Mike Macdonald banked on a young rookie as he threw him into the lineup after the Seattle Seahawks released Tyrel Dodson. Now he’s cashing in as Tyrice Knight is dominating for the Seattle Seahawks.
Knight was named the rookie of the week for Week 14 after he had 12 tackles and two passes defended. It’s exactly what Macdonald could have hoped for when he put Knight in the lineup. And it might be key for the Seahawks as they look to extend their distance in the division title race.
Since he’s been inserted into the lineup in Week 10, he’s been on a roll. Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals was the second time in the last four weeks he finished the game with double-digit tackles.
Coincidence or not: The Seattle Seahawks haven’t lost since Tyrice Knight’s emergence
The Seahawks have been on heater since coming off the bye week. They’ve won the last four games and went from the bottom of the NFC West to the top. One of the biggest keys to their success has been their defense.
They’ve held every opponent other than the New York Jets to under 20 points per game during that stretch. Whatever defensive adjustments they made, it’s been working. And certainly, Knight has played a role in that.
Coincidence? Probably, but not only have the Seahawks turned over a new leaf coming out the bye, but they’ve found a new defensive beast in the process. Fortunately for them, they have just one division game left the rest of the season against the Los Angeles Rams.
They have games against the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings before then. The Packers and Vikings will be a challenging as it gets as they’ll face the other two behemoths in the NFC North division.
But if Geno Smith and the offense can manage at least one win out of those two, it could provide enough momentum to propel them through the playoffs. It helps they have a new found beast on defense too.