Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks’ 27-19 MNF Win vs. Texans
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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) breaks up a pass intended for Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (27) during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images [/caption]
Securing their fifth win in six games to stay in the hunt in a tightly-contested NFC West prior to their bye week, the Seattle Seahawks overcame a litany of miscues on offense to defeat the Houston Texans 27-19 on Monday Night Football at Lumen Field.
Which players starred under the lights to help Seattle improve to 5-2 on the season? After diving into All-22 film, here are my top five graded Seahawks from the Week 7 home victory:
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Overall Grade: 90.0 (Receiving 92, Run Blocking 65*)
Facing off against one of the best secondary units in the NFL, including First-Team All-Pro selection Derek Stingley Jr., Smith-Njigba had no intentions of slowing down as he continued his weekly torching streak getting open frequently against the Texans. Easily the brightest spot on offense for a team that turned the ball over four times on the night, he hauled in five catches for 60 yards in the first two quarters alone, including beating Stingley inside on a quick slant for an 11-yard touchdown catch from Sam Darnold on the final play of the opening quarter that concluded with him slam dunking on the goal post to delight of the crowd despite receiving a penalty.
Staying hot in the third quarter, Smith-Njigba continued to give Stingley and the rest of Houston’s secondary major problems. Facing 4th and 1 in Texans’ territory, Darnold linked up with his star receiver coming wide open on an 18-yard out route to move the chains off a play action fake, eventually leading to a Jason Myers field goal. Two possessions later, immediately after the lead was trimmed to five by a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Will Anderson in the end zone, he toasted Kamari Lassiter on a fade route and Darnold feathered a 26-yard deep ball over the top of the corner, setting up another Myers field goal to push the lead back to eight. Pushing well past the 100-yard mark for a third straight game on that catch, he later turned a 3rd and 7 into a 19-yard gain off a slant with significant yards after the catch to prolong another drive that culminated with a Zach Charbonnet touchdown, finishing with 123 yards on eight receptions.
Ernest Jones
Overall Grade: 87.0 (Run Defense 90, Tackling 88, Coverage 86, Pass Rush 80)
If there was an individual who served as the catalyst for Monday’s dominant defensive performance, Jones deserves to be at the top of the list, as he made impact plays in all phases from blitzing to run defense to coverage. Though he only had one tackle in the first quarter, he created major problems for the Texans from that point on, starting with a cross blitz where he looped behind a hard slanting Byron Murphy II and crashed down on Stroud untouched, leading to a backward pass that nearly resulted in a touchdown or a safety for the Seahawks. Early in the third quarter, he showed off his coverage chops as he attempted to stand back up after losing his footing in his hook drop, reaching out his two hands at extension and managing to intercept the quarterback’s throw over the middle, showing the wherewithal to get up and return the pick deep into Houston territory.
After making splashy plays rushing Stroud and picking him up in highlight reel-worthy fashion, Jones got back to work helping completely shut down Houston’s ground attack, which barely averaged two yards per carry from running backs on the night. In the final two quarters, he recorded three tackles against the run that netted zero or fewer yards, including stonewalling Woody Marks twice at the line or in the backfield on a three-play span in the third quarter. For the game, though he did allow a 29-yard reception in coverage, he finished with a team-high 11 tackles, a quarterback hit, two tackles for loss, an interception, and a pass breakup, stuffing the stat sheet with a dynamic effort across the board.
Drake Thomas
Overall Grade: 85.0 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 78, Coverage 90, Pass Rush 85)
Building off a strong effort in Jacksonville one week earlier, albeit with a couple missed tackles and an unfortunate fumble that prevented him from scoring a defensive touchdown, Thomas turned in an exceptional performance of his own from the WILL linebacker spot alongside Jones. Setting the Texans behind the sticks quickly, he blew up Nick Chubb in the backfield on a blitz on their opening possession for a three-yard loss, eventually leading to a punt from the end zone two plays later. One play before Jones got to Stroud to cause the aforementioned backward pass, Thomas created his own mayhem as a blitzer on a double A-gap pressure, coming untouched to coax a rushed incompletion on an out route to set up a third and long situation.
Where Thomas truly starred on Monday, however, was in coverage. Targeted 10 times by Stroud, he allowed just five catches and produced a trio of pass breakups, knocking the ball out of backup running back Dare Ogunbowale’s hands on a 3rd and 6 throw to the flats for an incompletion and getting a piece of another short throw to Woody Marks for his first two passes defensed. His most impressive play came midway through the fourth quarter on a 4th and 15 desperation call for the Texans, as he recovered from initially getting beaten on and out-and-up route by Marks while Stroud rolled out to his right to extend the play. Turning his head to play the football and avoiding interference at the top of the route, he extended his right arm in front for a drive-ending deflection.
Leonard Williams
Overall Grade: 84.5 (Run Defense 88, Tackling 86, Pass Rush 80)
Statistically, Monday night didn’t have the same big play sizzle as “Big Cat” has provided the Seahawks defense many times over the past few years. However, even without a sack and only three total tackles, he created major issues for the Texans’ offensive line all night long, creating a bunch of opportunities for teammates while making plenty of his own splash plays. On the opening series, his immediate penetration forced Chubb to bounce a run wide to the right, directly steering the back into Thomas’ hands for a tackle for loss. On the ensuing possession, he overpowered an initial double team on a 3rd and 1 run from 3-tech alignment before shedding right tackle Tytus Howard to stuff Marks behind the line for a tackle for loss of his own, forcing a second straight punt.
During the heat of the fourth quarter, Williams came to life as a pass rusher for Seattle at just the right time as well. With Houston needing 15 yards to move the chains, he found his way to Stroud on consecutive plays, including chasing after the quarterback as he rolled towards the sideline on 4th and 15, blasting the quarterback as he threw on the run to lead to Thomas’ drive-ending pass breakup. Overall, he finished the evening with a pair of quarterback hits, three pressures, and two run stops, but more importantly, his presence absorbing and blowing up double teams made life easier for everyone around him to rally to the ball and make life incredibly frustrating for the Texans’ run game from start to finish.
Ty Okada
Overall Grade: 84.0 (Run Defense 80, Tackling 88, Coverage 82, Pass Rush 86)
Starting for the third time in four games in place of an injured Julian Love, Okada turned in his most complete performance as a Seahawk, enjoying similar success to Thomas filling the stat sheet in a variety of ways and coming up clutch in crucial moments. While he allowed four catches on four targets for 40 yards in coverage, he didn’t miss any tackles while finishing second on the team behind Jones with nine combined tackles. Playing more than 50 snaps as a free safety, he also helped prevent the Texans from having many successful downfield strikes in the passing game, with the majority of the yards he allowed coming on short throws as he kept receivers in front of him in single and double-high coverage looks.
Away from limiting explosives, Okada got in on the act harassing Stroud, as Mike Macdonald overloaded the left side on a third down play in the third quarter and sent both the third-year safety and Thomas on the blitz. With more rushers than they could account for with blockers, the Texans allowed him to shoot through the B gap untouched as he lassoed Stroud for his second sack of the season. Fast forwarding to the fourth quarter, he made arguably the biggest play of his young career to this point with Houston driving down to the one-yard line, reacting quickly to a throw from Stroud intended for an open Xavier Hutchinson in the end zone and managing to fully extended his left arm into the passing lane for a pivotal third down pass breakup. One play later, the Texans were turned away with no points on another incompletion with Okada’s efforts fueling the goal line stand.
