The Seahawks had been waiting for most of the season for their pass rush to get going, and that happened in a big way in Monday night's win over the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers.
The Seahawks recorded five sacks of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, hit him 10 times, and pressured him into numerous other inaccurate passes.
And while Jadeveon Clowney only recorded one of those sacks in the game, he was the dominant force that got it all going, hitting Garoppolo on the quarterback's first two pass attempts, and wreaking havoc throughout the game. For his play in Monday's win, Clowney was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, making him the second Seahawk, along with Russell Wilson (Weeks 2 and 9), to earn Player of the Week honors this season. It's Clowney's first Player of the Week award as a Seahawk, and second of his career having earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with the Texans last season.
"Clowney, really, was the guy that was key to it all," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of the much-improved pass rush. "We played off of him.
"Golly, what a fantastic football game he played. He just was unblockable. He just continued to weave his way into the backfield and make plays, the run and the pass. Any plays that he wouldn't get credit for that he affected were many and all across the board."
In addition to his sack, on which he also forced a fumble that was recovered by Poona Ford, setting up a Seahawks touchdown, Clowney also recovered a fumble and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown, recorded five quarterback hits, and helped set up big plays for his teammates throughout the game.
"It was a breakout game," Carroll said after the game. "I thought he was so impressive all night long. I don't know how, I thought they were tackling him, he was just penetrating so fast and so furiously. And what a fantastic game. And yeah, we would have liked to have seen (the pass rush) a little earlier, but if we get going now this is where we kick into high gear, then that's a really good defense and we looked pretty good tonight too. I'm really proud of our guys."
