'Played Out Perfect': Leonard Williams Keeps Coming Up Big as Seahawks Clip Eagles
SEATTLE, Wash. - Playing in the NFC East for the past four-plus seasons, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams has had more than his fair share of battles against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles over the years.
With his new team's playoff lives hanging in the balance on 3rd and 7 with the Seahawks trailing 17-13 and under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, that familiarity wound up paying major dividends in the closing moments of a must-win Monday Night Football matchup.
Having been tested by Hurts numerous times, including losing to him three times with the Giants a year ago, Williams knew the dual-threat quarterback would have the ball in his hands as the Eagles looked to ice a key NFC conference win. After teammate Boye Mafe crashed hard inside on a slant, the veteran defender astutely looped back outside as the quarterback flushed out of the pocket to his right and went into chase mode.
Demonstrating impressive quicks for a 300-plus pound defender, "Big Cat" pursued the mobile Hurts towards the right sideline, only for the quarterback to cut back to his left to further extend the play. But Mafe and Jarran Reed were waiting for him and continued to race after him towards the left sideline. With coverage holding up on the back end and no receivers open, Hurts' contested throw to Dallas Goedert fell incomplete, ensuring Seattle would get one last shot to orchestrate a comeback.
Thanks to Williams' efforts forcing Philadelphia to punt, backup quarterback Drew Lock engineered an improbable 92-yard touchdown drive, culminating the possession with a beautiful 29-yard strike to rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba against man coverage to put Seattle in front 20-17. Two plays later, safety Julian Love intercepted Hurts for the second time in the final quarter, calling game as the Seahawks hung on for a crucial prime time victory.
"This season, Hurts has held the ball the longest out of any quarterback," Williams said afterward. "So I know, especially in those type of situations, he wants the ball in his hands, he's going to hold the ball as long as possible, try to let his receivers get open down the field. ... It just kind of just played out perfect."
When the Seahawks acquired Williams from the Giants for a future second-round pick and fifth-round pick, they believed they were adding a game-changing defensive lineman into the fold who would come through in key situations. While his arrival didn't spur success in the win/loss column up until Monday night, he's lived up to expectations and then some, consistently making his presence felt as a pass rusher and run defender.
Making multiple impact plays on Monday night, Leonard Williams recorded two tackles for loss and a key pressure on Jalen Hurts to help Seattle send Philadelphia home with a 20-17 loss.
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Prior to Monday's contest, per Pro Football Focus, Williams had tallied 21 quarterback pressures and three sacks in his first six games with Seattle. Under the lights, the former top-10 pick out of USC continued to deliver the goods against the defending NFC champions, making splashy plays throughout the evening.
On the game's opening possession, Williams shot into the backfield on a 2nd and 6 run play past All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson, immediately blowing up running back D'Andre Swift for a three-yard loss. Then in the second quarter, the savvy veteran made consecutive tackles on the dual-threat quarterback netting just four total yards in the second quarter to set up 4th and 4. He also made an excellent read on a third quarter screen, smacking Swift six yards in the backfield for a loss.
Unfortunately for Seattle, none of those plays made by Williams contributed to a stop. Philadelphia cashed in with Hurts diving past the goal line for a three-yard touchdown on the opening series, a conversion on the aforementioned fourth down setting up a Jake Elliott field goal to put the visitors up by 10 points, and the blown up screen was followed up with a 3rd and 9 conversion to A.J. Brown and another Hurts rushing touchdown on the infamous "tush push" quarterback sneak play at the goal line.
"They do a good job with it," Williams said of Philadelphia's signature short yardage play. "I think a big part of it has to be [Jordan] Mailata, he's an ex-rugby player. He must have taught them something about a rugby scrum or something like that. I don't know. That's pretty hard to stop."
But in the final quarter, after several nice plays by the veteran in the first half wound up being all for naught, Williams efforts had a direct effect on Seattle's strong defensive finish to set the table for Lock's heroics in the final minute.
After Hurts powered in from a yard out to put the Eagles back in front 17-10 midway through the third quarter, the Seahawks recouped defensively, forcing two punts and creating a pair of turnovers on their final four series. Allowing just 77 net yards on those possessions, the defense tightened up the screws, consistently finishing tackles and playing tight coverage on the back end.
Flashing in the middle as Seattle held serve in the closing minutes, Williams swam past guard Sua Opeta on 2nd and 7 and worked back to his left to meet Swift behind the line of scrimmage, bringing him down for no gain to set up the decisive third down play. On the next snap, he and his defensive line cohorts hunted after Hurts sideline-to-sideline, seemingly running a mile before coaxing an incompletion.
Unlike previous weeks where the Seahawks weren't able to rise to the occasion and make pivotal stops when the team needed them amid a four-game losing streak, Williams and the rest of the defense came through in the clutch, opening the door for Lock to construct his own heartwarming triumph in Geno Smith's stead.
"I think mindset wise, we bent but didn't break," Williams commented. "You could tell guys were like locked in, they had some really long drives on those opening possessions and I think guys were doing their thing, but they just did a little better on those drives and guys weren't hanging their heads and feeling defeated or anything like that. We I felt like we were competing out there today. And guys were just communicating and playing off of each other and just kept it rolling."
With three games remaining, though the Seahawks don't necessarily control their own destiny with the Rams and Vikings holding tiebreakers over them, Monday's win dramatically improved their playoff hopes. Set to square off with three teams who have lost at least seven games to close out the season, the schedule sets up favorably for the team to run the table and get back to the postseason following an unforgiving November/December gauntlet.
But as Seattle has been painfully reminded a few times this season, wins in the NFL are never a given and the team won't have long to celebrate with a short week to prepare for a road trip to Tennessee. Enjoying the taste of victory for as long as he could after starring in the trenches in prime time, Williams hopes Monday's theatrics serve as the kick starter the team needs to go on a late run and make noise in January.
"That felt great. That was a big win for the team. A lot of energy going forward to finish the season off right. We still got a few games ahead of us, but I think for now we got to enjoy this win. Guys played great, guys stepped up when they needed to step up and we got away with the win."
