Key Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Visit Jets in Week 13

A star-studded battle between the Seahawks receivers and Jets cornerbacks headlines an intriguing Week 13 contest featuring several marquee matchups.

Jan 1, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) rushes against the New York Jets during the third quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Hitting the road with a near-full strength roster seeking a third straight win to stay atop the NFC West standings, the Seattle Seahawks will travel cross country to square off with the reeling New York Jets.

Playing some of their best football coming off their bye week, the Seahawks have earned hard-fought divisional wins over the Cardinals and 49ers to climb back to the top of the NFC West. As for the Jets, though they find themselves out of the playoff hunt with a dismal 3-8 record, they hope to spark a similar turnaround coming out of their own bye week.

Which matchups will have the most bearing on who secures the victory at MetLife Stadium on Sunday? Here are six key positional battles to watch in Week 13:

--Seahawks guards Laken Tomlinson and Sataoa Laumea versus Jets defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Javon Kinlaw: After placing starter Anthony Bradford on injured reserve earlier in the week, Mike Macdonald made a surprising move to roll with Laumea instead of Christian Haynes at right guard, plugging in a different rookie to make his NFL regular season debut. The sixth-round pick out of Utah hasn't even dressed for a game this year, let alone rotate into the lineup for snaps as Haynes did for a handful of games, making him the ultimate unknown heading into Sunday. Next to him, Tomlinson will square off against his former team that he played for the last two years, which may work to his advance given the familiarity of the opponent.

With that being said, even if Tomlinson winds up seeing Williams more than Laumea - the standout defender has played more than 65 percent of his snaps on the right side this season - both of Seattle's guards could be in for a long afternoon against one of the NFL's premier interior defenders. The ex-Alabama star ranks sixth in pressures (38), second in sacks (7), and 11th in pass rush win rate (12.3 percent) among qualified defensive tackles and his blend of power and explosiveness creates problems for even the best interior blockers. To a lesser extent, Kinlaw has also been productive as the Robin to Batman, racking up 21 pressures and a trio of sacks, which could make keeping Geno Smith clean a tall task.

--Seahawks cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Josh Jobe versus Jets receivers Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams: Over their past three games, the Seahawks have held each of their NFC West rivals under 17 points in regulation and a sticky secondary has been at the center of that ascendence. Witherspoon has produced three pass breakups, including one that resulted in an interception for defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, Woolen has an interception, and Jobe has allowed just five receptions for 68 yards with a pass defensed. The three-headed monster has been limiting explosive plays, keeping receivers in front of them and tackling well to limit yardage after the catch as a key component to limiting points on the scoreboard.

After mostly shutting down Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson last week, however, Seattle's cornerback trifecta will have to deal with one of the more talented receiving duos in the NFL, at least on paper, in Wilson and Adams. The 24-year old Wilson has been quiet in New York's past two games, but before that, he had four games with 90-plus yards and four total touchdowns in a five-game stretch, doing damage both as a vertical threat and yards after the catch weapon. Across from him, Adams hasn't been able to rekindle his previous success with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but he has at least six catches in each of the past three games and his past track record speaks for itself. The Seahawks better be ready for a healthier Rodgers to put them to the test with two talented, well-rounded wideouts capable of putting up huge numbers any week.

--Seahawks running backs Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet versus Jets linebackers C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, and Jamien Sherwood: The Jets have been stingy against opposing passing games this season, but the same cannot be said for their efforts against the run, where the defense as a whole has regressed dramatically from a season ago. Even with Williams anchoring the front line, the team ranks 21st in rushing yards allowed and 29th in rushing touchdowns allowed in 2024, giving up at least 145 rushing yards in five of their first 11 games and five rushing touchdowns in their past two contests alone. The absence of Mosley has been a major factor in those struggles, as he hasn't played since October 20 due to a neck injury and may not be available on Sunday either.

