Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks’ 27-10 Road Win Over Panthers

Maintaining their lead in both the NFC and NFC West standings with a massive Week 18 rematch against the San Francisco 49ers looming, the Seattle Seahawks shook off an underwhelming first half to put away the Carolina Panthers in the final 30 minutes, earning a convincing 27-10 win on the road.

Securing a 13th win in a single season for just the third time in franchise history, which players shined brightest in Seattle’s sixth consecutive victory to position the team for the NFC’s coveted bye? Revisiting All-22 film and advanced statistics from Sunday’s contest, here are my top five graded performers from Week 17:

Julian Love

Overall Grade: 89.0 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 86, Coverage 94)

It’s been a challenging season for Love, who missed a large chunk of the year with recurring hamstring issues. But the former Pro Bowl safety appears to be hitting his stride at the perfect time for the Seahawks, rounding back into form as a dynamic playmaker who excels all over the formation in Mike Macdonald’s defense. He recorded a pair of stops on the Panthers’ second possession, including a fantastic play bringing down receiver Jimmy Horn on a quick shovel pass that limited the rookie to two yards and eventually led to a turnover on downs. He later added a nice open field tackle on rookie Tetairoa McMillan on 4th and 17 to force a game-ending turnover on downs, wrapping up with five solo tackles and an assist with no missed tackles.

But Love’s greatest contributions came on the back end in coverage while rotating between free and strong safety roles. Serving as one of the prime reasons why quarterback Bryce Young didn’t have a completion longer than eight yards in the contest, he locked down the back end to take away shot plays downfield, leading to the quarterback rarely even attempting to test him. When Young did look to have McMillan open on 3rd and 4 during a crucial stretch midway through the third quarter, the veteran defender baited him in a Cover 3 “Sky” look, working out of his curl/flats responsibility and letting the signal caller’s eyes take him to the ball, undercutting what appeared to be a wide open target for his first interception of the season. Targeted twice, he allowed one catch for five yards and a 16.7 passer rating in his best game of the season.

Zach Charbonnet

Overall Grade: 87.5 (Rushing 92, Receiving 82)

Early on Sunday, Ken Walker III appeared to still have the hot hand coming off a 100-yard outing in a win over the Rams, but it was Charbonnet who ultimately took over Sunday’s game with one of the finest performances of his three-year career. In an unlikely 3rd and 15 conversion on Seattle’s second possession, the former UCLA standout took a pitch from Sam Darnold out of shotgun on a sweep to the left, finding ample space to operate with multiple blockers out in front of him, including left tackle Josh Jones picking up a safety more than 15 yards downfield, nearly breaking free for a long touchdown before being tripped up on a 25-yard gain. That run paved the way for Jason Myers’ 48-yard field goal and Seattle’s only points in the first half.

Continuing to generate chunk plays on the ground early in the third quarter, Charbonnet bounced a wide zone to the right behind a pancake block by guard Anthony Bradford and then sidestepped a tackle attempt before darting down the sideline for a 29-yard gain. Flexing his muscles between the tackles in short yardage situations, hard-nosed running on a pair of goal line situations led to two touchdown runs, including a game-icing one-yard score where he made a defender miss in the backfield before rumbling past the goal line to push the lead to 17 in the final minutes. He finished the afternoon with 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions for 12 yards out of the backfield, serving as a catalyst for the team’s second half offensive surge.

AJ Barner

Overall Grade: 86.0 (Receiving 90, Run Blocking 82)

Aside from drawing a defender offsides while under center for a first down prior to running a “Barn Yard” quarterback sneak, Barner had a relatively quiet first half, at least as a receiver. But the third-year tight end played an integral role in the success of Walker and Charbonnet in the first two quarters mixing it up at the line of scrimmage, delivering key blocks on an 11-yard run by the former and a 25-yard run by the latter. Those contributions that don’t show up on a box score also were evident in the red zone as he helped create push for positive runs near the goal line, including both of Charbonnet’s second half touchdown runs.

But ultimately, Barner’s clutch receptions in the passing game in the third quarter stood out as two of the biggest plays in the game. Moments after Darnold was intercepted by Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson in the end zone and the Seahawks reciprocated by forcing a fumble and recovering it on the next snap, with the Seahawks facing 3rd and 9 from Carolina’s 20-yard line, the tight end initially blocked before going out into a short curl route. Catching the ball well short of the sticks, Barner turned upfield and barged through multiple tacklers before finally being tripped up at the four-yard line for a 16-yard gain. Following Love’s interception that the safety returned 29 yards, he struck again, this time hauling in a crossing route from Darnold and sprinting inside of a block by Cooper Kupp for a 17-yard touchdown.

Demarcus Lawrence

Overall Grade: 85.5 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 80, Pass Rush 88)

Continuing a torrid stretch of play where “Tank” has been laying waste to the gridiron battlefield, Lawrence once again made a definitive statement with a disciplined, physical performance off the edge for Seattle. On Carolina’s second series, he recorded back-to-back tackles that went for one yard apiece, nearly stuffing tight end Mitchell Evans on a sneak play on fourth down. He also generated a pair of quick pressures on Bryce Young, chasing the quarterback to the sideline and looking mighty spry for a 33-year old defensive end, forcing an incompletion and a short pass that proceeded a punt in the process.

In the second half, after leaving a couple of tackles on the field earlier in the game, Lawrence shored up his finishing skills up to his usual standard, starting with a momentum-swinging turnover. Immediately after Darnold’s end zone pick, he knocked the ball out of Chuba Hubbard’s grasp and recovered the fumble, initially returning it for a touchdown before replay review ruled him down by contact. The Seahawks cashed in with Charbonnet’s first touchdown, quickly turning the turnover into seven points. With the game falling out of reach for the Panthers, D-Law finally got home after harassing Young on multiple occasions, this time ripping past left tackle Ikem Okwonu and devouring the quarterback from behind for his sixth sack of the season.

Ty Okada

Overall Grade: 85.0 (Run Defense 82, Tackling 90, Coverage 84)

Making his 11th start of the season and first in place of an injured Coby Bryant, it can be argued no player set the tone for Sunday’s defensive onslaught better than Okada, who wasted no time making an impact play. After Dowdle opened the contest with an 11-yard run, the safety crashed down on the running back after he caught a swing pass from Young, diving for the ball carrier at the ankles to tackle him two yards in the backfield. On the ensuing drive, he came crashing down from his safety post to pair up with Lawrence for a run stop on Dowdle, setting up 4th and 1.

After halftime, Okada only made two additional tackles, but one of them came on a short completion from Young to Dowdle on 2nd and 9, and he once again did a superb job of breaking down and finishing the ball carrier off in space. Tag-teaming with Love to lock down the defensive backfield and prevent a single reception of 10 or more yards by the Panthers, he allowed two catches on two targets for a net of zero yards, not getting targeted once past the line of scrimmage. Overall, he notched five combined tackles with a pair of run stops and most importantly, he didn’t give up a catch of more than two yards or miss a single tackle, turning in an impressive all-around showing.