Seahawks take care of winless Jets with 40-3 blowout victory
Dec 13, 2020, 1:48 PM | Updated: 5:51 pm
The Seahawks didn’t have mercy for the winless New York Jets. Not a week after an embarrassing loss against the NFL’s other team from the Big Apple.
Seattle did what a team with Super Bowl hopes should do against a team like the Jets, blowing out New York 40-3 on Sunday at Lumen Field to improve to 9-4 on the year.
Hawks 40, Jets 3: Quick Hits | Stats | Adams sets sack record | Reaction
Russell Wilson shook off an interception in the first quarter, throwing for 206 yards and four touchdowns on 21 for 27 passing. He also led Seattle to a big enough lead that the head coach Pete Carroll let Geno Smith get some playing time against his former team, marking the regular season Seahawks debut for the team’s backup quarterback since the start of the 2019 season.
There was also history on this day. Another former Jet, safety Jamal Adams, chased New York QB Sam Darnold out of bounds for a 1-yard loss in the second quarter, which earned him credit for the sack. That gave him 8.5 on the year, an NFL record for defensive back in a single season – and he did in just his ninth game. For the full story on Adams and his new record, click here.
Seattle was dominant in all facets of the game. The Jets were limited to just 185 yards of total offense and eight first downs, while the Seahawks had 410 yards and 28 first downs.
Wilson spread the ball around, with DK Metcalf (six receptions, 61 yards, one TD) and Tyler Lockett (five catches for 52 yards) leading a host of Seahawks receivers in the box score.
Chris Carson had a strong day with 76 yards and a score on 12 carries, plus three catches for 22 yards.
Jason Myers hit two field goals, pushing his streak since the start of the season to 18 in a row.
Seattle gets the Washington Football Team next Sunday in a 10 a.m. game in D.C.
First quarter
Seahawks 7, Jets 3
The New York Jets rank last in the NFL in total offense and are actually entered Sunday ahead of Seattle in total defense rankings, but it didn’t necessarily look like that early on.
That’s because the Jets picked up first downs on three of their first five plays from scrimmage, including an 11-yard run by the 37-year-old Frank Gore and a 17-yard pass from Darnold to Breshad Perriman. The Seahawks figured things out once New York got inside of Seattle’s 30-yard line, though, and the Jets settled for a 45-yard Sergio Castillo field goal.
That was essentially the only gasp New York would have on offense, however.
The Seahawks’ offense, however, took right off once it got the ball and never really stopped. Carson had two runs for 14 yards, including a 10-yard gain, Penny Hart had a nice 19-yard end-around run, and Wilson found a wide-open Freddie Swain in the back of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown just six plays in to cap off a 75-yard drive.
.@Freddie_iball2 was wide open! 🙌
Touchdown, #Seahawks!!
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/Nv0aEUd9PG
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 13, 2020
There was a scare on that first Seattle series, though. Metcalf made a 14-yard catch, but the star wide receiver limped off the field after making it back to the huddle. He was deemed probable to return with an ankle injury and returned in time for the first play of the Seahawks’ next drive.
Seattle’s defense looked much better on its second opportunity, registering a three-and-out thanks in part to a Poona Ford tackle for loss of Gore.
True to form in this always weird Seahawks season, though, when things went well for the defense, the offense didn’t fare so well. Wilson targeted Metcalf in the end zone, but a fantastic play by Jets safety Marcus Maye resulted in a career-high 12th interception of the season by Seattle’s franchise QB. That proved to be about the only true hiccup for the Hawks, though.
Marcus Maye tips the INT to himself! #TakeFlight
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/3alYfT3slD pic.twitter.com/IU2IoKuBfR— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2020
The pick didn’t hurt the Seahawks. The Jets punted after failing to build off of a 16-yard catch by Jaleel Scott on the opening play of the drive, though Adams couldn’t hang on to what should have been his first interception for Seattle as a pass from Darnold hit off his chest.
Seattle was primed to score again as the quarter ended, reaching New York’s 5 thanks to passes of 10 and 15 yards from Wilson to Lockett, and four Carlos Hyde runs, including back-to-back rushes of 15 and 18 yards.
NYJ – Sergio Castillo 45 FG, 10:26
SEA – Freddie Swain 19 pass from Russell Wilson (Jason Myers kick), 7:16
Second quarter
Seahawks 23, Jets 3
Well, you don’t make it 12 games into a season without a win for no reason.
