Wyman: Williams and Jackson were ‘unsung heroes’ for Seahawks

Dec 19, 2023, 4:34 PM

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Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after a tackle on Dec. 18, 2023. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

BY BRANDON GUSTAFSON

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks had plenty of heroes during their big win over the Eagles on Monday.

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Quarterback Drew Lock, starting in place of the injured Geno Smith, started slow but led the Seahawks on a 92-yard touchdown drive at the end of the game to get the win. Receiver DK Metcalf shined on that drive on a few different plays while rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made a great fingertip catch for the go-ahead touchdown.

Defensively, Julian Love stole the show with not one, but two interceptions. He now has four takeaways over Seattle’s last two games.

But two players had big games for the Seahawks that are going under the radar according to former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman, who is the color analyst for Seahawks radio broadcasts.

“I’ll name two guys that I think really played well that were kind of unsung heroes,” Wyman said during Tuesday’s Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports. “One is ‘Big Cat’ Leonard Williams and then the other one is Mike Jackson.”

Williams, a defensive tackle who Seattle traded for ahead of last month’s trade deadline, had five tackles, including two tackles for loss. He was also someone who stuffed run lanes and pressured Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts late in the game.

Jackson, meanwhile, is a cornerback and after being a starter last year, he hasn’t played much this season. But Jackson got the start at outside cornerback instead of Riq Woolen, and he broke up two passes.

Wyman said what Jackson lacks in traits he makes up for in other ways.

“Michael Jackson might be a little slow in coverage – not nearly as fast is Riq – but he does the right thing,” Wyman said. “… I don’t care if he’s maybe a little slow. Whatever. He’s doing (the right thing). And so that’s what it was, really. It was just paying attention to details.”

Wyman called Jackson a “very old-school guy.”

“And he plays that way, too. He plays with a nastiness,” he said.

Wyman is especially impressed by Jackson considering his playing time has decreased so much this year.

“This goes back to after they drafted a cornerback. First it’s Riq Woolen bursts onto the scene (last year), then they draft Devon Witherspoon,” he said. “And you could see where he could go in the tank there because he played well last year, and (instead) he just grinded through it. I love everything about that kid.”

As for Williams, Wyman was really impressed by all the little things he did well against Philadelphia.

“We don’t really notice him that much. But if you go back through and look at the All-22 and things like that, he’s really difficult to double team and he takes up a lot of space,” he said. “Plus, he’s pretty fast. There’s a couple of times where Raible and I are making the call and he’s making tackles out by the numbers and out by the sidelines.”

“I just feel like both (Williams) and Mike Jackson are kind of what that defense needs to be about,” Wyman later said. “… These two guys really stood out to me. Obviously Julian Love was the was the player of the game, but I really like what I saw from those two guys.”