Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf, Jamal Adams and smiles all over in Seahawks’ 40-3 rout of Jets
Jamal Adams was flapping his arms and breaking an NFL record, against his former team.
Yeah, he’s sure happy he’s not with the Jets any more.
Russell Wilson was re-setting his own franchise record with four more touchdown passes.
DK Metcalf was climbing into the empty stands to show a birthday message to a television cameraperson to celebrate his score.
Duane Brown of the usually unsung offensive line was spiking the ball emphatically into the blue end zone to celebrate tight end Will Dissly’s touchdown.
Tyler Lockett was taking the ball Brown spiked from the official in the end zone and bringing it back to the Seahawks’ sideline. Lockett, who knows the long grind back from a major injury, wanted Dissly to have his second touchdown ball since the unassuming tight end’s season-ending torn Achilles tendon 14 months ago.
Party time on turf returned for the Seahawks on Sunday at empty-again Lumen Field. A slow start that felt like a leftover from the previous week’s face-plant home loss to the Giants became a 40-3 victory over the winless New York Jets.
The biggest runaway win for Seattle in more than eight years felt like the first month and a half of this see-sawing Seahawks season.
It was a rout in every way. Seattle’s defense held the Jets to 185 yards, while the Seahawks’ offense rolled up 410.
“It’s clear we’ve made a pretty big turn,” on defense, coach Pete Carroll said.
“I’m really fired up that at this time of the year we are playing our best football” on a defense that spent the first couple months of the season ranked last in yards and points allowed.
In all, a very reassuring—if not, given the competition, a completely definitive—way to head to Washington for Seattle’s game there next week. The Seahawks kept pace with the Rams (9-4) atop the NFC West, pushing the two rivals’ game in Seattle Dec. 27 more toward one for the division championship in two weeks.
Wilson became the first player in NFL history to have a winning record as a full-time starting quarterback for each of his first nine seasons.
“Stay focused on the mission,” Wilson said. “And the mission is to win it all.”
“If people only knew how many hours I spend on it, it’d be fascinating.”
Wilson’s rebound
Wilson rebounded from a five-sack, 12-point game with four touchdown passes in the first 2 1/2 quarters Sunday. He finished 21 for 27 passing for 206 yards and a passer rating of 122.6. It was his fifth game this season with four or more touchdown throws.
His 36 touchdown passes this season re-set the Seahawks’ record. He threw for 35 scores in 2018.
One week after he was holding onto the ball too long while getting sacked five times on deep-pass calls the Giants blanketed, Seattle’s plan was for Wilson to throw more quickly. That was a product of Jets’ new defensive coordinator Frank Bush calling his first game since New York fired Gregg Williams, and the Seahawks not being sure how the Jets would play.
They played the way the other New York did: trying to take away Metcalf and Seattle’s deep-passing game.
“We knew they were probably going to do a lot of different things,” Wilson said. “And sure enough, they did” in different man, zone, cloud coverages and blitzes.
“We were on it.”
He did throw another interception, in the first half. That set a career high, too, his 12th interception this season and ninth in his last eight games after Seattle’s 5-0 start.
It got so good for Seattle that Wilson exited the game late in the third quarter. It was the first time anyone other than him had taken a snap in a regular-season game for the Seahawks in three years, since December 2017. Wilson looked antsy, standing with his helmet still on along the sideline’s edge watching Geno Smith take his first real game snaps in his years as Wilson’s backup.
Such were the spoils of the Seahawks’ largest margin of victory since their 58-0 win over the Cardinals on Dec. 9, 2012, Wilson’s rookie season.
Adams frolicked in his first game against the Jets (0-13), the team that drafted him four years ago. He blitzed some more and set the league record for sacks by a defensive back in a season.
Carson returns. Fully.
Through all the celebrating and smiles, the biggest development for the Seahawks (9-4) to carry into the final three games of the regular season and push for an eighth postseason appearance in nine years had to be Chris Carson returning to full prominence in the offense.
Carson, declared by Carroll to be “full go” this past week for his third game back from a month out with a sprained foot, romped for 76 yards on 12 breezy carries. It was most yards he’d gained since week 4 in Seattle’s win at Miami. His 5-yard touchdown run late in the first half that made it 23-3 was more of a joyful gallop.
At the end of his 28-yard sprint through the middle of the Jets defense that set up Dissly’s 10-yard touchdown catch and Seattle’s 30-3 lead in the third quarter, Carson popped off the ground and a did a shoulder shimmy.
