy play rate more than doubles to 2.1 percent. With that said, he has still been a big play merchant from in and out of the pocket with opposing play callers trying to turn up the heat up on him, evidenced by his league-best 10.9 yards per attempt and four Big Time Throws when blitzed. Those skills will be put to the ultimate test in a chess match against the hyper-aggressive Bowles, who has made a living scheming up exotic blitzes sending everyone from linebackers to corners and safeties, which requires outstanding communication along the offensive line with the quarterback and running back in sync for blitz pickups. Darnold will have to have his head on a swivel and be ready to unload the ball rapid fire with pressure coming from all angles, especially after a similarly aggressive Cardinals defense got to him four times for sacks a week ago.

Seahawks safeties Coby Bryant, Ty Okada, and Nick Emmanwori versus Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield: Similar to the cornerback spot, the Seahawks have been snake-bitten by injuries at safety, with Love joining Witherspoon back on the inactives list after tweaking a hamstring injury late in the win at Arizona. Not having the Pro Bowl defender available will thrust Okada into the lineup for the second time in three weeks, but coach Mike Macdonald will have the benefit of welcoming Emmanwori back to action after the rookie missed three games with a high ankle sprain. Along with seeing some snaps in the slot, the uber-athletic second round pick should line up in the box quite a bit, not only helping in run support but matching up on tight ends as well as being a blitz option in the pass rushing department.

While the excitement of Emmanwori’s return adds more intrigue to Sunday’s game, however, not having a quarterback in the defensive backfield in Love against Mayfield could be problematic if the pass rush isn’t able to consistently get home. Another gunslinger with magician-like tendencies escaping pressure to extend plays, the former No. 1 overall pick will hold onto the ball as long as he can to give his receivers time to win downfield and won’t shy away from firing the ball into tight windows either. He ranks 16th in average time to throw (2.77 seconds) this year, which is nearly identical to his average in 2023, and he finished fourth in the NFL in 2024 with 8.0 yards per attempt. That last number hasn’t been replicated this year, but with eight touchdowns and only one pick, he remains a threat to pick apart the secondary if coverage isn’t on point and he has enough time to operate in the pocket.