Tag: boye mafe

8 individual honors for the 2023 Seattle Seahawks after 8 games

Here are eight players who have been integral to their success so far this season and deserve some individual recognition.

The Seattle Seahawks hold a 5-3 record going into Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders. That puts them roughly on pace for the 11-6 finish that we predicted before the regular season began. However, Seattle is a couple weeks away from entering the most-brutal part of the schedule – a four-game stretch that includes two games against the San Francisco 49ers, one against the Dallas Cowboys and another against the Philadelphia Eagles. All three teams are currently in the top 10 in our power rankings.

Before they face that murderer’s row of opponents, the Seahawks will have to get past two familiar conference foes: first Washington, followed by the Los Angeles Rams, who embarrassed them in the second half of the season opener to the tune of a 30-13 loss. In other words, they can’t afford to look past their next two games and have to stay focused on the task at hand.

Doing so will require leadership and continued strong efforts from a few key players around the roster. Here are eight players who have been integral to their success so far this season and deserve some individual recognition.

5 Seahawks to watch in Week 10 vs. Commanders

The Seahawks have a talented roster on both sides of the ball. Here are five players to keep an eye on in Week 10 vs. Commanders.

The Washington Commanders meet the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 action at Lumen Field. It’s Washington’s first trip to Seattle since 2017 when Kirk Cousins led the then-Redskins to an improbable last-second win.

The two teams have met twice since — both at FedEx Field — with each team winning once.

This will be the first time since 2011 that Washington has faced the Seahawks without Russell Wilson at quarterback. Veteran Geno Smith is in his second season as Seattle’s quarterback and had his best NFL season in 2022. Smith has had an up-and-down season in 2023, with fans becoming frustrated with him due to the Seahawks’ offensive talent, particularly at wide receiver.

Seattle is a talented team on both sides of the ball. Here are five players Washington fans should keep an eye on for Sunday’s game.

PFF grades for every Seahawks defensive player at midseason

Here are the full grades for everyone who’s put in at least 50 snaps on defense.

The Seahawks have played eight games, putting them roughly at the halfway point on their 2023 schedule. For the next few days we’ll be doing a sort of mid season review. We’ve begun by examining the Pro Football Focus grades for each player who’s put in significant time on the field. On offense, Seattle has been led by rookie wide receiver Jake Bobo.

On defense, it’s not been difficult to figure out who the top performer is. Returning veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner is having another outstanding season and has posted the highest grade for this unit. Second-year edge rusher Boye Mafe and rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon are also on the high end of PFF’s defensive grades for Seattle.

As for the bad part, several key players on this side of the ball have brutal grades, including free safety Quandre Diggs and cornerback Riq Woolen. Here are the full grades for everyone who’s put in at least 50 snaps on defense.

Best and worst PFF grades for the Seahawks from Week 9

Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week for the Seahawks according to PFF’s grades.

The Seahawks are coming off a brutal loss to the Ravens, but there were at least a few silver linings. Defensively, Seattle got another strong performance from second-year edge Boye Mafe, who earned the highest grade on the team this week. Rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cornerback Tre Brown and newcomer Leonard Williams also posted strong grades. The rest of it is pretty ugly, though – especially in the trenches.

Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week for the Seahawks according to PFF’s grades.

Studs and Duds for the Seahawks from their blowout loss to Ravens

Studs and Duds in Seahawks 37-3 blowout loss to Ravens

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a historic loss on Sunday. They tied a 41-7 blowout defeat to the New York Giants in 2010 as the second worst loss in the Pete Carroll era. Their 37-3 humbling by the Baltimore Ravens is second only to a shocking 42-7 smackdown by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.

To say things went south fast for the Seahawks is the understatement of the weekend. For a failure of this magnitude, everyone on the team has to wear some of the blame, and it’s hard to find positives when there’s a 34-point loss on the books.

There will be a few Studs listed out of fairness to what they accomplished in the game, but the reality is there isn’t many great things to say about what happened in the Charm City.

First half highlights: Seahawks trail Ravens 17-3

First half highlights: Seahawks trail Ravens 17-3

It’s a brutal start to Sunday for the Seattle Seahawks and 12’s everywhere. The first half is decidedly in favor of the Ravens, who have imposed their will on offense and defense over Seattle. What started as a strong defensive battle devolved into Baltimore mostly dominating.

The Ravens have extended their NFL-leading streak of consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards to 25-straight games, as they accomplished this midway through the second quarter. As it stands, Baltimore has 121 total yards on the ground as a team.

Meanwhile for the Seahawks, the highlight reel has been a little more bare. Linebacker Boye Mafe did provide a brief spark, strip sacking quarterback Lamar Jackson and recovering the fumble. Mafe has now recorded a sack in six-straight games, tying Michael Sinclair for the franchise record.