It was like his team: as comfortable as they’ve looked in months.
The game didn’t start perfectly for the Seahawks. The Jets easily drove down the field on the opening possession and kicked a field goal for an early 3-0 lead. Wilson threw his ninth interception in the last seven games plus one quarter. He tried to hit Metcalf for a touchdown along the left sideline but New York’s Marcus Maye brilliantly tapped the pass to himself while jumping in front of Metcalf for the turnover.
Wilson had three interceptions through the Seahawks’ first five games.
At one point in the first quarter Metcalf threw his hands up and shook his head as Wilson’s pass to him outside to the left soared out of bounds, wide of his receiver by 5 yards.
Then, as Carroll had insisted it must, it was the running game that got the Seahawks in control of this one. For a change.
Four of Seattle’s first six offensive play calls were runs, before Wilson’s touchdown pass of 19 yards to wide-open rookie Freddie Swain gave the Seahawks a 7-3 lead. Carlos Hyde ran for 40 yards on Seattle’s third offensive possession.
“That was Seahawks football,” Carroll said.
Metcalf’s comedy
On the first play of the second quarter, Metcalf expertly moved away from Jets cornerback Bryce Hall without revealing that Wilson’s pass was arriving. Hall, intent on Metcalf, had his back turned. The wide receiver caught the perfectly placed pass over his outside shoulder, then tapped both feet inside the side boundary at the back right of the end zone for Wilson’s 34th touchdown pass this season.
Metcalf then disappeared from the field briefly, into the tunnel to the locker room—like Bo Jackson in the old Kingdome during a Raiders-Seahawks Monday night game in 1987.
After he returned from the tunnel, Metcalf jumped over the railing behind the south end zone and into the empty stands to visit the CBS TV camera person and show him a birthday message printed on a card from fellow Seahawks wide receivers after his TD catch.
He got a penalty for it: 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Carroll wasn’t upset at Metcalf’s exuberance. The coach just came over to Metcalf on the Seahawks bench and said something to him. Then the coach laughed through his mask and tapped Metcalf’s chest.
After the game Carroll said he didn’t see the stunt from the sideline.
“I hope it was worthy of a penalty,” the coach said.
Record breaker
Adams now is, as Carroll had said he could become, the “sacky-est” defensive back in NFL history.
The Seahawks’ All-Pro free safety, acquired in a trade from the Jets this summer, sacked his friend Sam Darnold on yet another of his blitzes, in the first half of Seattle’s game against New York Sunday.
It gave Adams 8 1/2 sacks this season. That is an NFL record for a defensive back. He broke the record of eight, set by Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals in 2005.
Carroll was so pumped for Adams’ accomplishment he gave a Seahawks rarity to his strong safety in the locker room after the game: a game ball.
Carroll said he doesn’t think he’s done that since he gave one to late owner Paul Allen years ago.
Adams broke the mark in his ninth game with Seattle. He missed four games in the middle of the season because of a strained groin.
He had said Friday he hoped to set the record against the Jets.
“Yeah, obviously, that has been on my mind,” Adams said. “Breaking the record, I said I was going to do it last year when I failed. I always told myself, whenever I put my mind to something I’m going to get it done. That’s just how I’m wired. ...
“Will be it be sweet? Yes, of course.
“I’d be lying if I said I’m not excited.”
Adams blitzed five times in the first half Sunday. His record-setting sack was somewhat harmless compared to his usual rushes deep into opposing backfields. Darnold was scrambling up the field and Adams tackled him just behind the line of scrimmage. Officially, because the play began as an attempted pass, the loss of yardage equaled a sack.
Adams’ previous career high in sacks was 6 1/2, which he set last season with the Jets.
He spent his time on the field before the game warming up with fellow Seahawks defensive backs along the mostly empty Jets sideline. He waved to former teammates. He hugged a couple of his old assistant coaches. He shared a long hug and pats on the back with Jets linebacker Tarell Basham.
Adams had said he was looking forward to playing against and hitting Darnold. For two years in practices with New York, Adams had to avoid the third-overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft because he was always wearing a no-contact jersey, common for all quarterbacks in the league.
“I finally get after Sam a little bit. One of my guys, man,” Adams said. “I have a lot of respect for Sam. Just to face him, and he doesn’t have a red jersey on, because I’m kind of used to that...it’s going to be fun, man.”
It was for Adams and the Seahawks early on Sunday. They led 23-3 in the second quarter.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
