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Two weeks into the season, I noticed a pattern.
A player would play against the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive line, and then that player would get the “film room” treatment: His play was so dominant that someone felt the need to break it down.
Week 1, Green Bay Packers: Mike Daniels
From @LedyardNFLDraft: Film room: Mike Daniels Shuts Down #Seahawks Offense https://t.co/Qq9sx6YfiY #Packers #NFL
— John Perrotto (@JPerrotto) September 14, 2017
The PFF game ball went to Nick Perry, and the Acme Packing Company game ball went to Mike Daniels.
Week 2, San Francisco 49ers: DeForest Buckner
Ted breaks down DeForest Buckner's dominant performance in our 49ers Film Room feature of the week:https://t.co/z4BNAuo0WE
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) September 19, 2017
Buckner also earned the PFF game ball.
Week 3, Tennessee Titans: Brian Orakpo
These players racked up the most pressure yesterday pic.twitter.com/0Vio5SPloC
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 25, 2017
As shown above, Orakpo led the league in pressures in his game against Seattle.
Week 4, Indianapolis Colts: Jabaal Sheard
Boy, did that Jabaal Sheard sure look great against the Seahawks! pic.twitter.com/asHB7JIigD
— Ben Baldwin (@guga31bb) October 12, 2017
Sheard had one sack, five hurries, and five stops in the run game. Like Orakpo the week before, Sheard’s damage came mostly while facing off against Seahawks left tackle Rees Odhiambo.
Week 5, LA Rams: Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald truly is a superstar, so he doesn’t need any help looking great, and to the surprise of no one he dominated Seattle’s line. Stats from PFF:
A one man wrecking crew rushing the passer this week versus the Seahawks, Donald racked up 10 total pressures on 35 pass-rush snaps, converting three of them into hits. His pass-rush productivity of 22.7 was tied for the week high among all defensive lineman. Versus the run Donald was no slouch either, contributing two run stops on 17 run-defense snaps.
Looking forward
Seattle’s next game is against the New York Giants. If Olivier Vernon — who led the league in pressures last year (per Football Outsiders) — comes away with fewer than 10 pressures, it will be a stunning success. Hopefully it is the only success that the Giants have, and it may be the only area they can turn to in two Sundays.