Tennessee football: How former Vols fared in NFL wild-card round

Derek Barnett wasn’t terrible on paper. The greatest pass rusher in Tennessee football history did come away with three tackles and two hits on Russell Wilson. Being able to hurry him like that is worthy of praise, especially given the type of game they were in. But there is still no way to ignore the mistakes he made.

On 2nd and goal from the 10, Wilson threw an incomplete pass and drew a roughing the passer penalty from Barnett. It was clearly a late hit, regardless of what anybody wants to say, and there was absolutely no reason for Barnett to do that. Without the penalty, it would have drawn a 3rd and goal from the 10.

Instead, the Seattle Seahawks got a first down, and from the five-yard line, they got a touchdown on the very next play. That ended up being crucial, as the Seahawks won 17-9. Sure, they still would’ve like gotten a field goal, but 13-9 late in the game is a lot different from 17-9, even with Carson Wentz hurt.

As a result, Barnett’s mistakes outweigh his decent play in this game, which is why we have him next to last on this list. He’s a pass-rushing machine who likes to time snap counts and get to the quarterback, but when those things result in late hit penalties, they become disastrous. The Philadelphia Eagles can’t afford for him to do that, and it helped them lose.