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Brady Henderson
Seattle– demarcus lawrence Quickly picked up the loose ball with his right hand and never touched it with his left hand on his way to the end zone for a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
If it seemed like the veteran outside linebacker had done this before, that’s because he had done it — only minutes earlier, and in nearly the same play.
One of the main attractions for Seattle Seahawks in their 44-22 victory over Arizona Cardinals Lawrence had two return touchdowns in the first half at Lumen Field on Sunday, both of which came on fumbles caused by blitzing inside linebackers. tyreese knight,
According to ESPN Research, Lawrence became the fourth player in NFL history with multiple fumble return touchdowns in a single game, and the first since jeremy chinn there were two for carolina panthers In 2020. The Seahawks used those two scores to take a 38–7 lead at halftime and win their fourth straight, keeping Mike McDonald’s team on top of the NFC West. Los Angeles RamsTheir opponent at the SoFi Stadium next week.
“You can’t overdo it,” said Lawrence, who had two defensive touchdowns in 12 NFL seasons entering Sunday. “T-Knight did a great job, ran the play exactly how Coach McDonald designed it, and I was the lucky recipient of two forced fumbles. I’ll take that any day.”
Lawrence’s first touchdown came on a 34-yard return midway through the first quarter. Like the second quarter – which came early in the second quarter – the officials reviewed the play and upheld the on-field ruling that the ball was not in progress when Knight fumbled the ball away from the quarterback. Jacoby Brissett‘s hand.
The oddity of the plays was that the Seahawks entered Week 10 and had yet to commit an upset on defense despite ranking fourth in the league with fewest points allowed per game at 18.0.
“I can’t believe D-Law got another one,” MacDonald said. “I was like, ‘Oh crap, it’s that thing again.’ But the way he attacks the ball, T-night, he is amazing. We haven’t had a fumble on defense yet this whole year and we had two today. This is awareness. Just to take advantage of those opportunities was amazing.”
The Seahawks had the NFL’s third-lowest blitz rate through the first nine weeks, as McDonald has relied mostly on his front four to get pressure, lest it further tax a secondary that has been forced to play backups at multiple positions due to injuries. The two strikes on which Knight forced Brissett to fumble were in Seattle’s playbook, but McDonald had not called them yet this season before Sunday.
“It was like déjà vu,” the receiver said. Cooper Kupp“it was crazy.”
Kupp (two catches, 74 yards) and Lawrence were the Seahawks’ two big veteran players in what was otherwise an offseason youth movement. Seattle signs long term dallas cowboys The defensive end signed a three-year, $32.5 million contract, and so far he has gotten his money’s worth.
Along with a half-sack against Arizona, Lawrence has 4.0 sacks and 11 QB hits in eight games (he missed the season due to a quad injury). His tough edge-setting has been a factor in Seattle’s stingy run defense, and McDonald has praised the environment he has established with the young players through his practice habits.
“Honestly, I’m just grateful to have DeMarcus Lawrence on my team,” the receiver said. Jackson Smith-NjigbaDallas-area native. “I grew up watching him on the Cowboys, so it’s an honor to have him, and I still can’t really believe he’s on my team. But I’m grateful for the many great players we have.”
Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver, caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown to surpass 1,000 receiving yards on the season. The Seahawks also continued their struggling run game, surpassing 200 rushing yards before a late collapse dropped them to a season-high 198.
McDonald gave game balls to Lawrence, Knight and running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu, a reflection of how the game was won by Seattle’s defense and run game. The Cardinals’ first two touchdowns came after a Seattle turnover on short field possessions – a failed exchange between the two Sam Darnold and filling center Olu Oluwatimi and a Darnold interception that blew off a teammate’s helmet. Darnold lost another fumble later in the game.
Lawrence, Knight and the defense picked up the slack.
Knight started at the middle linebacker position. Ernest Jones IVwho was out last week with a knee injury and won Washington CommandersKnight replaced him in that game and led the team with 10 tackles. He made eight more Sundays to go along with his two strip sacks.
“You’ve got to be prepared … and he’s playing great football,” McDonald said. “Obviously we want Ernest back as soon as possible, but he’s showing he can go in and play great ball for us and execute. Those were both pressures we haven’t run under before, so to be able to go in and execute those things without getting all the reps was some high-powered stuff.”
The Seahawks sacked Brissett five times, who started again in his place. kyler murrayThey had 10 QB hits, including a team-high three from Lawrence.
Lawrence said of Brissett, “We knew he wasn’t going to be out of pocket that much, so we could put our ears back and go hunting.”
According to ESPN Research, the Seahawks finished with 22 quarterback pressures against Arizona. They now have 146, the most by a team in nine games since ESPN began tracking duress in 2009.
The Seahawks signed the veteran defensive tackle on Saturday. jerran reid On injured reserve due to a wrist fracture. McDonald said he is expected to return, but Seattle will have to overcome the absence of another key defensive player for at least the next three games.
“I believe it’s a testament to what we built in training camp,” Lawrence said. “We’ve been doing this for a while, and our young guys are stepping up, playing good ball. … We’ve got a good thing going.”
