Green Bay Packers: 5 Seattle Seahawks to Know on Sunday

Before the Green Bay Packers take the field on Sunday against Seattle, these are five Seahawks players that you need to know.

After enjoying their bye week, the Green Bay Packers now know that they will face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional round on Sunday. While these two have met quite often in recent years, this will be their first time meeting in the playoffs since the 2014 NFC Championship game.

Although Seattle started off the season red-hot as they jumped out to a 10-2 start, they lost three of their final four games before squeaking by the Carson Wentz-less Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard round. Truthfully, this is a game that the Packers should win, but in the NFL – and especially in the postseason against the Seahawks – you can’t take any team lightly.

But before we get to Sunday’s big showdown, these are five players on this Seahawks team to know and players that could very likely have huge impacts in determining the outcome of this game. Keep in mind that I did leave off Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch since I assume most are familiar with those two.

Jacob Hollister

The Green Bay Packers’ defense has had an up and down season but one position in particular that has given them issues has been the tight end. We saw Darren Waller put up 126 yards with two touchdowns, Travis Kelce go for 65 yards with a touchdown, George Kittle drop 129 with a touchdown, as well as 65 yards from Zach Ertz.

Now granted, those are some of the top tight ends in the NFL, but overall the Packers are allowing 11.2 yards per catch and 54.1 total yards per game to the tight end position. So they certainly need to wary of Jacob Hollister.

Since Week 7, Hollister has hauled in nearly 70 percent of his catches with three touchdowns and 8.5 yards per catch. While he isn’t exactly the most explosive player you will see, he is a favorite of Russell Wilson and he will get opportunities, especially in the middle of the field where Green Bay has had issues.

Travis Homer

Seattle has been one of the top rushing offenses in the NFL this season with 137.5 rushing yards per game which ranked as the fourth most. However, some recent injuries has left them decimated at the running back position. As a result, their production has dropped in recent weeks and they even brought back Marshawn Lynch who was retired.

But even with Lynch back in the fold, rookie Travis Homer has been getting a similar amount of rushing attempts over the last two games. In his limited opportunities this year, Homer has 18 carries at 6.3 yards per carry with 11 receptions at 5.1 yards per catch. And he will certainly be a name to know on Sunday.

Jadeveon Clowney

The big difference with this year’s Green Bay Packers team is that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have to be Superman in order for them to win. We’ve seen the defense carry the Packers to victory as well as Aaron Jones, but don’t be mistaken, this team still goes as far as Rodgers takes them and it all starts with keeping him upright.

David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga have gone up against some of the best edge rushers that the NFL has to offer this season including Danielle Hunter, Khalil Mack, Everson Griffen, Von Miller, DeMarcus Lawrence, and others. And for the most part, the duo has held up incredibly well, but they’ll have another tough challenge this week in Jadeveon Clowney.

In 2019 Clowney totaled 54 pressures, four sacks and 10 quarterback hits. While his stats aren’t eye-popping, he has the ability to wreck any game as we saw during his performance against San Francisco in Week 10.

D.K. Metcalf

D.K. Metcalf was one of the more explosive wide receivers in the 2019 NFL Draft and it’s also worth mentioning that he is huge. Metcalf gives Seattle a deep threat down the field and this is a Green Bay Packers team that gives up a number of big plays this season. This includes 56 plays of 20 plus yards or more which ranks as the 10th most and 15 plays of more than 40, which was the 2nd most in the NFL.

This season Metcalf totaled 900 receiving yards at 15.5 yards per catch with seven touchdowns. He’s also coming off a game against Philadelphia on Sunday where he totaled 160 yards through the air. Green Bay’s secondary – especially Kevin King – better be ready.

Bobby Wagner

Bobby Wagner is one of the best inside linebackers in the game and is absolutely someone who the Green Bay Packers’ offense needs to be aware of. Wagner finished the year with a league high 159 total tackles, along with six pass breakups, three sacks, and a forced fumble.

However, Wagner did allow a completion percentage of 82.4 percent, gave up 681 receiving yards, three touchdowns and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 112.9 when targeting him. Whether it be Aaron Jones in the passing game or one of the tight ends over the middle, Wagner’s decline in coverage is something that Green Bay can exploit. Not to mention that as a team, Seattle has really struggled in covering running backs and tight ends in the passing game.

But with that said, Wagner is still one of the best linebackers in the NFL when it comes to tackling efficiency and Pro Football Focus’ run stop percentage, which are run plays that result in a loss for the offense. He’s certainly not someone to take lightly and could be a big factor in slowing the Packers’ run game.

Other Notable Players

Tyler Lockett: This season, Tyler Lockett finished with 1,057 yards, catching a whopping 74.5 percent of the passes thrown his way. He saw 110 targets this season and will be a top target of Russell Wilson’s on Sunday. Lockett will likely be Jaire Alexander’s primary responsibility.

K.J. Wright: Under the new defensive scheme in Seattle, linebacker K.J. Wright was dropped into coverage far more often this season than in years past as he saw 105 targets come his away. In total he had a career high 132 tackles, three interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 92.7 when targeting him. However, they did complete over 71 percent of their passes.

Quandre Diggs: Many Green Bay Packers’ fans will remember Quandre Diggs as the now Seattle safety spent four seasons in Detroit before being traded. And although he’s battled some injuries this season, when on the field with the Seahawks he has played quite well and has been a turnover machine coming away with three interceptions – including a touchdown – a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in just six games.