Riq Woolen
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Riq Woolen Struggled in Week 1 against the 49ers but raised his game in Week 2 in Pittsburgh.
Riq Woolen struggled all week during practice and on the heels of the Seattle Seahawks‘ loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week.
So after he played what Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald called “a tremendous football game,” Woolen got his flowers.
Macdonald raved about the conerback’s performance, especially his hustle during the second half of Seattle’s bounce-back 31-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that pushed the Seahawks to 1-1 on the young season.
Despite trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Seahawks defense limited the Steelers to just a field goal over the final 30 minutes. Seattle recorded three sacks on Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Why did Mike Macdonald Praise Riq Woolen?
To the untrained eye, Woolen’s praise may appear unearned.
He had three tackles and did not record either interception against Rodgers. Yet, so much of what made Woolen’s week great was how badly things have gone for him in coverage, since he has a 37.4 overall grade from Pro-Football Focus, and QBs have a perfect 158.3 passer rating throwing against him this year.
“Riq had a tough week, and I thought he played a tremendous football game,” Macdonald said after the game.
So it was fitting that Woolen’s biggest impact was a hustle play that also did not show up in the box score. With the score tied at 14 midway through the third quarter, he ran down Steelers running back Jaylen Warren from behind to keep Warren out of the end zone on a 65-yard catch and run.
After an incompletion, and a one-yard run from running back Kenneth Gainwell, Derion Kendrick picked off Rodgers on 3rd-and-goal at the 4, keeping the Steelers from scoring further.
“What people don’t realize is we missed a ton of tackles, … but Riq is the guy that chased [Warren] down from the backside,” Macdonald said. “Talk about ultimate effort, committed to the process, having your teammates’ back, playing with shocking effort, he does that, and he got hit down and we ended up leaving that drive with no points.”
In part thanks to his effort, Woolen raised his game — and PFF grade — by posting a 49.9 pass-coverage rating and 47.2 overall mark.
“Riq was the guy that deserves a ton of credit on that front and helped us win the football game,” Macdonald said. “I’m really proud of Riq. He’s done a great job this week.”
What Else Did Mike Macdonald Say About The Seahawks’ Secondary Sunday?
That Woolen raised his play was crucial since nickel cornerback Devon Witherspoon was inactive in Pittsburgh, and Rodgers was coming off a 244-yard, four-touchdown effort against the New York Jets.
But Kendrick also earned praise from head coach, particularly since he has only been a member of the Seahawks for about three weeks — Kendrick was the last player released by the Los Angeles Rams on their final roster cuts.
“Our coaches deserve a lot of credit getting Derion ready to go,” Macdonald said. “It’s hard to learn our system in two weeks, and [Kendrick], I thought played a really good game. Obviously had the interception, which was a tremendous play, a game- changing play and the rest of the defense — I think right now we’re playing really, really hard.”