Partaking in a comedy of errors at MetLife Stadium, thanks to a historic play by Leonard Williams, the Seattle Seahawks somehow went into the break only trailing the New York Jets 21-16 despite a litany of special teams gaffes.
Turning in one of the worst special teams performances by an NFL team in recent memory, kick returners Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault both lost fumbles in the first half, Seattle’s kick coverage team allowed a 99-yard touchdown to Kene Nwangwu, and Jason Myers had a point after attempt blocked. One of the aforementioned fumbles set up a short touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Isaiah Davis, pushing New York out in front 14-0 before the end of the first quarter.
However, the second of those unfortunate fumbles turned into points for the Seahawks. Moments after Shenault coughed up the football after tripping up on his own and the Jets recovered, Rodgers didn’t see Williams dropping back on a zone blitz and the veteran defender reeled in a pick, following a caravan of blockers down the sideline for a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown, instantly cutting the score to 21-13.
Aside from Williams’ outstanding effort, Geno Smith cut into an early 14-point deficit rolling out to his left and finding rookie tight end AJ Barner for a 12-yard touchdown to open the second quarter. The veteran quarterback completed nine out of 16 passes for 87 yards, including two 25-yard completions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that set up Barner’s touchdown.
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While Ken Walker III wasn’t able to get untracked in the first half with just 16 rushing yards on seven carries, Zach Charbonnet produced 18 yards on two carries, providing Seattle with a bit of balance on offense.
The Seahawks were able to tack on three extra points inside the final five minutes when Rodgers’ fourth down pass attempt at midfield to Davante Adams wasn’t caught through the ground. Benefiting from excellent starting field position as a result, Myers booted a 54-yard field goal just over the crossbar in a rare positive special teams play to trim the deficit to five.
For the half, both Seattle and New York converted on just three out of seven third down opportunities, including Rodgers misfiring on a potential touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, and neither offense eclipsed 160 total yards for the half. Despite stellar play by both defenses, however, mistakes on special teams and Rodgers’ pick six turned this into a surprisingly high scoring affair through the first 30 minutes.
In addition to his interception return, Leonard Williams also took a point off the board early when he blocked a point after attempt following Rodgers first touchdown pass to Davante Adams. Unfortunately, the Jets were able to get that point back by converting a two-point conversion with a Breece Hall run on the next drive following Dee Williams’ lost fumble on special teams.
5 Storylines to Watch in Seahawks’ Week 13 Game vs. Jets
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Seahawks Look To Continue Dominance at MetLife Stadium
Seahawks’ Geno Smith Reveals Mindset vs. Jets
Seahawks Announce Offensive Line Shakeup vs. Jets
Seahawks S Coby Bryant Earns NFC Defensive Player of the Week
Seattle U Redhawks (2-5) at Arizona Wildcats (6-3)
Tucson, Arizona; Monday, 8 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Arizona plays Seattle U in a matchup of Division 1 Division squads.
The Wildcats are 4-0 on their home court.
The Redhawks are 0-3 on the road. Seattle U gives up 71.4 points to opponents while being outscored by 7.0 points per game.
Arizona is shooting 43.6% from the field this season, 2.2 percentage points lower than the 45.8% Seattle U allows to opponents. Seattle U averages 7.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.1 more made shots on average than the 5.0 per game Arizona allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paulina Paris averages 1.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 8.7 points while shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc.
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Taisiya Kozlova averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Redhawks, scoring 10.8 points while shooting 28.9% from beyond the arc.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
During Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks defensive back Coby Bryant brought Lumen Field to life in a way rarely seen in recent years.
Seattle’s defense had put on a suffocating performance, allowing just three points halfway through the third quarter. Arizona, desperate to get something going on offense, went for it on 4th and 1 on Seattle’s side of the field. Bryant was having none of that, as he came in to make an easy pick and return it 69 yards, capping off the run with a tribute to legendary Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.
The fans loved the celebration, but unfortunately, it will cost Bryant a pretty penny. The NFL announced Saturday that it fined Bryant $6,594 for an “obscene gesture,” which falls under unsportsmanlike conduct. Bryant did receive a penalty during the game, but since it happened after the play, it didn’t negate the interception or touchdown.
