The Divisional round of the playoffs were some of the more exciting games I’ve watched in a while. There were your high-scoring games in Chicago and Atlanta, and the tight, drama-filled matchups in Pittsburgh and New England. Seattle’s Cinderella run was stopped by the Chicago Bears, while the “sure thing” New England team was upset by the New York Jets. And within all these stories came a whole bunch of strong games by defensive players. Take the jump to see which players had the biggest impact for their teams, and hopefully yours too.
Tramon Williams had another strong game, making some more clutch interceptions, one of which was returned for a score. Along with his 2 interceptions, Williams had 1 solo tackle and 2 passes defended. Williams currently sits with a 14.4 overall PFF rating, 12.3 of which comes from the regular season, while the other 2.1 PFF rating coming in the playoffs. Williams has been a fixture for the Green Bay defense all season, missing only 25 snaps all year.
Clay Matthews had another 2 sacks, ho-hum. He added 3 solo tackles, 4 total tackles, and 1 fumble recovery to his sacks, and currently sits at a 19.1 overall PFF rating. Matthews had a very solid 22.4 PFF rating during regular season, but has a rather uncharacteristic negative 3.3 PFF rating during playoffs so far. He has been an absolute force on defense for the Packers all year, playing on 93.7% of the total defensive snaps, and he should see his PFF rating rise back into the green.
If you weren’t a football fan before this weekend, Terrell Suggs certainly made sure you were after his dominant performance. Suggs was all over the field, with 5 solo tackles, 6 total tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Suggs finishes the year with an unbelievable 41.1 overall PFF rating, with a 33.1 PFF rating during regular season and an 8 PFF rating during playoffs. On the season, Suggs has only missed 20 snaps, and is one of the most reliable sources of production in both fantasy and real life.
James Harrison did his best effort to match Terrell Suggs this weekend, posting an unreal line himself, with 5 solo tackles, 7 total tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 passes defended. He also stacks up against Suggs in real life, with a 47 overall PFF rating, 42.2 coming during regular season and 4.8 during the playoffs, and playing on all but 22 snaps this year.
The leading tackler from this weekend was David Harris, who had 9 solo tackles, 12 total tackles, and 1 interception. Harris has only missed 35 snaps this season, and sports a 7.3 overall PFF rating, all of which has come during the regular season.
Eric Smith put the nail in the New England Patriots coffin with his onside kick recovery sealing last nights game. He also had 9 tackles, all solo, and went into the game with an overall negative 7.1 PFF rating. Smith only started 6 games during the year, playing 60.6% of the total snaps, but was definitely a big part of the New York Jets defense during yesterdays victory.
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