DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrice Knight double TD duo leads Seahawks’ rout of Arizona
This past week, DeMarcus Lawrence had a press conference. He doesn’t have many. He wanted to remember and honor Marshawn Kneeland.
The Seahawks 12th-year veteran defensive end wanted the world to know how shocked and sad he was that his former Dallas Cowboys teammate had died hours earlier, after a police chase in an apparent suicide.
Lawrence also advocated for higher awareness of mental-health issues, including with those seemingly well-off playing in the NFL.
“It’s tough to lose a brother, in a situation like this,” Lawrence said without being asked at the start of his statements Thursday.
“He loved to smile. ...I loved being around him.
“I feel like people don’t understand that our words do have power. We throw them around so loosely...our words can cut deep,” Lawrence also said.
“We don’t know what anybody is going through.”
Three days later, Lawrence had an incredible game. In just the first half.
Lawrence picked up two fumbles by Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett in the first 16 minutes of play Sunday. Blitzing teammate Tyrice Knight, playing linebacker only because Ernest Jones was out injured, forced both fumbles with hits to Brissett’s arm as he sacked the QB. Lawrence returned both fumbles for two touchdowns to rock the roaring home fans.
That’s twice as many fumble-recovery scores as the 33-year-old former Boise State Bronco star had in 148 NFL games over 12 years, 11 with the Cowboys, before Sunday.
“Shoot,” Lawrence said later Sunday, “you can’t draw that up.
“T-Knight did a great job running the plays exactly how Coach Macdonald drew it up. And I was the lucky recipient of two forced fumbles. I’ll take that ANY day.”
Lawrence became the fourth NFL player in 105 years to score two touchdowns on fumble recoveries in the same game. He and Knight led Seattle to a 35-0 lead not even midway through the second quarter at sunny-all-over Lumen Field. “Two touchdowns by the same two guys?” Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori said.
“Crazy.”
At that point, the total yards were Seahawks 210, Cardinals 32. Game over.
Lawrence also blew up a fourth-down run off tackle by the Cardinals for a turnover on downs in the second quarter. That was the first of two goal-line stands by Seattle’s defense. Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the league’s leading receiver. Running back George Holani scooted around right end for his first career TD.
And the Seahawks had their second consecutive runaway win, 44-22 over the Cardinals. “Plenty of stuff to work on,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said, with a knowing chuckle.
He praised the entire roster, all 70 guys including the practice squad that got used again Sunday, for another week of preparation and performance.
“It took all 70 again. That’s how we roll,” Macdonald said. “Attribute it to our guys dedicating (to) how we play our style of football, all the time. No matter the situation. That’s what we’re chasing.
“When we do it right, we play pretty good ball.”
With a huge lead early, Darnold didn’t have to throw. He completed 10 of a season-low 12 pass attempts, for 178 yards. He had the TD pass but three turnovers for Seattle (7-2), in its seventh victory in eight games. “I can’t say enough about our defense,” Darnold said. “The way our defense comes out there, every game, it seems like...
“I feel very, just, lucky to play with a team like this and a defense like this, as well.”
The Seahawks have out-scored Washington and Arizona 69-14 in the first half of their last two games.
It sets up a battle royale next Sunday afternoon between the Seahawks (7-2) and Los Angeles Rams (7-2) in Inglewood, California, for the NFC West lead. L.A. won at San Francisco (6-4) Sunday.
The concerns for the Seahawks in the win Sunday: Center Jalen Sundell left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, replaced by Olu Oluwatimi.
And Darnold’s ball security. Again.
Darnold and Oluwatimi messed up a snap for a fumble recovered by Arizona at Seattle’s 3-yard line. Then Darnold continued his season-long issues holding onto and throwing the ball with pass rushers closing in on him. He threw an interception that caromed off the helmet of pass-blocking tight end AJ Barner deep in Seahawks territory in the third quarter.
The Cardinals converted both of those turnovers in Seattle’s end into their only two touchdowns of the first three quarters. “It was a little funky there in the second half,” Macdonald said.
The coach chalked up the lost fumble on the snap to “operations,” meaning with a new center on one of his first snaps with Darnold.
Later that third period, Darnold lost the ball stepping up and away from glancing contact by Arizona’s Josh Sweat. Seahawks sixth, dime defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett broke up a fourth-down pass from Brissett to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone to keep Seattle’s lead at 38-15 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
At that point, with Darnold and the offense giving the ball away, it was a good thing for the Seahawks Lawrence and Knight had scored their touchdowns.
After his second fumble return for a touchdown Sunday pushed Seattle’s lead to 28-0 not even 1 minute into the second quarter, Lawrence was on the sideline hugging Knight. Then he pantomimed with his helmet in the crook of his right arm how he grabbed the ball and ran 22 yards to the end zone with Brissett’s second lost fumble.
