The Seattle Seahawks took down a surprisingly-tough New England Patriots team on the road yesterday, winning 23-20 in overtime. While they had a hard time defending the run and getting their own rushing attack going, the Seahawks pressured Jacoby Brissett well enough to get by. Offensively, they were saved by an exceptional performance from starting quarterback Geno Smith, who had one of the best games of his NFL career to date.
Here are the highest-graded players for the Seahawks on offense and defense according to Pro Football Focus this week.
Geno Smith leads Seahawks offense
Naturally the highest grade on offense this week went to the guy who strapped the team to his back and led them on yet another game-winning drive, his ninth since taking over as Seattle's starting quarterback in 2022. Smith posted an 83.1 overall grade, including 79.2 in passing and 73.1 in running. Seems a bit low considering Smith played an error-free game and didn't appear to miss a single throw. In any case, Smith's mark was the best on the team this week overall.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba takes silver medal
While DK Metcalf scored the only passing touchdown of the game for Seattle, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was actually sharper overall. While DK's score came on a busted coverage JSN was covered well all game, and he still managed to put up over 100 yards. PFF gave him a 79.7 overall grade, earning a 78.0 for his work in the passing game.
Rayshawn Jenkins paces Seahawks defense
On the other side of the ball, safety Rayshawn Jenkins had his second-straight sharp game with his new team. Trevis Gipson had a slightly higher grade but was only on the field for seven snaps, so Jenkins gets the nod for best-defensive performance this week. Jenkins had high marks for run defense (79.0), tackling (82.8) and coverage (72.2.), earning an 80.9 overall grade from PFF.
Leonard Williams leads defensive line
After Jenkins Leonard Williams earned the highest grade for being a disruptive monster again the same as he was in Week 1. Even though Williams totaled four quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks, he somehow only got a 63.3 grade for his pass rushing from PFF plus a 38.2 in tackling. They liked his run defense (79.0) though and gave him a 79.2 overall.
Tight ends bomb
On offense tight end Noah Fant had the lowest overall grade (45.6) after dropping two passes and earning a 30.3 in pass blocking as well. Fellow tight ends AJ Barner (46.1) and Brady Russell (48.5) were at the bottom with him.
At the lower end of the defensive grades this week were safety K'Von Wallace (30.9 in tackling, 30.6 overall), linebacker Jerome Baker (29.3 in coverage, 34.7 overall) and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins (34.9 tackling, 43.6 overall).
Seahawks still number one overall
While their grades for run defense and pass blocking took a dive this week, this is still the highest-graded team overall in the NFL this season. Going into Monday night's game between the Atlanta Falons and the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle is currently ranked number one in PFF's grading at 88.1 overall. Minnesota (83.3), San Francisco (82.8), New Orleans (82.5) and the Chargers (79.0) round out the top five.
