Game Recap: Stifling Defense Lifts Seahawks Past Jets in Thriller

Overcoming backbreaking first-half mistakes, the Seattle Seahawks prevailed via a stellar defensive effort in a 26-21 Week 13 win over the New York Jets.

Connor Benintendi | 0 Minutes Ago

Dec 1, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) fumbles the ball the ball during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

In this story:

Seattle Seahawks

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams capped off his monster game with two sacks on the game’s final drive to shut down Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets offense, lifting the Seattle Seahawks to a thrilling 26-21 victory on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The Seahawks’ nightmarish special teams performance nearly handed the game to the Jets, but Williams and the Seattle defense stood tall for 3.5 quarters to power the win.

"Man, what a crazy game," Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame. "The whole series of events in the first half, but our guys were resilient, and we didn't bat an eye,
we stayed the course. Had some crazy sequences of events that happened, but you have to
stick to the plan, you got to stay together, and our guys did that."

After an 80-yard touchdown drive on New York’s second possession of the game, the Jets never picked up more than 38 yards on any drive.

Williams, in addition to helping seal the game later, scored the first touchdown of his career on a 92-yard pick-six in the second quarter. Had New York scored on that drive, the Seahawks would be staring down a three-score deficit.

A pair of first-half turnovers on kick returns by the Seahawks and an allowed return touchdown on the other end nearly created a 21-point swing in the Jets’ favor before that play.

"I don't know how this works, but if we can nominate Leonard Williams for player of
the week, he's just playing at an all-time elite level," Macdonald added. "You know, to have a pick-six, I think they
told me he was going about 17-and-a-half miles an hour, which was pretty fast for a man that
size, so he's playing out of his mind right now."

But as good as the Seattle defense played, pitching a second-half shutout, the Jets hurt themselves with 10 penalties over the final two quarters. Many of those extended offensive possessions for the Seahawks or hindered their own drives.

Four of those penalties assessed against New York came on Seattle’s 9-play, 71-yard game-winning touchdown drive with 5:31 left in the game. Running back Zach Charbonnet scored on an 8-yard rush for the go-ahead score.

The Seahawks did their best to beat themselves with New York already leading 6-0 late in the first quarter. Dee Williams had the ball punched out on a kickoff return and, four plays later, the Jets were in the end zone and converted a two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

Seattle responded with a 10-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that ended with a short score by Seahawks rookie tight end AJ Barner. But the offense wouldn’t see the field again for nearly six minutes.

Jets returner Kene Nwangwu took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to re-extend New York’s lead to 21-7. It was the largest deficit Seattle had faced since their 31-10 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8.

"It seemed like it's just kind of a comedy of things on each one on ... a couple missed tackles here and then we had a miscommunication on
another one," Macdonald said. "We got to take a look at that and make sure we're on the same page and we're
going in the right direction."

The nightmare didn’t stop there. Laviska Shenault Jr. fumbled the following kickoff — the Seahawks’ second special teams turnover of the first half — and the Jets recovered at Seattle’s 38-yard line.

After being put in unfavorable situations all day thus far, Williams, who was coming off his best game as a Seahawk in Week 12, decided he’d had enough.

Dropping straight back into coverage on a 3rd and 7 from Seattle’s 9-yard line, Rodgers threw it straight to Williams, who tipped the ball, secured it and ran down the left sideline for a 92-yard touchdown — the first score of his 153-game career.

Despite all their mistakes, the Seahawks trailed 21-13 after a blocked extra point.

The Jets began their next drive at their 44-yard line following more putrid kick coverage by the Seahawks. But New York beat themselves on a dropped fourth down conversion by Adams where he’d left cornerback Riq Woolen in the dust.

Seattle scored three more points before halftime, and they were fortunate to head to the locker room trailing 21-16.

The brutally inconsistent Seahawks offense squandered an opportunity to take their first lead of the game to begin the third quarter. After driving to New York’s 4-yard line, Seattle had eight tries — with the help of defensive penalties — to cross the goal line and take the lead.

Instead, on 4th and Goal from the 1-yard line, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith swirled around in the backfield as he tried to reverse a straight sprint out to his left. Outside linebacker Quincy Williams sacked Smith for a 15-yard loss, giving the Jets a near-touchback.

Dec 1, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to throw the ball during the third quarter rushed by New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (56) at MetLife Stadium. / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

"We’ve got to get better at that," Smith said postgame. "If I was to be critical of anything, I think that's the main
thing. We've got to be better in the short-yardage area and that's all of us. It's on all of us. Those are the situations where you can really punch it in and dominate a game."

But the defense earned the Seahawks another chance. Safety Julian Love forced a fumble on Jets running back Breece Hall at the end of an 11-yard run into Seattle territory. Rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight recovered to put the ball back in the hands of the Seahawks offense.

Fueled by a critical 24-yard completion from Smith to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on 4th and 6, Seattle got three points out of its next drive to trim New York’s lead to 21-19.

With Michael Dickson unable to punt due to “back spasms,” per Macdonald, Seattle’s offense was forced to try three fourth-down conversion attempts on their game-winning drive. Three New York penalties assisted all three attempts or provided automatic first downs.

The result was a six-minute, Charbonnet-capped drive that won the game following the ensuing defensive stop. Rodgers' (21-39, 185 yards, 2 TD, INT) last-gasp fourth-down throw to the end zone after Williams' second sack fell incomplete with just over 30 seconds remaining. Smith (20-31, 206 yards, 1 TD) kneeled it out for Seattle.

All alone in first place

The win — Seattle’s third in a row — helped the Seahawks (7-5) seize sole possession of first place in the NFC West, as the Arizona Cardinals (6-6) also fell to the Minnesota Vikings, 23-22.

Regardless of the result for the San Francisco 49ers (5-6) and the Los Angeles Rams (5-6) in Week 13, Seattle will stay at least a game ahead of every other team in the division.

"It's what you want," Smith said. "You want to be playing meaningful games in December. Coach [Macdonald] talked to us.
He said they remember what you do in December, so as a team, as a quarterback, I want to
play my best football late down the stretch."

One-man wrecking crew

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) intercepts a pass for a touchdown during the first half.

Dec 1, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) intercepts a pass for a touchdown during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Over Seattle’s last two games, Williams has totaled 10 tackles, 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, one interception, one touchdown and a blocked extra point. While so many others are shining on defense for the Seahawks, Williams has stood out as the catalyst.

Williams became the first player since 1982 to log multiple sacks, a pick-six and a blocked kick in one game, per NFL Communications.

"I feel like I came out here today with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," Williams said. "Part of it
is just still the energy from the team overall, treating every week like the playoffs since the bye
week. I feel like we've been really playing cohesive, and have a lot of energy, and like I said, I
feel like I came out here with a chip on my shoulder today."

The Seahawks, during their three-game win streak, have held the Niners, Cardinals and Jets each to under 300 yards of total offense. They only did that twice during their first nine games and won both (Week 1 versus Denver and Week 3 versus Miami).

Up Next

Seattle travels to State Farm Stadium to face the Cardinals for the second time in three weeks at 1:05 p.m. PT on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Seahawks beat Arizona 16-6 in Week 12 to initially retake first place in the NFC West.

If the Seahawks lose that game, however, Arizona will hold the tiebreaker via a superior record in division games.