Top Ten Defensive Performances of 2017: #6 Casey Hayward v. BUF Wk.

#6.) Casey Hayward v. Buffalo - 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 interceptions, 3 passed defended

After being signed away from Green Bay during the 2016 free agency period, Casey Hayward went on to have an incredible first season where he led the NFL in interceptions during his first year with the Chargers.

In his second year, he put together another long string of phenomenal performances. Game after game, Hayward put the clamps down on one WR1 after another on his way to collecting a career-high player rating by Pro Football Focus of 96.4. What’s even more impressive is that he garnered this rating with only half the interceptions he snagged the year prior. This just goes to show how much of an impact he makes on the Bolts’ defense without having to pick off a pass every other game.

With Bills’ rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman getting his first NFL start over Tyrod Taylor, Hayward and the rest of the Chargers’ secondary had a field day while feasting on errant passes stemming from a pass rush that seemed to be running on premium gas.

Hayward also made his presence felt in the run defense as well, collecting a tackle-for-loss of Shady McCoy for a loss of two yards and limiting several would-be splash plays by the shifty tailback.

This signified a real awakening of the defense, including the talent among the secondary and how they figured out the formula to take advantage of inexperienced quarterbacks and how to piggyback off of their pass rushers to make life hell for the offense.