Seattle’s offense has been an abysmal 1-for-8 on third down, but they did start to get something cooking towards the end of the first half. Their first 20 plays of the game netted 50 total yards, but the Seahawks double that output on this pass to wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Unfortunately, all Seattle could get out of this was a 33-yard field goal from Jason Myers to avoid a first half shutout. However, Tre Brown forced a fumble from wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on the ensuing possesion, giving the Seahawks one more shot in Baltimore territory before the first half concluded.

But, as it has been all first half, Seattle’s offense was unable to truly capitalize, as Geno Smith fumbled it back to the Ravens on a strip sack. The once-stout Seahawks offensive line has been bullied to the tune of allowing four sacks. Baltimore did what Seattle couldn’t, and got points from an opportunistic fumble.

The Ravens will receive the ball to start the third quarter.

Be sure to follow @TheSeahawksWire on Twitter for live updates, analysis and highlights during the game.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Boye Mafe strips Lamar Jackson for his 6th sack of the season

Geno Smith throws INT to Geno Stone

Inactives for the Seahawks and Ravens

Boye Mafe strips Lamar Jackson for his sixth sack of the season

The only highlights we may see today may be of the defensive variety.

The only highlights we may see today may be of the defensive variety.

Watch Seahawks second-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe get to Lamar Jackson for a strip sack.

That’s Mafe’s sixth sack of the season and Jackson’s ninth fumble. Still, the Seahawks were unable to take advantage and went three and out after taking possession. Baltimore still leads 7-0.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Geno Smith throws INT to Geno Stone

Inactives for the Seahawks and Ravens

Seahawks Week 9 injury report: only 2 players DNP

Seahawks Week 9 injury report: only 2 players DNP

Health has been a concern for the Seattle Seahawks this season, and typically Wednesday practices have been particularly brutal when it comes to injury reports. Fortunately, heading into Week 9, this Wednesday practice appears to be a bit of an outlier. Instead of the usual slew of names appearing as limited or did not practice, it’s a fairly light week.

The Seahawks managed to escape their Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns unscathed when it came to injuries, which is great. Seattle will need all the health they can get going into Baltimore to face the Ravens.

Below is the full practice report from Wednesday:

Leonard Williams could be the final piece for Seahawks’ evolving defense. Grade: A

The Leonard Williams trade gives the Seahawks another force multiplier in a defense that’s been evolving right under your nose.

The Seattle Seahawks, after their 24-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, find themselves ranked 15th overall in Defensive DVOA, and ninth against the run. Both pretty decent upgrades over the 2022 season, when the Seahawks ranked 22nd in Defensive DVOA, and 24th against the run. Seattle did a lot in the offseason to upgrade their interior defensive line, signing former Denver Broncos star Dre’Mont Jones and journeyman Mario Edwards Jr., and bringing Jarran Reed back after seasons in Kansas City and Green Bay — Reed was Seattle’s second-round pick in 2016.

So, the Seahawks have had multiple guys who can stop things up inside, and can also show out in multiple fronts. That process accelerated seriously on Monday, when general manager John Schneider dropped the hammer on a trade that sends former New York Giants and New York Jets lineman Leonard Williams to the Emerald City for a second-round pick in 2024, and a fifth-round pick in 2025.

For the Giants, the thought process is obvious — they’re sellers at 2-6, and they were going to have trouble re-signing Williams, who’s in the last year of the three-year, $63 million contract extension he signed in 2021. 2024 is a void year in that contract, so the Seahawks rented Williams for the second half of the season and however far they make it through the postseason, and the Giants will eat a lot of the 2023 money.

For the Seahawks, this move gives them four legitimate inside/outside guys who can all disrupt the quarterback and stop the run, which is an obvious boon for defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt just as young edge-rushers Boye Mafe and Darrell Taylor starting to show up hard. Add in a linebacker group led by Bobby Wagner that’s playing lights-out, and a secondary with as much talent as any NFL team could boast, and… well, this might not be a return to the Legion of Boom, but it’s pretty impactful.

What does the tape show for Seattle’s newest defender, who has two sacks, 22 total pressures, 14 tackles, and 13 stops this season? Let’s get to it.

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Seahawks players offer their thoughts after beating the Browns

Let’s see what the players had to say after it was over.

The 2023 Seattle Seahawks are officially a team you have to take seriously. Sunday’s victory over the Cleveland Browns proved that they are not only a legitimate top-10 team themselves, but they’re capable of beating other heavyweights around the league, as well. Let’s see what the players had to say after it was over.

Here are some clips of the Seahawks talking with the media after the game.