Here, Seahawks nose tackle Al Woods (No. 72) does a fine job beating left guard Laken Tomlinson (No. 75) to get to Garoppolo. But the quarterback is trying to hit receiver Deebo Samuel (No. 19) on a quick slant, and had Clowney not beaten right tackle Mike McGlinchey (No. 69) right off the snap and jumped in the air to muddy Garoppolo’s picture and force him to hesitate, Woods probably doesn’t get there in time.
And here, defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson (No. 99) sacks Garoppolo on a nice hustle play. Jefferson starts by aligning himself with San Francisco’s run-action off the snap, but decodes the play and spins back inside. But without Clowney working his way through fullback Kyle Juszczyk (No. 44) and tight end Ross Dwelley (No. 82) and nearly taking Garoppolo down himself, Jefferson isn’t going to get there in time. Jefferson seems to recognize this, providing mock-CPR after Clowney dramatically goes to the ground following his whiff. Jefferson was flagged for a highly questionable Lowering the Head to Initiate Contact penalty; the refs may have felt sorry for Garoppolo at this point.
Clowney wasn’t just great as a pass-rusher in this game — he was outstanding against the run, and that’s something that’s been consistent through most of the season. There are times when Clowney will over-pursue runners, and his athleticism works against him, but he was technique-perfect against one of the NFL’s most diverse run games on Monday night. Watch here how he takes on pulling right guard Mike Person (No. 68), blows up the block, and evaporates running back Tevin Coleman (No. 26) for a one-yard loss. Clowney’s combination of strength, quickness, and wingspan makes him nearly impossible to deal with one-on-one when he’s mechanically sound.
And here, Garoppolo tries a little sweep pitch to Samuel. The South Carolina alum ran a 4.48 40-yard dash at his combine, and he’s quick enough in space to think he’s going to take this around the edge for a positive play. What Samuel didn’t factor was that the 6-foot-5, 266-pound Clowney ran a 4.53 40-yard dash at his combine, and has the closing speed required to limit Samuel to a four-yard gain. Clowney could have been busted for a horse-collar tackle here, but he seemed to get enough leverage to stop the illegal tackle before it became too obvious.
As we’ve said, Clowney’s evening of disruption was about far more than sacks. He blew up several intended passes with his ability to hit and hurry. His ability to swing past McGlinchey with a vicious inside move on this Garoppolo attempt to receiver Marquise Goodwin (No. 11) turned the play into an airball for the quarterback and a do-over for the 49ers.
