CHARLOTTE—Moments after Sam Darnold’s third-quarter pass to the end zone was intercepted, the Seahawks defense took the field not dejected about what could have been a critical turnover—the score was tied at the time—but rather fired up about an opportunity to get the ball back.
“It just gave us another opportunity to take the ball away,” said Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence after Seattle’s 27-10 win over the Panthers. “We were able to capitalize on our opportunity and come out with a win.”
And take the ball away Lawrence did, punching the ball out of Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard’s hands, then pouncing on the loose ball, one play after the Darnold interception.
Darnold and Seattle’s offense took advantage of the short field, scoring the game’s first touchdown to make it 10-3. Then, only three plays after Zach Charbonnet’s touchdown run, the defense got its second takeaway, this time a Julian Love interception. Again, the offense capitalized, with Darnold hitting AJ Barner for a 17-yard touchdown, and in less than seven minutes of game time, the Seahawks went from tied and having just committed a turnover in the red zone to leading by 14 points thanks to two big plays by the defense.
“That’s what they do,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “That’s what they do. They take pride in it. It’s not like I’m the one telling them to go out—I mean I am, but they respond to each other. It’s a special group.”
Said Darnold, “It’s unbelievable. Our defense has been doing that all year. They’ve been stepping up in such a huge way, especially for me. Like that turnover, I just got to move on in my progression or at least make an us-or-nobody throw where Jax (Smith-Njigba) can go up and get it or it’s incomplete. Our defense has had our back all year and vice versa. When we feel like we need a spark, our offense stepped up in big ways as well. It’s just complementary football all season long and this one especially.”
