Field Gulls
The Seahawks kept their playoff hopes alive with a narrow but desperately needed win over the 49ers. Here are the good and bad moments from the game, through the All-22 lens.
The Seattle Seahawks got their first win in the division. Many analysts attributed the victory to mistakes and absences by the San Francisco 49ers, but in this sequence of so many losses by the Seahawks to the Santa Clara team, weren’t there also mistakes and absences for Seattle?
The victory was crucial for Seattle’s future this season. Let’s look at the best and worst things that happened in this game.
All data used in this article was taken from PFF.
At the beginning of the season, I wrote an article about how important this year was for Charles Cross. He was a young NFL prospect, but he is now in his third season. He had a fantastic game against the Broncos in Week 1, one of the best by a Seahawks OL in recent times.
However, as the weeks went by, his level dropped significantly and he was one of the worst players on the unit in the last two games. This puts the negotiations for the fifth-year option in doubt. He was the player who gave up the most pressures (4), 1 sack, 1 hit and 2 hurries, against the 49ers. He also didn’t do much in the running game.
This was the TD play and it might go unnoticed, but Cross misses the block and forces the puller to get to the defender and prevent him from reaching the backfield.
One of Cross’s biggest problems in his early years was his problem against power moves. This play is embarrassing for someone at the NFL level. He loses his balance and is thrown to the ground.
Another snap that ends with Cross on the ground. It takes him a while to realize that the stunt is happening and he is caught off base, losing his balance again.
He gives way to the inside move and when he tries to compensate he is pushed into the QB’s lap. Geno manages to escape and improvise.
A basic alignment error. He starts the snap at a disadvantage and arrives late to block, messing up the timing of Geno Smith’s throw.
This play would have been a big gain for DK Metcalf deep, but Cross quickly gives in to the pressure and Geno has to leave the pocket. Then Cross recovers and throws the defender to the ground.
It is undeniable that the defense has performed better in the last two games. But, it is clearly still a work in progress and still needs adjustments.
On this play, there is a huge communication failure. The Seahawks buy the run and no one follows Jauan Jennings who is free for the TD.
A problem that the Seahawks had at the beginning of the year and...
