The Seattle Seahawks played complementary football in all three phases to pull out a 31-7 victory against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.
It was more than just the stars that helped Seattle to victory , as they remain undefeated in the young season. Here's a look at three players head coach Mike Macdonald praised following the win.
Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LX. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Reed recorded his first sack of the season in the team's win over the Cardinals. He may not be the flashiest player on the front seven, but he does a lot of things that aren't seen in a box score. Defensive linemen don't get opportunities to play every single play, but Reed makes his presence known when he's out on the field.
Those are the type of players the Seahawks love, and they are happy that he's on board.
"He's probably the heartbeat of our defensive line room, probably our defense," Macdonald said. "... He's a physical presence, he can play multiple spots in the interior D-line, he's a good game runner, he's obviously incredibly tough, smart-he makes a lot of calls out there that go unnoticed that get us aligned and organized, which is really cool. It's pretty high-level stuff."
Seattle Seahawks guard Beau Stephens looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Fifth-round pick Beau Stephens made his NFL debut, appearing in 27 offensive snaps while filling in for the injured Anthony Bradford . Christian Haynes drew the start and played in 43 offensive snaps, but it was a positive sign for Seattle to see what it has in its first-year player.
With Bradford entering free agency at the end of the year, the Seahawks know they will need to replace him at some point. Stephens is a candidate to be the team's future right guard, so it was a positive development for him to get his first taste of NFL action.
"I thought there was some really good stuff for both guys," Macdonald said of Haynes and Stephens.
"Different things on, respectively on what we want them to work on, which is great. But to get an opportunity to go in and play really good football, when AB (Anthony Bradford) wasn't able to go, I think, was great for our team depth, their offensive line depth. It was great for Beau being a rookie and getting experience, but, we'll kind of monitor the situation with AB moving forward and kind of take it from there."
Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson on the sidelines against the Kansas City Chiefs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Punters are people too. Michael Dickson doesn't often get praise, but Macdonald ensured he got some following the win in Arizona.
Out of Dickson's seven punts so far this season, four have gone inside the 20-yard line. Dickson's contributions often go unnoticed to many watching the games, but the special teams unit rallies around him in a way that makes him crucial to the Seahawks' success.
"He's tremendous, but it's also the whole unit. It's getting our protections right when they want to rush us, when we're singled up by a gunner, being able to get down the field, when we're getting viced, being able to work through some of those things, some of the mechanics we have with our punt team of directional punts and things like that," Macdonald said of Dickson.
"Michael's the driving force behind it. His talent obviously-it says a lot in terms of being able to pin guys deep and things like that, hitting different types of balls-but our punt coverage unit right now is operating at a high level, and we expect that to continue."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/onsi as 3 Unsung Heroes for Seahawks in Win vs. Cardinals .
