Fast Start Guides Ken Walker III, Seahawks to Season-Saving Win Over Jets

Keyed by explosive plays early and a dominant defensive effort at all three levels, the Seattle Seahawks kept their postseason hopes alive heading towards the season finale by coming through with a crucial 17-point win over the New York Jets.

Keeping their playoff hopes alive heading into the final week of the season, the Seattle Seahawks scored on each of their first three possessions and an aggressive defense kept the Jets out of the end zone to secure a 23-6 win at Lumen Field.

Eclipsing 4,000 yards for the season and completing a trio of wins against former teams, quarterback Geno Smith threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Ken Walker III became the third rookie in franchise history to hit the century mark with 133 yards rushing on the ground. Spearheading a dominant effort on defense, safety Quandre Diggs and cornerback Mike Jackson recorded interceptions and Darrell Taylor racked up a career-high 2.5 sacks.

Here are five quick takeaways from Seattle's season-saving win at home:

1. Smith rebounds with an efficient, productive outing against his original team using secondary targets.

Amid a three-game skid, Smith endured his worst stretch of the season as Seattle's offense sputtered, throwing a trio of interceptions compared to only four touchdowns. But with the playoffs on the line and the franchise that drafted him on the opposite sideline, the veteran signal-caller bounced back nicely, completing 8 of 12 passes in the first half while leading three straight scoring drives to open the game.

He opened the scoring by connecting with tight end Colby Parkinson, who created separation in the red zone on a skinny corner route as the quarterback hit him on the money for six points. Two drives later, he hooked up with tight end Tyler Mabry from seven yards out, threading the needle between two defenders to push the lead to 17-6.

In the second half, Smith's overall numbers weren't as good and contributed to the offense only scoring six points after halftime, including trying to take back a pass in the fourth quarter that squirted out of his hands for a 12-yard loss on a fumble.

But he wasn't helped by drops either. This included an insane throw on a vertical route to DK Metcalf in the fourth quarter where he dropped the ball right into the receiver's hands between cornerback Sauce Gardner and an oncoming safety, only for the pass to bounce off his hands for an incompletion. While it wasn't his best game this year, Smith still completed 60 percent of his passes and posted a quality 102.3 passer rating, impressively doing so with Metcalf and Tyler Lockett combining for just 18 receiving yards.

2. A revived run game led by Walker explodes early, sets tone on offense.

Picking up where they left off after finding success running the ball against the Chiefs in a Week 16 defeat, the Seahawks got off to the races running the ball against the Jets top-five ranked run defense. Taking a hand-off on the first play from scrimmage, Walker nearly made a house call right off the bat, slipping through the line of scrimmage to find a massive crease and gaining 60 yards before being tripped up in the red zone. A few plays later, Smith hit Parkinson to give Seattle a quick seven point advantage. By halftime, the dynamic rookie nearly had hit 100 yards, posting 95 yards on just 12 carries.

On top of Walker's stellar running between the tackles, DeeJay Dallas happily played the complementary hammer role and provided a spark in the passing game. Setting up Smith's second touchdown toss to Mabry, he caught a short shovel pass after the quarterback scrambled up the pocket, turning upfield with nothing but green in front of him to pick up 41 yards down to the Jets seven-yard line. On top of producing the longest reception of the afternoon, he ran hard between the tackles bulldozing through New York defenders, gaining a hard-earned 43 yards on seven carries to help Seattle win the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes.

3. Darrell Taylor turns in best game of the season leading feisty Seahawks pass rush to rock an erratic Mike White.

Back from a ribs injury that cost him two games, the Jets welcomed White back as if an in-his-prime Joe Namath was walking back on the field, hoping his return would spark a dormant offense. Unfortunately, Taylor and Seattle's inconsistent pass rush had other plans, dominating an overwhelmed New York offensive line and dialing up consistent pressure to make the quarterback uncomfortable.

In the first half, a surging Taylor teamed up with Quinton Jefferson on 3rd and 16 to sack White for the first time, forcing the Jets to settle for a 44-yard field goal and keep the Seahawks lead at 17-6 with under nine minutes to go in the second quarter. Then, with six seconds left before halftime, he shot out of a cannon off the edge and beat ex-Seahawk George Fant, stripping White as he attempted to throw for a turnover to close out the half.

Gaining confidence from those clutch plays, Taylor continued to spearhead Seattle's pass rushing onslaught on White in the second half and even when they weren't coming after the quarterback, he displayed happy feet and uncharacteristic inaccuracy. Clearly rattled and unable to get on track with the rush bearing down on him all afternoon, he completed just 50 percent of his passes and threw two ugly interceptions while being sacked four times, including Taylor finishing the game off with an exclamation point by chasing him in pursuit and bringing him down for a painful game-ending sack.

Overall, the Seahawks racked up 10 quarterback hits on White, dishing the punishment while pitching a second-half shutout.

4. Even without Jordyn Brooks in the second half, Seattle’s run defense hardens after shaky start.

Putting a damper on an otherwise dominant victory, the Seahawks lost Brooks with what appeared to be a serious right knee injury in the second quarter. The third-year linebacker, who ranks second in the NFL in tackles, exited on a cart after clutching his knee following a tackle along the sideline, putting his status for the rest of the season in doubt. But if there's a silver lining, after the Jets found great success running the ball on their first couple of possessions, the defense as a whole stepped up without their leader in the middle, turning in another solid effort and forcing the Jets to throw the football more than they wanted to while trailing by multiple scores.

Though the Jets averaged a respectable 4.4 yards per carry for the game, most of that damage came on a 22-yard run by Ty Johnson and a 19-yard run by Zonovan Knight in the first quarter. After that point, Seattle's defense tightened things up, bottling up both ball carriers for 19 total rushing yards in the final three quarters and negative rushing yardage in the second half.

Leading the charge, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and Shelby Harris recorded two tackles for loss and the team as a whole amassed seven tackles in the backfield, preventing Johnson or Knight from finding any running room behind a struggling offensive line. While Brooks' absence will  was another positive step forward in the right direction with one week left to play.

5. Special teams continues to be elite - albeit not perfect - for the Seahawks.

Even as Seattle has slumped throughout the second half losing five of its previous six games, special teams has remained a clear area of strength. They once again left a notable mark on Sunday's win, starting with strong play in the punt game on both sides of the football.

Nursing an 11-point lead with only a minute to play, Pro Bowl alternate Michael Dickson worked his magic getting a perfect bounce on a punt inside the five-yard line, allowing rookie receiver Dareke Young to down the ball at the one. Then, midway through the third quarter with the Jets facing fourth down deep in their own territory, cornerback Xavier Crawford nearly blocked Braden Mann's punt and his presence led to the punter shanking the ball off the right side of his foot. The ball traveled just 24 yards, though the offense couldn't capitalize before half.

As for Myers, while he did prove he is human by missing a 41-yard field goal wide right in the fourth quarter, he connected on his other three field goal attempts and continued to be a beacon of reliability in the place-kicking department. For the season, Myers has split the uprights on 30 of 32 field-goal attempts - or nearly 94 percent - looking the part of an All-Pro kicker.

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