Devon Witherspoon stars, pass rush dominates Giants, Seahawks battered yet still roll
As Devon Witherspoon jumped the route his film study of the opponent said was coming, after he grabbed his first NFL interception and was running to the other end zone to win his third pro game, the rookie thought of friends.
The fifth pick in this year’s draft was running alone the final 20 yards of his 97-yard return for the touchdown. It turned this Seahawks game that was harder than it should have been into a route. In the end zone to celebrate, the 22-year-old cornerback did a silly, Gumby-like dance waving his arms and legs to angry New York Giants fans.
“It’s a Cali dance,” Witherspoon said. “Shout to my dawgs (from his days starring at the University of Illinois). They taught me that my freshman year in college.
“I was just trying to get to the box (the end zone), man. That was incredible moment for me. First career pick is a pick-6 on Monday night football. Man, it don’t get no better.”
This — the read, the play, the dance, his seven tackles, two sacks, three hits on quarterback Daniel Jones, two tackles for losses, one pass broken up and the game-breaking touchdown in a 24-3 runaway from New York — is why the Seahawks didn’t draft Jalen Carter this spring.
“I never thought he wouldn’t play like this,” coach Pete Carroll said after the Witherspoon’s third career start — and a third consecutive win for Seattle (3-1).
“This is why we took him. ...He’s an explosive, dynamic player.
“It was a beautiful job. He showed who he is.”
Jamal Adams finally returned. Then he got hurt again — and got into a pointed argument with an NFL doctor who took him out of the game.
Franchise quarterback Geno Smith joined eight other starters injured. Drew Lock had to make his team debut in his second year with Seattle. Oh, and four of five starters on the offensive line were hurt, resulting in the center becoming the fill-in left guard.
Amid all that, Witherspoon shined brightest in his third career start, his first one in prime time in New York.
The fifth pick in this year’s draft moved from cornerback inside to nickel DB, and back, Monday night. And he single-handedly dominated the Giants.
Witherspoon’s end-zone-to-other-end-zone score turned what was 3 yards from being a 14-10 game into a rout. At the bench following the score, captain Bobby Wagner was trying to continue the celebration. He patiently waited, and waited ... while Witherspoon sucked through an oxygen mask.
“He’s really coming into his own every time he plays,” Wagner said. “He’s very, very smart. And every time he steps out there he gets smarter.
“His ability to blitz, tackle, how smart he is, you can move him on the outside. You can move him on the inside. He can cover really well. It’s the ability to interchange him at any position makes him very versatile.”
Seattle’s defense stormed through New York’s offensive line, blitzing and looping and battering Jones with 11 sacks — tying the Seahawks’ record for a game from 1986 — and three turnovers that led directly to 21 points. Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Uchenna Nwosu and Witherspoon each had two sacks.
Witherspoon said he’s never had two sacks in a game.
Coordinator Clint Hurtt studied a bad Giants offensive line and made it worse, blitzing from off the edge, up the middle, deep in the secondary and seemingly the nearby Lincoln Tunnel.
Seattle had just five sacks through three games. Now it has 16.
“We’d seen it on film. They’d kind of struggled with (blitzes) the last few weeks. So we had to,” Brooks said over Lionel Richie blaring “All Night Long” through the visiting locker room.
“Shoot, we wanted to take advantage.”
Brooks wasn’t calling Witherspoon’s national-televised showcase a “coming out” of his talents to the country.
“I thought he was came out when he came out (into the league),” Brooks said. “This is definitely a special night for him.
“He just brings a lot of attitude and juice to our defense.”
Rookie Derick Hall blitzed and hit Jones as he threw his second interception, a fluttering ball to Quandre Diggs. Seattle’s safety returned that across midfield in the fourth quarter. Jason Myers converted that into a field goal for a 24-3 lead with 5 minutes left.
At that point, about the only fans left in MetLife Stadium (Seahawks Home Field East) were wearing Seattle’s blue and green. The Seahawks improved to 5-0 in the Meadowlands stadium across the Hudson River from Manhattan. That includes their 43-8 romp past Denver in Super Bowl 48 to end the 2013 season.
Kenneth Walker followed his 97-yard, two-touchdown rushing day in Seattle’s win over Carolina last week with 17 carries for 79 yards and another touchdown Monday night.
Smith completed 13 of 20 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. He left in the second quarter with a knee injury. That was after he scrambled to his left, got to the sidelines, then got pulled down hard into a mass of Giants.
Smith returned for the start of the third quarter. Drew Lock played two series for him, one of those resulted in a Seahawks touchdown and 11-point lead.
It didn’t matter, because of how Witherspoon and the defense owned the Giants.
Smith said that was the best he’s seen the Seahawks’ defense play in his four seasons with the team.
