The Seattle Seahawks’ pass rush was a bit of a mixed bag in last week’s season opener.
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On one hand, the Seahawks pressured San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy on 43.6% of his dropbacks, which was the third-highest rate of any NFL quarterback in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.
However, those 17 pressures only resulted in one sack. And that lone sack didn’t come from one of Seattle’s primary pass rushers, but rather on a safety blitz by Julian Love.
“I think we did some good things, did some really good things, but we need to be better moving forward,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said when asked about his team’s pass rush. “The guys know that, and they’re going to do that. We got great guys. They’re on it. They’re motivated.”
There’s reason to believe that Seattle’s pass rush could be poised for a big performance in Sunday’s Week 2 clash against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For one, the Seahawks will be dealing with 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who is far less mobile than Purdy at this stage of his career. That was evident last week, as the New York Jets pressured Rodgers just nine times, but converted those into four sacks.
Also, the Seahawks could have an opportunity to feast on struggling Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones. According to PFF, the 2023 first-round pick allowed a league-high three sacks last week and had a 46.8 pass block grade, which ranked 55th out of 66 offensive tackles in Week 1.
In addition, Seattle’s pass rush could get a boost from veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who is set to make his season debut on Sunday in his return from offseason knee surgery. Nwosu will likely be on a snap count, but even on limited snaps, his presence could help keep fellow edge rushers Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence and Derick Hall a bit fresher after they took on a heavy workload in last week’s opener.
But on the other hand, Rodgers is known for getting the ball out quickly. That was on display once again in the opener, as Rodgers’ 3.14-second average time to throw was the sixth-fastest rate among QBs in Week 1.
During an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, former NFL offensive lineman Ray Roberts said the Seahawks’ ability to generate quick pressure could be a key factor on Sunday.
“To me, it’s the early pressure, the quick pressure,” Roberts said. “Some of the pressure (against the 49ers) was off second moves, and so that’s usually right around when the quarterback is throwing the ball or getting rid of the ball or deciding to get out of the pocket. And so I think (it’s important to get) the quick pressure.
“And some of that comes up the middle from the defensive tackle spot, so that then those outside edge rushers can get to the quarterback. If (the quarterback) has a place to step up or slide out, then it makes it harder to get there from the outside. So I think that some quick, early pressure is gonna be the secret to getting some more hits on Aaron Rodgers.”
Listen to the full conversion with Ray Roberts at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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