Bobby Wagner grabs defensive player of the week honors

Sunday the current top seed in the NFC Seattle Seahawks extended their lead in both the NFC West division and in the conference race for the number one seed by defeating the last place San Francisco 49ers 37-27. Seattle held a commanding lead for much of the game, and it was only in the fourth quarter that the Niners managed to put the majority of their points on the board, allowing the Hawks to cruise to what was a rather comfortable victory by Seahawks standards.

While Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and David Moore continued to do basically whatever they want through the air against opposing defenses, the Seattle defense was uncharacteristically stingy during the first three quarters. Specifically, against the 49ers All Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner had a fantastic performance for which he was awarded with not just a win on Sunday night, but also some hardware he can now add to the trophy case.

At the end of the day, Wagner totaled eleven tackles, including six solo, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and six pressures in the victory, which was enough for him to bring home NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for Week 8. That performance means that Wagner now leads the Seahawks in tackles, solo tackles and quarterback hits and is tied for the team lead in both sacks and tackles for loss. So, while there have been concerns among some fans over the past year and a half that Wagner’s play may have slipped, he remains a dominant force in the middle of the Seahawks defense, and with the potential return of Jamal Adams and Shaquill Griffin in the coming weeks, there are reasons to hope for improvement from the defense in the coming weeks.

And for those who have forgotten what it looks like when the defense records a sack, here is Wagner fighting through two blockers to record a drive killing sack on the opening possession of the third quarter.

That came not too long after Wagner ended the 49ers last real drive of the first half with another third down sack.

Up next is a trip to upstate New York, where the Seahawks are predicted to have a beautiful and sunny fall day with temperatures in the sixties as they face off against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9.