Uchenna Nwosu was everywhere again for the Seahawks defense on Sunday afternoon. He was in the backfield, at the line, on the edge and, yes, even deep in the secondary covering New York Giants star Saquon Barkley — forcing an incomplete pass.
What can’t Nwosu do?
“I’m an athlete,” the Seahawks’ first-year outside linebacker boasted in front of his locker after a convincing 27-13 victory over the Giants at Lumen Field. “I started off as a receiver (and) safety. I can play all over the field. I trust my athleticism and what I’m able to do. So covering Saquon is not a big deal to me.”
Seattle’s defense did make a big deal out of stopping Barkley, who entered Sunday ranked No. 1 in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (906) through the first seven weeks of the season.
The Seahawks (5-3) won their third straight game — and continued another remarkable midseason turnaround on defense — in large part because they were able to limit Barkley to 53 yards rushing on 20 carries. His 2.7 yards per carry were by far his lowest of the season.
“We knew we had to take that away,” safety Ryan Neal said. “That’s their strength, that’s their bread and butter, and that’s what we did.”
The Giants were gifted their only touchdown of the day after Tyler Lockett lost a fumble at the Seahawks 3-yard line in the second quarter that was returned a yard to the 2. Two plays later, Barkley scored on a 1-yard run.
The Seahawks held the Giants to two field goals the rest of the way.
Their plan went almost exactly to script — stop Barkley on early downs, and force dual-threat quarterback Daniel Jones to throw in third-and-long situations.
That allowed the pass rush to let loose. Nwosu, the Seahawks’ key offseason free agent signing, had two of Seattle’s five sacks of Jones — with Cody Barton, Poona Ford and rookie Boye Mafe each with one.
The Seahawks have 14 sacks in their past three games.
Jones was 17 for 31 for 176 yards, and he didn’t have a scramble longer than six yards. The Giants finished with 225 yards of total offense, averaging just 3.5 yards per play.
“(Barkley) doesn’t get going today and they don’t get going today and it was an all-day job. It wasn’t like in flashes. It was all day long,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We played consistently hard and tough and solid and disciplined and strict. Just like we needed to.”
After the first five weeks of the season, the Seahawks ranked among the worst defenses in the league, having allowed 138 points — 34.5 points per game — from Week 2 to Week 5. They lost three of four in that stretch.
Since then, they have allowed 45 points total in their past three games.
“I think guys are just comfortable with who we are now,” safety Quandre Diggs said.
Neal echoed that sentiment. This is a team — and a defense, specifically — that’s starting to believe in itself.
“It’s just chemistry and hearing each other talk the language and going to work and executing every single day,” Neal said. “The confidence comes from execution and preparation through the week, and when it’s time to go (on Sunday) we already know what time is it. We trust each other on game day. That’s just what it was.”
So has this team — and this defense, specifically — officially arrived? Nwosu had a quick answer for that.
“No. No,” he said. “We’re definitely not where we want to be. We still have an uphill battle. We’re still trying to get where we want to go. But this is definitely a start.”