Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 15 loss vs. Seahawks
Washington Football Team Stud: Washington’s containment of Russell Wilson
The Washington Football Team held Russell Wilson to 121 passing yards on Sunday. That’s simply unheard of from him. Only three times in his 142-game career has he logged fewer passing yards than that in a game.
Wilson did add 52 rushing yards on the ground, but much of that came on one 38-yard run where the defense just blew an assignment. It’s not like he was running all over Washington all day.
Wilson’s sub-par day was thanks to a full-team effort by Washington. Each unit — the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary — did everything they needed to slow Wilson down.
Washington Commanders
Up front, Washington’s defensive line did what they had been doing all season long. They got a ton of pressure on Wilson and stopped the run well enough. They didn’t sack Wilson, but what they did do was force him to move around a lot and throw passes away. That’s the way to beat Wilson, as his mobility allows him to avoid sacks, and they had the biggest impact on his lackluster day.
The linebacker corps deserves a lot of credit for what they were able to do today with Kevin Pierre-Louis and Cole Holcomb out. Rookie Khaleke Hudson tied for the team lead in tackles with eight and notched a tackle for a loss. Meanwhile, Shaun Dion Hamilton played an all-around good game and also notched a tackle for loss. They all did well enough in coverage, so perhaps they will have earned bigger roles moving forward.
In the back end, Kam Curl had another strong day for Washington and the cornerbacks did an excellent job of limiting DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett during the contest. They only combined for 77 yards and weren’t able to grab a TD. Metcalf, in particular, was a tough matchup for Washington, so their ability to contain him was great.
The Seahawks offense was stymied for most of the second half against Washington. It was another great effort for their defense and their ability to shut down Wilson and Metcalf contributed to their late comeback effort.