Seahawks’ Ahtyba Rubin relishes first playoff berth, winning season

Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin had never played for a team with more than seven wins before this season. (AP)

There was more than redemption on Seahawks defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin’s mind when it came to beating his former team Sunday. It also meant his first ever trip to the playoffs.

“It’s everything,” he said on the postgame show after the Seattle beat his old team, the Cleveland Browns, to clinch a playoff berth Sunday. “It’s one step forward to getting to where I’ve always wanted to be at. It’s a great feeling. Like I said, I’ve never won more than eight games.”

Rubin joins long-time Bills running back Fred Jackson as postseason newbies, a feat head coach Pete Carroll described as “cool” and “awesome.” The Bills have the longest playoff drought in the NFL, while the win totals in Rubin’s first seven years in Cleveland read like this: 4, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4, 7.

Besides the playoff berth, Rubin said it was satisfying to beat his former team.

“It means a lot,” he said. “Put my best foot forward and show them what they missed out on, and it also felt great to get pushed into the playoffs and do that against the Browns is a great feeling.”

Rubin’s put together a solid season anchoring Seattle’s run defense, notching 30 tackles and two sacks. He said he appreciates how Seattle uses him in the system, putting him in the right position to make plays.

“They just ask me to come in and stop the run. They don’t ask too much of me,” he said. “Quiet leader, take on double-teams and hustle to the ball and I think I can do that pretty well.”

Brandon Mebane, Rubin’s fellow defensive tackle, described Rubin as chill, calm, wise and patient.

“Rube is like Biggie, just a big dude, just chill,” he said. “He’s a good dude. I like playing next to Rube… He’s probably not the most vocal guy but Rube has a lot of wisdom and a lot of knowledge that I also get from him.”

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