Brian Nemhauser·
Tale of the Tape
··3 min read

Tale of the Tape: Two Odd Teams Fight for Playoff Lives in Seattle

The Seattle Seahawks rushed for 273 yards on the road and lost. They have one of the league’s best home field advantages, but have been better on the road so far this season. Russell Wilson is throwing much less than his previous seasons, but is on pace to eclipse his own Seahawks record for passing touchdowns. Green Bay has one of the best quarterbacks in the game and rank first in the NFL in yards per rush, but are just 13th in the league in scoring. They lost to the Rams in Los Angeles by two points while being one of the few teams to hold the Rams under 30 points, but allowed the woeful 49ers to score more points in Green Bay (30) while only winning by a field goal.

Neither of these teams are happy with where their records stand. They are in the grips of mediocrity while having some distinct strengths. Seattle plays 5 of their final 7 games at home, starting with this one. Any realistic path to the playoffs begins with a win here. Games against the Packers and Aaron Rodgers have been anything but predictable. Slight advantage goes to the Seahawks playing a short week at home.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories. 

This series is sponsored by Sarah Heath, a huge Seahawks fan and Hawk Blogger patron. Please thank her by checking out her site and consider working with her on your next home purchase or sale in the Seattle area. She will donate an additional $500 to Ben’s Fund for every closed transaction!

Seahawks Offense vs Packers Defense

 

 

Packers key advantages on defense

The Packers rush the passer in bunches. They lead the NFL in sack rate, and have three players with 4.0 sacks or more. They combine that with some young talent in the secondary like Jaire Alexander who can create turnovers. Kenny Clark has developed into a troublesome interior defender. Mike Daniels has given the Seahawks fits in the past. Muhammed Wilkerson is a load. Kyler Fackrell is great off the edge. Seattle pass protection has decayed the last two weeks after a very strong five week stretch. If they can hold their own against this productive Packers pass rush, the offense could do some damage. If not, this game gets far tougher.

 

Seahawks key advantages on offense

Seattle is the best rushing team in the NFL, and the Packers are not great at stopping the run. They have surrendered over 120 yards rushing to their last four opponents, and six of their nine overall. FootballOutsiders.com has them as the 26th-ranked rush defense when opponent is factored in. The Seahawks get D.J. Fluker and Chris Carson back, and just saw Rashaad Penny finally flash a glimpse of translatable NFL talent. The Packers know what the Seahawks are going to do. It seems unlikely they will be equipped to stop them. Like the Rams, all these pass rushers will be unaccustomed to defending the run play after play.

A key here will be how the Seahawks perform on 3rd down. The Packers defense is among the best in getting off the field, and the Seahawks have struggled there the last two games.

 

Packers Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Packers key advantages on offense

Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Jones. Davante Adams. The Packers have quality at each of the skill positions, and also boast some of the better offensive lineman in the NFL with Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari. Jones erupted for a big game on Sunday, but we have seen this before against the Dolphins when Kerryon Johnson and the Lions ran all over them only to be shut down by the Seahawks. One of the silent stories of the Seahawks struggles this season has been their struggles to defend the run. They have to do better. If the Packers can run effectively, the Seahawks defense will struggle to keep them out of the endzone.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

The Packers two guards are not anywhere close to as capable as the other linemen. Byron Bell is a weak spot. We will see if Jarran Reed can create some more pressure. Seattle does not have a lot of advantages on this side of the ball.

Special Teams

 

Michael Dickson could swing the game in Seattle’s favor if it is close.

 

 

Thanks to Sarah Heath and Chris Rood for sponsoring this series!

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Brian Nemhauser
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3 Comments

  1. I am looking forward to a back and forth game coming down to who wants it more and can execute in the 4th quarter. A Seahawks team that has been somewhat unlucky in one-score games so far this season is poised to pull one out at the end (or so I hope!).

  2. If the Seahawks can just stop losing because of their own errors at the most significant times they should be able to pull this one out. Penalties, bad play selection whether from the sideline or an audible, and turnovers have hurt 3rd down conversions and scoring ops. The O-line is showing some weakness for whatever reason(s). With Fluk probably back that might help, and if Sweez is faltering maybe Simmons has the versatility to help there. He did surprisingly well in LA. Russ looks like he can run again, maybe the hammy is almost right again, which adds an extra element of uncertainty for the defense (always helpful). One stat that hasn’t been addressed; snap count for Fant. When the team put the whippin’ on the Lions he was in for 38% of snaps. In the loss to the Chargers and Rams he was just over and just under 30%. Clearly that’s the difference (tongue buried in cheek, though his play is helpful).

    Part of what appears to be hurting our run defense is at line backer. The Chargers trap blocked Wagner, especially the two big runs Gordon had, made Bobby look poor. KJ just doesn’t look like he’s over the knee. He’s slow, shows on the daily reports, and just hasn’t been as effective as we’re accustomed to. I hope it’s not a sign of career ending outcome; he’s had a lot of work and rework done this year.

    Home field ain’t what it used to be for the Hawks. They’re upside down in win/loss over the past dozen games. Here’s hopin’ they will outplay the Packers and get back to .500.

    Ball for Paul guys……

  3. A couple of things regarding this game. The Packers are 4-0-1 at home, but they are 0-4 on the road. They also will be missing at least four starters, three of them on defense: LB Nick Perry, S Kentrell Brice and CB Kevin King. WR Randall Cobb will also miss the game. Starting middle linebacker Blake Martinez is also questionable. On a short week, we will see if he can play and if so, how well.

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