Wyman: Why Quandre Diggs is already important part of Seahawks’ defense

The Seahawks have had their two best games on defense in back to back games.

Clayton: Hawks have new standouts to sort through going into Week 13

In Week 10, the defense held the high-powered San Francisco 49ers in check in a 27-24 overtime win, and this past Sunday, the Seahawks’ defense allowed just 9 points against the Philadelphia Eagles – six of those points game in “garbage time” with less than one minute remaining – and forced five turnovers.

What’s changed in those two weeks compared to the Seahawks’ first nine games, when the defense was a critical problem?

One difference is the emergence of the pass rush, which had been next to non-existent through the first nine weeks of the season.

The other difference is the insertion of safety Quandre Diggs. The Seahawks acquired Diggs from the Detroit Lions before the trade deadline, and he missed his first two games after the move because of a lingering hamstring injury.

He made his Seahawks debut in Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers and had an interception and recorded a number of big hits. He carried his impressive play over to Week 12 against the Eagles, where he forced his second turnover in as many games. Hear him after the below play at this Seahawks’ YouTube post.

DEFENSE. 😤

Another fumble and the ball is ours! #GoHawks x #SEAvsPHI pic.twitter.com/rFlOuzeJ6V

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 24, 2019

Diggs was the star of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Dave Wyman latest installment of Wyman’s Football 101 and highlighted two of Diggs’ plays that stood out to the former linebacker.

Wyman says Diggs is a player that makes his teammates on defense better, and in the first play, he did just that with second-year cornerback Tre Flowers, who had arguably his best game as a pro against Philadelphia.

The play was in the first quarter on second down with nine yards to go and the Seahawks played Cover-1 defense with Diggs as the lone man while the other defensive backs and the team’s three linebackers – aside from Mychal Kendricks who was blitzing – were playing man-to-man coverage.

Rookie receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside ran a slant route and was being covered by Flowers. Flowers broke up the pass, and Wyman says Diggs’ presence played a big role in the play.

The next play Wyman highlights was also in the first quarter when Eagles star tight end Zach Ertz caught a pass while being covered tightly by cornerback Shaquill Griffin. After Ertz made the catch, Diggs laid a big hit while lowering his shoulder, but was flagged for lowering his head on the tackle. Wyman disagreed with the flag, and gave Diggs some advice: Keep hitting how you’re hitting.

For more play breakdowns from the Seahawks season, click any of the links below:

Bye week

• Heaps: Why you should want Russell Wilson to win the MVP award

Week 10

• Heaps: The keys to new WR Josh Gordon’s 2 critical catches
• Wyman: A 3rd DL deserves credit for Reed strip sack, Clowney TD

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