Lawrence had a huge smile. He tapped his chest to Knight, the demoted starter from 2024 and latest injury fill-in to Macdonald’s defense to come up large.
Knight played middle linebacker Sunday because Jones was out with a knee injury. He used two different blitzes up the middle on Brissett for his two sacks and forced fumbles.
Jacoby Brissett, the target
The Seahawks essentially won this Sunday game on Tuesday last week.
That’s when Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon announced Brissett was going to start at Seattle instead of the banged-up Kyler Murray.
Macdonald and his Seahawks pass rushers knew Arizona with Brissett instead of the speedy Murray at quarterback plays into the strength of Seattle’s defense. That is, an upfield, vertical pass rush on a relatively static QB who, unlike the elusive Murray, stays inside the pocket. Seattle’s preparation for this Arizona game was so different than the disciplined, looping pass rushes outside-in they typically employ against Murray.
“It was a lot different,” Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy said, “because Murray, he likes to run around in the pocket and everything.
“And Brissett, he’s just a guy he sits there. He’s a sitting duck. ...
“It was really just, push the pocket back into Brissett.”
Job done. Game won.
Murray likely would have run away from each those sacks Knight got to force those fumbles Lawrence turned into game-changing touchdowns.
Instead, with Macdonald blitzing linebackers and safeties up the middle, the Seahawks sacked Brissett five times and hit him seven times on his first 18 drop backs to pass in the first half. Besides Knight’s first two sacks of the season, Boye Mafe had his first sack in nine games. Leonard Williams got his fifth sack of the season. Lawrence and Emmanwori shared a sack.
“We knew he wasn’t going to get out of the pocket much,” Lawrence said of the 32-year-old Brissett. “So we could go pin our ears back and hunt.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba OK
Bellevue High School and former University of Washington star Budda Baker got a 15-yard penalty in the first half for hitting Smith-Njigba high near the head after Darnold’s incomplete pass sailed past at the goal line.
The league’s concussion spotter from the press box called down the field officials to have Smith-Njigba removed from the game for an assessment on the sideline for a possible concussion. The receiver was visibly frustrated by that decision.
Minutes later, the league’s concussion advisor on the sideline emerged from the tent. Smith-Njigba soon followed him out of the tent, and back into the game. “I realized what was going on. I didn’t realize it was going to be multiple plays later. I wanted to stay in the game because I felt fine,” Smith-Njigba said.
“But that’s the protocol. Got to abide by the rules.”
The NFL leader in yards receiving had 93 more on five catches, four in the first half. He finished 7 yards short of extending his team record with 100 yards receiving. As he has all season, he again got open against the Cardinals defense on crossing routes, go routes, slants, against all coverages and cover men.
Smith-Njigba has 1,041 yards through nine games. He entered the weekend 117 yards ahead of Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and everyone else in the league. “I feel blessed, man,” Seattle’s first-round pick in 2023 said, looking the part of a star with an open collar showing off a glittering chain under a red, leather coat, collar turned up. “I’m thankful I’m healthy and can continue this thing going to next week.
“It’s a long season, and we’ve got a lot more games and ways to go. I’m just focused, locked in and ready to prepare for L.A.”
Rashid Shaheed’s Seahawks debut
Five days after he arrived in a trade of two third-day draft picks to New Orleans, Rashid Shaheed played at wide receiver plus as the Seahawks’ punt and kickoff returner.
He got those latter two roles with rookie Tory Horton out injured.
Shaheed was involved right away. He returned the opening kickoff 22 yards, with fellow wide receiver Cody White stepping back to let the new guy run up and field the shorter kickoff. Shaheed was in for four of the offense’s first seven plays.
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had Darnold hand the ball to the speedy Shaheed on end-around rushes twice, for a total of 20 yards and two first downs in the first half.
“Stuff I was expecting,” Shaheed said of Kubiak, who was his play caller with the Saints last season. “Coach Kubs’ likes to mix things up.”
Darnold targeted Shaheed once with a pass, for a 3-yard catch. He returned three kickoffs for 67 yards. He had fair catches on all four of the punts he fielded. “I was just happy to be out there, man, to be able to help the team in any way I can,” Shaheed said amid more boomin’ locker-room music after a Seahawks win. “I felt like I came in prepared. I felt I did a good job throughout the week preparing, talking with my coaches. It was fun.
What a difference a week makes. This time last week Shaheed was on the 1-8 Saints getting routed by the Rams in California.
Now he’s headed back to L.A. with the first-place, 7-2 Seahawks for a showdown for the NFC West lead.
“There’s a great vibe. A bunch of good dudes,” Shaheed said of Seattle. “A bunch of guys who love to win, love to compete and come in every day ready to work.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 4:22 PM.
