By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Seahawks opportunistic defense leads the way in 26-21 win over Jets

OVERCOMING EARLY MISCUES

When the first-half whistle blew, the  Seahawks were still on West Coast time.  There is no other way to explain the horrendous start to the game for the Seahawks.  In their first three possessions, the Seahawks punted the ball twice and fumbled a kickoff return. In a blink of an eye, the Seahawks were down 14-0. Aaron Rodgers’ eight-yard pass to Devante Adams gave the Jets a 6-0 lead.   Leonard Williams blocked the Jet’s PAT attempt. 

Dee Wiliams’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff was cashed into another Rodgers touchdown. Rodgers’s four-yard shovel pass to  Isaiah Davis brought life to a skeptical  Jets crowd.  Breece Hall’s two-point run gave the Jets the 14-0 lead and made believers of the Jets fans who have seen too many losses by the team to believe in anything but Santa Claus.

SEAHAWKS OFFENSE COMES TO  LIFE  SORT OF

After abandoning the run in their first series, the Seahawks used a balanced attack to march 88 yards down the field in 10 plays and score on a 12-yard pass from Geno Smith to AJ Barner. Myers’ kick cut the Seahawks’ deficit to seven points, 14-7. A 99-yard kickoff return by Jets Kene Nwangu brought the crowd to its feet and gave the Jets another 14-point lead at 21-7.

OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSIVE PLAY

The Seahawks’ defense has improved in the last three games leading up to the Jets game. The improvements have been in stopping the run, cutting down on penalties, and exerting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Leonard Williams has been the ringleader. Sunday was no different. Another fumble by the Seahawks’ return team gave the ball back to the Jets, who were leading 21-7. 

CLOAK AND DAGGER

On 3rd and seven from the Seahawks nine-yard line,  Rodgers intended to pass for  Garret Wilson, was picked off by Williams, who fooled the 40-year-old  future Hall of Fame quarterback. Williams lined up like he would rush in presnap and dropped to coverage on the snap. Rodgers never saw the 6’5 “310-pound Williams, who batted the ball to himself and rambled  92 yards for the pick-six. The special teams’ miscues continued when Jason Myers’s PAT was blocked, and the score stayed at 21-13.

TURNING POINT IN THE GAME

Williams’s play inspired the defense, which had to compensate for another special team transgression. Jets kick returner Xavier Gipson gave the Jets’ offensive a favorable starting position when he returned Myers’s kickoff to the Jets’ 44-yard line.  Two straight Jets running plays saw Hall gain a total of eight yards.

ANOTHER FIELD GOAL

 A Rodgers incomplete pass on third down saw the Jets go for it on fourth down.  Rodgers looked for  Devante Adams, but the pass sailed past his favorite receiver, and the Jets returned the ball to the Seahawks on downs.   An eleven-yard run by Zach Charbonnet was followed by three incomplete  Geno Smith passes.  Myers’s 54-yard field atoned for his earlier PAT block and made it a one-touchdown game at 16-21.

DEFENSE DOMINANT IN THE SECOND HALF

An inspired Seahawks defense shut out the Jets in the second half, and the offense did enough to take the lead. After the defense forced a Jets punt to start the second half, the offense continued its short-yardage struggles.   The Seahawks drove to the Jet’s one-yard line and were stopped on four consecutive tries. The killer was Smith taking a 15-yard sack on  4th and 1.

 The defense continued its dominance and forced a Jets turnover. Julian Love forced a fumble on Hall, and  Tyrice Knight scooped the ball off the turf. The Seahawks converted the turnover into three points when Myers booted a 43-yard field goal, bringing the Seahawks within two points at 19-21. Another defensive stand forced a Jets punt.

OFFENSE CLOSES OUT THE GAME

With the defense pitching a second-half shutout, the offense made one last push. The Seahawks faced two consecutive fourth-and-one situations, and on both, the Jets were penalized and extended the drive. On third and six, Jets defensive  Will McDanold IV was called for defensive offside. Zach Charbonnet bolted left for the game-winning touchdown on third and one from the Jets’ eight-yard line. Myers made good on the kick, and the Seahawks stayed atop the NFC West with an ugly but gritty win. Head coach Mike Macdonald summed it best after the game.

“Alright, man what a crazy game. I think that’s the first time that that ever happened in the NFL. The whole series of events in the first half, but our guys were resilient, and we didn’t bat an eye, we stayed the course,’ said Macdonald .” Some crazy sequences of events happened, but you have to stick to the plan. You have to stay together, and our guys did that.”

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