Seahawks vs. Washington: 6 key matchups to watch in Week 12
The Seahawks (3-7) will get one more moment in the national spotlight this season. On Monday night, they visit Washington (4-6) for a game that may have significant implications in the NFC wild-card race. Last week’s loss to top-seeded Arizona (8-2) sliced Seattle’s playoff chances to less than 5%. Now, winning out might be their only hope of getting there. Losing this week would be the coup de gras.
Here are six matchups we’ll be watching on Monday night.
Russell Wilson vs. recent history
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Before he went on IR Russell Wilson was balling out, leading the NFL in passer rating and posting a 10/1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In his two games since returning to the active roster, Wilson has been a ghost. He’s completed 34 of 66 pass attempts (51.5%), totaling 368 yards (5.5 YPA), no touchdowns and two interceptions while also taking seven sacks. The Seahawks’ run game has been decimated in Chris Carson’s absence and while their defense has improved a lot it’s not nearly good enough to overcome poor quarterback play. Wilson has to return to the strong form he had going early this season, or this team is toast.
Seahawks iOL vs. Washington iDL
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Washington is missing a pair of star edge rushers with Chase Young and Montez Sweat both on IR. However, their loaded defensive line still has potent interior rushers in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, who have cominbed for nine sacks and 69 total pressures this year. The weak link of Seattle’s interior is Damien Lewis, who had a quality rookie season but has floundered since switching to left guard. Wilson needs Lewis to step up and continue getting solid blocking from Gabe Jackson and Ethan Pocic.
D.K. Metcalf vs. Kendall Fuller
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2021 has revealed that the only person who can stop D.K. Metcalf is D.K. Metcalf. No. 14 has already punked shutdown corners like Jalen Ramsey and Marshon Lattimore in primetime this season. Odds are Kendall Fuller isn’t going to have much success containing him, either. Fuller has allowed a 71.8% catch rate, 11.2 yards per completion and two touchdowns in coverage so far. He has also missed seven tackles.
Sidney Jones vs. Terry McLaurin
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Washington has a stud WR1 of its own, of course. Terry McLaurin totaled 103 yards and a touchdown last week against a tough Carolina defense. Now he’ll get to face one of Seattle’s backups. With rookie Tre Brown done for the season, Sidney Jones will likely take his place in the lineup and cover McLaurin. Jones had a rough learning curve early in the year but has improved a great deal since his first couple of starts.
Seattle's pass rush vs. Taylor Hienicke
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WFT lost QB1 Ryan Fitzpatrick for the year due to a hip injury. In his place, Taylor Heinicke has proven to be more capable than the average backup. He’s certainly more dynamic, anyway. Heinicke moves well, can throw on the run and is on a two-game hot-streak coming into this week. Seattle has to find a way to manufacture pressure in the absence of a standalone threat up front. Their pass rush win rate is a mediocre 42%.
Jason Myers vs. Joey Slye
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Odds are this is going to be a close game. At the moment, Tipico Sportsbook has Washington favored by just 1.5 points. That means the result could come down to the kickers, which isn’t great news for either team. Jason Myers went a perfect 24/24 on field goals last season. However, he is only connecting on 69.2% of his attempts (9/13) this year. Meanwhile, Joey Slye has 60+ yard range but consistency has been an issue for him. This is the third team he’s played for in 2021.
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