SEATTLE — After putting the finishing touches on a goal-line stand with his coverage that highlighted a dominant performance by the Seattle Seahawks defense, cornerback Devon Witherspoon ended up suspended in the air, spinning in the grasp of linebacker Tyrel Dodson and celebrating joyfully in the face of a lifeless Miami Dolphins offense.
In that moment, Dodson and Witherspoon showed exactly what Seattle’s defensive leaders look for when their group gets into a tough spot: passion, energy and a strong desire to defend their home.
“Nobody’s scoring against you. Nobody’s knocking you down the door,” Dodson said. “I tell the guys, ‘You’ve got to stand on your ten toes.'”
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That’s exactly what Seattle’s defense did while the offense was kicking itself for most of the day, in a 24-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field that improved the team’s record to 3-0.
Seattle’s offense had eight penalties and Geno Smith threw two interceptions, the latter of which gave the Dolphins the ball at their own 48-yard line when they were trailing 17-3 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. Miami was down to third-string quarterback Tim Boyle at the time, who replaced the injured Skylar Thompson in the third quarter (starting QB Tua Tagovailoa is on the injured list with a concussion). Boyle took Miami to the Seattle 4 and had a chance to cut the deficit to one possession early in the fourth quarter.
Two unsuccessful runs were followed by an incomplete pass that tight end Durham Smythe lost control of as he dove into the back of the end zone. Before fourth-and-goal from the 2, Miami tried a pick play to free running back De’Von Achane in the flat against Witherspoon, but Seattle’s cornerback fought through the contact to close the throwing window and force Boyle to throw an uncatchable ball.
Spoon said NO. đźš« pic.twitter.com/Am2ptSPdlu
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) 22 September 2024
“It’s good when a team knocks on your door for four downs and you don’t let them in,” Dodson said. “I’m just so proud of my defense. These guys are so resilient, man.”
After holding out longer than the Patriots in overtime in Week 2, Dodson and other members of the Seattle defense were unhappy with their performance, particularly in the running game. This week, the roles were reversed for Seattle. On Sunday, Smith spoke on behalf of an offense unhappy with its sloppiness that put the defense in compromising situations.
Smith’s first interception came when he avoided a sack on third-and-15 in the first quarter. His pass was too high and bounced off running back Zach Charbonnet and into the arms of defensive back Kader Kohou, who returned it to the 6-yard line. Seattle’s defense forced a field goal three plays later.
“Short fields, the good defensive players have the mentality to go out there and want to make it as tough as possible for their group,” safety Julian Love said. “We look at it as a challenge. The guys are excited for the opportunity to show what we can do in the red zone.”
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Seattle’s next play was a 71-yard touchdown pass from Smith to receiver DK Metcalf that extended the Seahawks’ lead to 17-3. However, the offense spent most of its subsequent drives backtracking and eventually punting. Seattle finished 3 of 11 on third downs and averaged 13.3 yards on those attempts, as there were sacks and penalties on early attempts. Seattle needed at least 15 yards to score on seven of its third down attempts. All seven of those attempts failed, with two ending in turnovers.
Fortunately for Smith and the offense, the defense looks forward to such compromising situations.
“The main thing is to go out there and stop the opponent no matter where we are on the field. That’s what keeps us going,” cornerback Tre Brown said. “It’s an identity thing that we’ve put in place for ourselves, and we’re going to try to keep that identity. We want to be the best (in the nation). Tough football. And we do that damn well.”
Seattle’s defense held Miami’s offense to just 3.7 yards per play on Sunday. Thompson was sacked five times and Boyle once. The Seahawks recorded 12 quarterback hits, with six different players recording at least one of those. Outside linebacker Derick Hall led the offense with two sacks and a team-high four QB hits. The Dolphins finished the game 1 of 15 on third and fourth downs.
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Miami’s star wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 66 yards on seven catches. Achane, who was averaging 132.5 yards from scrimmage entering the game, had 58 total yards on Sunday. The Dolphins entered Week 3 with a league-high 8.3 yards after the catch but were limited to just 4.7 yards by a Seattle defense primed for a track and field contest.
“We put on our running shoes today,” Dodson said. “We were at the Olympics.”
On offense, however, several different players contributed to Seattle’s sloppy performance. Metcalf was penalized for offensive pass interference on the drive that ended with Smith’s first interception. Right guard Anthony Bradford was penalized for holding on a drive that ended with a 53-yard missed field goal. Left tackle Charles Cross was hit for a sack, leading to third-and-16 and a subsequent punt. A potential two-minute drive at the end of the first half was derailed by two penalties on center Connor Williams (holding and a false start). Tight end Pharaoh Brown (holding) and Bradford (false start) torpedoed Seattle’s second drive of the third quarter with penalties. And Smith was penalized for intentional grounding on the play before his second interception, which came on third-and-21.
“We have to stop making mistakes and that starts with me – I have to avoid putting our defense in difficult situations,” Smith said. He later added: “On offense, we left a lot of things undone. I’ll be honest, I’m really upset about my performance. I think we have to get better.”
After the defense’s goal line stand in the fourth quarter, Smith led the offense 98 yards for a touchdown. Charbonnet finished that drive with four consecutive runs, including a 10-yard run into the end zone. He rushed for a career-high 91 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. His final run essentially decided the game.
He rushed into the end zone. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9l5cDuAIlW
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) 22 September 2024
“We knew at that point that we hadn’t achieved anything in the second half, after the first quarter. Our defense had played excellently, we have to something,” Smith said. “We got pushed back, but we have to turn the field around. We were determined to go out there and score, get a (bigger) lead and allow our defense to play with that much more of an edge.”
The 98-yard touchdown drive was an example of what Seattle’s offense can do when it doesn’t get in its own way. Left guard Laken Tomlinson was penalized for a false start during the drive, but he converted a second-and-inches into a second-and-5. Seattle was able to make up for that mistake and finally convert its only third down attempt of the drive with a 1-yard run by Charbonnet.
“We had a bad start on a lot of drives and that’s on the players, we have to fix that and execute,” said wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. “We want to get the first drive rolling just to get into a rhythm and on a lot of drives we couldn’t find that rhythm because of that. We still have a lot to fix, but you can see the potential of this offense, you can see where we can go. I’m excited.”
Seattle’s defense allows just 1.03 points per drive, which ranked fourth among teams that have played three games on Sunday night. One could argue that Seattle’s defense should were dominant in their first three games based on a schedule that included Denver’s rookie QB Bo Nix in his first-ever regular-season appearance, Jacoby Brissett leading an undermanned Patriots offense and the Dolphins without Tagovailoa.
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But the Seahawks are still happy with what they put on tape, as they started the game 3-0. They are one of only two undefeated NFC teams (the other is Minnesota) and sit atop the NFC West while everyone else in the division is 1-2.
“We’re not an easy opponent for other teams, no matter who you are,” Smith-Njigba said when asked what Seattle has shown over the past three weeks. “We love each other. We love to play. We love to win. We’re 3-0 right now, feeling good and ready to go to Detroit and do our thing.”
Jared Goff and the 2-1 Lions next Monday night will be a much tougher test for Seattle’s revamped defense. The upcoming schedule also includes matchups against a Kyle Shanahan offense that has consistently given Seattle problems, a visit from Josh Allen and the Bills, a trip to Kirk Cousins ​​and the Falcons, and a tough divisional matchup against Sean McVay’s Rams.
Seattle, however, is not worried about this.
“It doesn’t matter who it is – everyone is nameless, faceless,” Dodson said. “Anyone can get this job from this defense.”
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(Top photo: Rio Giancarlo / Getty Images)
