The defensive lineman has been a monster in the middle for the Seahawks.
Over the last two weeks, Seahawks’ DL Leonard Williams has played incredible football. He has 4.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two pass deflections and a partridge in a pear tree, helping to keep Seattle’s playoff hopes alive. Mike MacDonald’s defense has played really well recently, and getting star play from Williams has been a major part of that. He singlehandedly flipped the Seahawks’ game against the Jets with an incredible pick six that shows off how truly incredible the biggest people on the field are.
Let’s set the scene: it’s 3rd and goal for the Jets from the 10 yard line. Seattle is lined up with six potential blitzers at the line of scrimmage, not even counting the corner to the left side because the receiver is in tight. This screams “WE ARE BLITZING” to QB Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has always wanted to throw hot to defeat blitzes, throwing slants and and screens to beat the blitz. This makes sense because Rodgers has seen everything and anything there is to see in football, so when a blitz is coming he knows exactly where to beat it.
However, the Seahawks pull the rug out from under Rodgers with a simulated pressure. Both defensive tackles draw the attention of the guards, then drop out into coverage. Nickel corner Devon Witherspoon comes flying in on a blitz instead, but as Rodgers goes to throw the ball, Witherspoon tips it, Williams gets the ball and is off to the races. Because the Seahawks knew Rodgers would throw hot, look at every player in that hot area underneath. It’s great process and design by MacDonald and stellar execution by the defense.
What’s even more impressive is how damn fast Leonard Williams was moving on this interception. Per NextGenStats, Williams was going 17.84 miles per hour, the fastest time recorded by a defensive tackle in FIVE YEARS. Williams is 300 pounds and only was moving two miles an hour slower than Bengals RB Chase Brown on his 40 yard carry on Sunday. In case you ever needed a reminder, the best athletes on every football field are the offensive and defensive linemen.
Williams also added two sacks on Sunday, but one towards the end was a really impressive showcase of his length and power. Look at his ability to get extension and push on the left guard, before finishing with a swim move to get the sack. That’s textbook Leonard Williams, using his raw power to create knockback, then a swim move to top it off. Getting this caliber of play from Williams is going to keep this Seahawks defense elevated for the rest of the season.
I love how Williams’ play has come on strong to wrap up this season. For a Seahawks’ team that is barely hanging on to the lead in a NFC West that it seems like nobody wants to take control of, I have a lot of faith in their defense in continuing their high level of play. While the offense … to put it lightly … struggles, the defense has really come on. I’m excited to see them play against the Arizona Cardinals in what could be a division decider.