Bryant, who scored his first career touchdown on the play, would’ve liked to avoid the fine, but it’s probably well worth it given the circumstances.
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“Actually, I talk to my dad and my brother before every game and I just sensed the energy from those two before the game, and I told them once I get a pick-six I was doing it, because we’re playing the Cardinals and everything,” Bryant said postgame.
Bryant, a third-year pro from Cincinnati, has enjoyed a solid bounce-back season after a bit of a sophomore slump. He’s started five of 11 games this season, recording 39 total tackles, four passes defended and two interceptions, including the aforementioned pick-six.
The Seahawks have now won two straight games to take a surprising NFC West lead, and look to keep their hot streak going when they face the New York Jets on Sunday.
5 Storylines to Watch in Seahawks’ Week 13 Game vs. Jets
Seahawks Look To Continue Dominance at MetLife Stadium
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Seahawks’ Geno Smith Reveals Mindset vs. Jets
Seahawks Announce Offensive Line Shakeup vs. Jets
Seahawks S Coby Bryant Earns NFC Defensive Player of the Week
The Seattle Mariners figure to have one of the best starting pitching rotations for several years to come.
The combination of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Bryce MIller and Bryan Woo are all under team control for multiple seasons. Kirby, Gilbert and Castillo have made All-Star games and Woo and Miller just finished their second major league seasons.
Seattle is also well-positioned to have pitchers step up in case of injury or trade; Pitchers like Brandyn Garcia, Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock are now in the upper minors.
The rotation was the only one in the majors to have four pitchers start 30 or more games in 2024. It also led the league in total quality starts. Every member of the rotation finished with ERAs below 3.70.
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Despite these accomplishments, popular baseball website FanGraphs has the rotation slightly regressing in 2025, per its ZiPS projections model.
The model has Gilbert putting up similar numbers in 2025 that he had in 2024. Inversely, the model has Woo and Miller taking steps back in 2025.
Seattle still projects to have the second-best rotation in the MLB behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and the best in the American League. Gilbert maintaining his status as the ace of the staff plays a part in that. But so does a predicted return to All-Star form for Kirby.
Kirby made the first All-Star game of his career in 2023. He had a 3.35 ERA with 172 strikeouts in 190.2 innings pitched across 31 starts that season.
Kirby was still a great starter in 2024, but his numbers did inflate slightly. In 2024, he had a career-high 3.53 ERA and fanned 179 hitters in 191 innings pitched and 33 starts.
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George Kirby is arguable the best command pitcher of all time. Yes, I’m including Greg Maddux.
FanGraphs predicts Kirby’s numbers in 2025 will compare well with his statistics in 2023.
Per the model, Kirby will finish with a 3.32 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched across 30 starts. The model also has him finishing with a 3.5 fWAR (FanGraphs WAR). That number is the second-highest on the staff behind Gilbert’s 4.0 fWAR.
Kirby is one of the better command-pitchers in the majors. Out of his six-pitch arsenal, the only pitches that hitters averaged better than .253 against were his sinker and knuckle curve, according to Baseball Savant. He had a 21.7% put-away rate with his fastball and a 22.6% put-away rate with his slider.
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Kirby had a streak of nine consecutive quality starts from June 9-July 26, but the last two months of the year exacerbated his numbers. He had a 3.80 ERA over his last seven starts of the season and a 4.02 ERA over his last 15.
If Kirby can sustain his June/July form over the whole year, a return to the All-Star game will definitely be on the table for the former Elon College hurler.
FANGRAPHS PREDICTS DROP-OFF IN 2025 FROM YOUNG PITCHER: Former Texas A&M pitcher Bryce Miller could take a step back in 2025, per the website FanGraphs’ ZiPS Projections model. CLICK HERE
VETERAN MARINERS PITCHER INVOLVED IN INTERESTING MOCK TRADE: Luis Castillo continued to be at the forefront of mock trades, with the latest hypothetical deal taking place between the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox. CLICK HERE
RECENT MARINERS DRAFT PICK COULD DEBUT IN 2025: Former Kansas Jayhawk, and 2024 third-round draft pick Hunter Cranton could factor into the Seattle Mariners bullpen in 2025, per a recent story. CLICK HERE
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