Clowney Cited as Reason for Seahawks Rushing Struggles

Former South Carolina defensive end, and first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, has become a defensive force in the NFL. His quick maturation has been necessary due to season-ending injuries to teammates J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus.

Last Sunday, the Texans traveled to take on Seattle in an important game for both teams. Deshaun Watson shined as usual and Russell Wilson had a tremendous game running the football.

Seattle's running backs? Not so much. On 17 handoffs, the Seahawks gained just three yards.

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"We whiffed on 90. We really didn’t handle him like we thought we would. He was on fire,” Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "We thought we would catch him and we didn’t. So it was a really hard day."

Clowney has been guilty, as are many defensive ends, of over pursuing on run plays. In doing so, running backs find a crease much faster than usual.

Not only has the former Gamecock harassed quarterbacks, but he's quickly proving he is a force to reckoned with in the run game as well.