Geno Smith’s early score
Smith’s and DK Metcalf’s deft plays created the game’s first touchdown, after defensive end Mario Edwards forced a fumble by Giants quarterback Daniel Jones that Seattle’s Jordyn Brooks recovered at the New York 7-yard line.
Smith stiff-armed a Giants pass rusher as he ran to his right to throw. Metcalf then did a Tyler Lockett-like deke — though Metcalf doesn’t call it that — of the unknowing DB in the end zone, who had his back to Smith. The cornerback had no idea the pass was coming as it whizzed by him to Metcalf’s arms for the touchdown and 7-0 lead for the Seahawks.
Metcalf said it’s the first time he’s successfully done that move of a sandbag, ball’s not coming to me — then, Bang! Touchdown.
“Practicing the scramble drill. Geno put it in the right place,” Metcalf said. “I made a late reaction, like Lockett did last week (against Carolina).
“Yeah, Lockett does it the best with the late hands, anytime a defender is close with him. Just catching the ball late, when they don’t have time to get their hands in to knock it away. When his back is turned to the quarterback and he’s facing me, that’s the perfect time to do it.”
This was the 15th consecutive game for Smith with at least one touchdown pass dating to last October. Only Patrick Mahomes has a longer streak in the NFL, at 26 games.
“We practice it all the time, off-schedule plays,” Smith said.
“I just saw the DB’s back turned. DK kind of gave me a head nod to throw it. And I put it in a spot that he can get it, and he made a great catch.
“I mean, that’s what you look for. It’s hard for that guy to find the ball and make a play.”
The Seahawks blew a chance to increase their 14-3 lead on the first drive of the third quarter. Smith re-entered the game for that drive, and connected three times with Tyler Lockett for 40 yards on the drive inside the Giants 20-yard line. Kenneth Walker was stopped on third and short. On fourth and shorter, Smith rolled outside and threw behind covered running back Zach Charbonnet incomplete.
The Seahawks’ defense got back-to-back sacks of Jones to end the ensuing drive. The latter one on third down, Seattle’s sixth of the game, was Wagner’s. But that was after edge rusher Boye Mafe beat his man and forced Jones up in the collapsing pocket into Wagner.
The resulting punt and DeeJay Dallas 23-yard return gave Seattle a drive start across midfield. But Smith had a second-down screen pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage then threw wide and low of Lockett. Jason Myers missed a 53-yard attempt, and the Seahawks still led only 14-3 in a game they were dominating.
Witherspoon made all that not matter.
Drew Lock debuts
Lock was in for the first regular-season snaps of his two years with the team.
Smith limped off as Seattle called a time out before a third down. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron sent in a play that required Smith to make no steps. He just grabbed the shotgun snap and tried to throw a quick screen outside to the right. Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux almost intercepted it. He had no one in front of him to the end zone. Had he caught it, New York would have had a touchdown and the lead.
Instead, Seattle punted while leading 7-3.
Smith went to the sidelines flexing his right knee. Then he went into the medical observation tent behind the Seahawks’ bench. Wide receivers Lockett and Metcalf went in there to check on him.
After a stop by Seattle’s defense, Lock entered to make his Seahawks debut. Smith remained on the sidelines behind Carroll, with his helmet on.
Lock missed on his first two throws, the first off the hands of rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba after a quarterback bootleg. Lock, the former Denver starter the Seahawks acquired trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos in the spring of 2022, then connected on third and 10 with tight end Noah Fant. Lock’s former Broncos teammate also acquired in the Wilson trade ran free down the right sideline 51 yards, to the Giants 1-yard line.
Walker ran from there for a touchdown. The Seahawks led 14-3 late into the second half.
Lock remained in the game for Seattle’s final series of the half.
Before he got hurt, Smith completed nine of 11 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter to Metcalf.
Devon Witherspoon nickel
Nickel Coby Bryant (toe) and his backup Artie Burns (hamstring) were both inactive. That meant Witherspoon moved inside to nickel, fifth defensive back in the slot. That’s where Carroll moved him during minicamps in June.
Michael Jackson became the left cornerback.
That worked out OK, eh?
The Seahawks are kicking themselves — particularly Carroll is — for the horrid second half they played in a 30-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams Sept. 10 in the opener,. Since then, they haven’t lost.
Carroll particularly cherishes how Seattle has dominated the second half of the last three games. It’s 65-31 Seahawks after halftime the last three games.
They now take the bye week off before their next game, Oct. 15 at Cincinnati (1-3).
Usually, teams don’t like a bye this early in the 17-game season. But Seattle needs it. Now.
“Yeah, this is a really good time for it,” Carroll said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 8:21 PM.