The winless Jets had three chances at field goals in the second quarter, and their kicker missed all of them.
Midway in the quarter, New York started a drive at the Seattle 30 after Corey Ballentine returned a kickoff 66 yards in a rare example of poor kick coverage by the Seahawks’ usually stellar special teams. The Jets even got the ball 11 yards closer before trying a field goal, but Castillo’s 37-yard attempt was pushed wide right.
On the next Jets drive, Castillo was presented with a 41-yard shot, which he then hooked to the left.
And with halftime looming, he was wide left once again on a 43-yard attempt.
After opening the game with a 45-yard Castillo field goal, the Jets came up empty-handed on their final six possessions of the first half, including one that ended on a rare Gore fumble forced by Seahawks defensive tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison and recovered by linebacker Bobby Wagner.
The Seahawks had already built on a modest lead from the first quarter by the point of Castillo’s first miss.
Wilson hit Metcalf on the first play of the second frame for a 5-yard touchdown, and Jason Myers improved to 17 of 17 on the season on field goals with a 41-yarder, putting Seattle ahead 17-3 with over 12 minutes still to go before halftime.
A work of art between @DangeRussWilson and @dkm14 🎨#GoHawks x #ProBowlVote
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/H7RzL96ZpZ
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 13, 2020
Seattle got the ball back with about 2 1/2 minutes left on the clock, and that was plenty of time to add on even more. Wilson completed three passes to Metcalf and added a 20-yarder to tight end Jacob Hollister, and Carson made a pair of receptions and had a pair of runs, eventually hurdling his way into the end zone on a 5-yard rush to make it 23-3 with 32 seconds before halftime (Myers missed the point-after try).
.@ccarson_32 leaps his way into the end zone for six! 🔥
Q2: SEA 23, NYJ 3
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/jdtSEzoLRV
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 13, 2020
History was made in the second quarter, too. Adams ran Darnold out of bounds for a loss of a yard, which counted for a sack. That puts him at 8.5 sacks on the year, breaking the NFL record for sacks in a season by a defensive back.
SEA – DK Metcalf 5 pass from Wilson (Myers kick), 15:00
SEA – Myers 41 FG, 12:40
SEA – Chris Carson 5 run (kick failed), :32
Third quarter
Seahawks 37, Jets 3
The Seahawks don’t really need help beating the Jets, but they still were given some.
Wilson was sacked on third down of the first drive of the second half, only he wasn’t. An illegal contact call on Maye kept the drive alive, and that was all the opening the Seahawks needed to extend their lead. Carson busted off a 28-yard run and Wilson later hit tight end Will Dissly for a 10-yard touchdown pass, making it 30-3 Seattle.
.@DangeRussWilson ➡️ @Will_Diss for another #Seahawks TD!
Q3: SEA 30, NYJ 3
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/ho0OVqhufM
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 13, 2020
The Jets’ offense was essentially helpless by that point – it managed no points, no first downs and minus-14 yards in the third quarter – and the Seahawks weren’t about to slow down. Back-to-back passes of 17 and 19 yards to Lockett and Metcalf, respectively, set up another Wilson touchdown throw, this one a 3-yard pass to David Moore as the score truly got out of hand at 37-3.
Keep the touchdowns coming! @DangeRussWilson targets @DMoeSwagg23 for six 🎯
📺: #NYJvsSEA on CBS pic.twitter.com/Vwy9jOeoTL
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 13, 2020
That was enough for the Seahawks to let Wilson take the rest of the day off. Backup QB Geno Smith, a former first-round pick and starter for the Jets, took over the offense late in the third quarter as he finally made his regular season debut for the team in Week 14 of his second year with the Seahawks.
SEA – Will Dissly 10 pass from Wilson (Myers kick), 8:33
SEA – David Moore 3 pass (Myers kick), 3:02
Fourth quarter
Seahawks 40, Jets 3
Things slowed down considerably – and understandably – in the fourth quarter with Seattle well ahead.
Smith took some time to settle in at QB, but he did lead a 13-play, 54-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock and ended with a 29-yard Myers field goal.
SEA – Myers 29 FG, 3:52
O’Neil: Did Seahawks’ blowout win over Jets unclog their offense?
