Bobby Wagner a bright spot for Seahawks in loss to Washington

A stellar individual performance from a player is often overlooked when his team loses, and in the case of Seahawks’ linebacker Bobby Wagner, that’s a shame.

O’Neil: Seahawks didn’t just lose, they blew it against Washington

Wagner was a bright spot in the Seahawks’ 17-14 upset loss to Washington Sunday, turning in the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grade and finishing the day with one of Seattle’s three scores. In addition to recording a first quarter safety, he also had six tackles, a quarterback hit and a sack.

Wagner earned the highest overall grade for any Seahawk (91.8) in Week 9; PFF cited his five stops in run defense and the 7 yards he gave up on five targets. He remains one of the highest-rated linebackers in run stop percentage (94.9 grade, 11.3 percent) and tackle efficiency in 2017.

It was another standout performance in what may be one of Wagner’s strongest seasons. The All-Pro has 52 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a defensive touchdown through eight games. ESPN this week gave him a nod as the team’s midseason non-quarterback Most Valuable Player. A hamstring injury and missed practice time last week made his standout performance vs. Washington all the more impressive.

Despite the loss, the Seahawks’ defense as a whole played well, recording 6.0 sacks against Washington (including a pair for newly-signed defensive end Dwight Freeney). But in the game’s most crucial moment, the defense gave up 70 yards on a four-play drive to allow Washington’s winning score with just over a minute remaining.

“I felt like there was one point where we were clicking up until the last drive, where they moved the ball and scored on us,” Wagner said postgame. “We just have to do better; when you’re in that position, that’s a game that we want to be in and make the plays and get us off the field to win the game. We have to do better.”

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