Assuming Mosley isn't quite ready to play, the onus will once again fall on Sherwood to help fill the void. Listed at under 225 pounds, he's built more like a safety than an off-ball linebacker, and missed tackles have been a problem for him this year, particularly with a 12.3 percent missed tackle rate defending the run. Williams hasn't fared much better in that department with an 11.3 percent missed tackle rate, a clear indicator of the number of plays New York's linebackers have left on the field. Walker ranks first in the NFL in missed tackles forced and given the struggles of Sherwood and Williams getting ball carriers to the ground, this could be an ideal matchup for him and Charbonnet to finally break out a bit and provide Seattle with much-needed offensive balance.

--Seahawks outside linebackers Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, and Dre'Mont Jones versus Jets tackles Olu Fashanu and Morgan Moses: With veteran starter Tyron Smith heading to injured reserve with a neck problem, the Jets will be thrusting Fashanu, a first-round pick out of Penn State, into the starting lineup for what likely will be an audition for the remainder of the season. The 6-6, 319-pound rookie started two games at right tackle earlier in the year before sliding over to left tackle to replace Smith in a Week 11 loss to the Colts, allowing a sack and three pressures in the defeat. The athletic blocker hasn't been overly sharp in pass pro thus far, posting a mediocre 95.6 percent pass block efficiency rate while surrendering 16 pressures on just 195 snaps. Moses has been rock solid on the other side, allowing just nine pressures in nine games.

Playing at home will certainly help Fashanu's cause in his second start protecting Rodgers' blind side and Moses has been a steady performer for a number of years in the league. Still, the Seahawks have three edge rushers in Mafe, Hall, and Jones who have differing skill sets and each have amassed at least 31 pressures and four sacks apiece, so it won't be easy to keep them away from the veteran quarterback. If Seattle can find a way to generate quick pressures from the outside and collapse the pocket down on Rodgers with his diminished movement skills, the probability for a potential turnover could skyrocket for an opportunistic back seven as a result.

--Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett versus Jets cornerbacks Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, and Michael Carter II: Led by Gardner, the 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, the Jets have a surplus of talent at the cornerback position that stacks up favorably with any other team in the league. Statistically, the group has helped New York stifle opposing passing attacks, allowing the second-fewest passing yards (1,924) and the fewest passing touchdowns (eight) in the NFL through 12 weeks. Gardner and Reed, a former starter for the Seahawks, have yielded just one touchdown in coverage apiece, while Carter currently ranks fifth among qualified cornerbacks with a 70.8 passer rating allowed in the slot.

Interestingly, the Jets shut down Metcalf and Lockett the last time these two teams met in 2022 at Lumen Field, with Gardner and Reed holding them to three combined receptions for 18 yards and no touchdowns. But the Seahawks didn't have Smith-Njigba at that time, and the second-year wideout has been on fire of late, catching 23 passes for 367 yards, the second most by a receiver in a three-game span in team history behind only Hall of Famer Steve Largent. His presence as a big-bodied slot who can win downfield as well as with the ball in his hands creating yardage breaking tackles will further complicate things for New York scheming for Seattle's elite skill weaponry, making this a true strength versus strength matchup that could hold the key to who wins on Sunday.

--Seahawks linebackers Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight versus Jets running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen: The arrival of Jones in conjunction with Knight's promotion to the starting lineup has directly coincided with Seattle's rapid turnaround defending the run. In two games together as the new starting off-ball linebackers, the duo has helped hold San Francisco and Arizona to 180 combined rushing yards, a far cry from when Macdonald's defense was giving up nearly 150 rushing yards per game prior to Week 9. Their reliability bringing down ball carriers has been a huge difference maker in those improved results, as they have combined to miss one tackle over the past two games while tallying 17 combined tackles versus the run.

While those numbers look quite stellar, Jones and Knight will have to be on top of their game against a Jets offense featuring an exciting thunder and lightning package in Hall and Allen. More of a big play threat capable of going the distance any time he touches the ball, Hall ranks 12th among backs with eight designed runs of 15-plus yards and a respectable 13th in breakaway run percentage. Allen has been held to 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie and only has forced six missed tackles so far, but the 6-2, 245-pound back presents a change of pace hammer who can grind out yards pushing the pile and wear down an opposing defense. Keeping the two runners from finding success on early downs and limiting yards after contact will be imperative for the Seahawks to have a shot at a tough road win.

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