Among the many things that didn’t go well on Sunday for the Seattle Seahawks in their loss to the Arizona Cardinals was the pass protection all across the offensive line.
Cardinals defensive end Chandler Jones, who has been a thorn in Seattle’s side for years, absolutely dominated on Sunday, racking up four sacks, six quarterback hits and two forced fumbles. Jones did most of his damage against fill-in starter Jamarco Jones, who was making his first NFL start at left tackle in place of Duane Brown, who was out after having surgery on his arm.
“It was hard,” Pete Carroll said of Jones’ performance. “He went against a great guy and it worked him the whole day. He did a lot of things that were really good. The sacks that his guy had weren’t all on him. It didn’t all happen because of his protection and all. He was tested. That was a real test. Chandler [Jones] is an amazing player.”
Jones earned a pass protection grade from Pro Football Focus of 17.4, one of the worst marks of the week across the league.
It’s a bit unfair to judge Jones on this one performance, particularly against a strong opponent, but it has given Carroll pause for how they plan to handle a similarly strong pass rush attack from San Francisco in Week 17.
Carroll wouldn’t commit to Jones starting in place of Brown again this week, and it would make sense for Seattle to try George Fant, who has played much more left tackle in his career, in that spot instead.
The team likes keeping Fant in that role as an extra run blocker, but perhaps trying Jordan Roos, or Jones, in that role will be the game plan on Sunday.
