Revitalizing Carlos Dunlap inactive for Seahawks to rush Sam Darnold and Jets
The Seahawks were without their revitalizing pass rusher for their rebound game.
The team made Carlos Dunlap inactive Sunday for its home game against the winless New York Jets. The two-time Pro Bowl defensive end did not practice this past week because of a sprained foot. He was walking into the team facility, away from his teammates, as practice began Friday. Seattle listed him as questionable for the game.
The Seahawks will hope the nine days between Dunlap’s last game and Wednesday’s practice for next weekend’s game at Washington will be enough to have him ready for the final three games of the regular season in Seattle’s push for the playoffs.
Dunlap played 23, mostly situational snaps the previous week in Seattle’s face-plant loss at home to the Giants. Those were mostly on third downs and in passing situations.
Coach Pete Carroll said at the beginning of this week Dunlap was healthier coming out of the Giants game than he had been the previous week, when he sprained his foot during the Seahawks’ win at Philadelphia Nov. 30.
Benson Mayowa and L.J. Collier were again poised to get the every-down snaps at end with Dunlap out against the Jets.
In five games since joining the Seahawks in a trade from Cincinnati, Dunlap has made tackles Jarran Reed and Poona Ford bigger pass-rushing threats. Entering Sunday, the Seahawks had gone from near the bottom in the NFL in sacks before Dunlap to its fifth-most.
Jets quarterback Sam Darnold had been sacked 25 times in 167 drop backs entering Sunday. The 33 sacks the Jets had allowed were fifth-most in the league.
The Seahawks’ other inactives Sunday were no surprise: injured backup cornerback Ryan Neal, recently the sixth, dime defensive back; injured backup offensive tackle Jamarco Jones; backup guard Phil Haynes; backup tackle Cedric Ogbuehi; and injured third-down running back Travis Homer.
Dunlap’s first games for Seattle at the beginning of November coincided with the Seahawks’ revival on defense this season. They gave up 23 in a loss at the Rams last month, 21 while beating the Cardinals and a season-low 17 to the Eagles that was essentially nine but for a garbage-time touchdown. They started December allowing the Giants just 17 points.
Entering Sunday, Seattle’s potentially fatal flaw, the defense, was finally becoming a complementary piece to Russell Wilson and the high-flying offense. That development, plus a softer schedule in December, increased the team’s chances of earning its eighth playoff appearance in nine seasons.
“Nobody is talking about the defense enough, in my opinion,” DK Metcalf said after his career-high 177 yards receiving at Philadelphia two weeks ago. “They’ve been playing their butts off, from the back end, to our corners and linebackers.
“We’re getting to the quarterback every game right now.”
Dunlap has transformed not just the line but the entire defense.
Seattle had 12 sacks in seven games before the team sent never-used offensive lineman B.J. Finney and a late-round draft pick to Cincinnati to get Dunlap in late October.
The Seahawks had 21 sacks in the five games Dunlap had played for them entering Sunday’s game.
A defense that was at the bottom of the league in sacks the last year and a half had the sixth-most in the league entering Sunday.
Dunlap has four sacks already for Seattle. The biggest one was when he brought down Kyler Murray on fourth and 10 with 35 seconds remaining to seal the Seahawks’ pivotal division win over Arizona last month.
“You know, P.C. was fired up,” Dunlap said of Carroll after that winning sack. “He almost tackled me on the sideline.”
As important, he’s made those around him much more successful in affecting opposing quarterbacks.
Tackle Jarran Reed had three sacks in two years before Dunlap arrived. Reed entered Sunday with 2 1/2 sacks in the five games he’d played next to Dunlap.
Tackle Poona Ford had a half sack in his first 2-1/2 NFL seasons. Entering the Jets game Ford had two sacks in his last four games with offensive lines worried about Dunlap outside him.
Now the Seahawks are trying to have him available for what they hope is Dunlap’s first playoff game since Jan. 9, 2016. His Bengals lost all five of their playoff games from 2011-16.
“He’s having the time of his life,” Carroll said last month. “He is having a blast. He’s been upbeat and spirited and having fun with it and more than willing to do whatever, the work and getting out to practice and getting reps. I mean, all of it. He’s practicing really well. Got a really pleasant personality that’s fun.
“He’s having a good time. ...He brings a good spirit to it and his attitude is excellent because he’s having so much fun.
“It’s different than what he’s been around.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 12:03 PM.
