Snap Reactions: Devon Witherspoon steals the show on MNF

The Seattle Seahawks handily defeated the New York Giants on Monday Night Football from MetLife Stadium, with a slow start by the Hawks giving way to a defensive performance for the ages while the offensive line did just enough to Geno Smith and Drew Lock protected.

The Hawks came out of the game battered and bruised once again, with multiple starters leaving the game due to injury at some point, including Jamal Adams, Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes, Geno Smith and Jarran Reed. However, the Week 5 bye should give many of those on the roster battling injuries a chance to rest and recover, with a road trip to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6.

As for how the snap counts broke down, the Seahawks saw just 22 snaps played by Week 1 starters on the offensive line at the position at which they lined up to open the season. With both starting tackles, Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, already out it was once again Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan on the ends of the line. On the interior Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes both started, but left with injury. Haynes was replaced by Anthony Bradford, while when Lewis left the game starting center Evan Brown slid over one spot and rookie Olu Oluwatimi came in at center.

Also noteworthy that Drew Lock saw his first regular season action for Seattle, finishing the night 2-6 for 63 yards, but notably was the only quarterback to play in the game who was not sacked.

On the defensive side of things, it was the already-battered-by-injuries secondary that was battered by injuries early. Losing Jamal Adams just nine snaps into the first possession by the Giants, the Seahawks turned to Mike Jackson, with Devon Witherspoon sliding into the slot and having himself a game. The simple fact that Jackson played 63 snaps and many, if not the majority of, Seahawks fans had no clue he had even been in the game shows how well he played. Of course, stopping the Giants receivers is easier than slowing down the likes of the Los Angeles Rams or the Miami Dolphins, but to shut down the opposition is noteworthy enough after his struggles during the preseason were pointed out by many.

Special teams was an interesting area to watch, with the likes of Derick Hall, Jon Rhattigan, Drake Thomas and DeeJay Dallas continuing their roles as key members of special teams, especially in the absence of Nick Bellore. One special teams snap trend of note is that rookie receiver Jake Bobo saw many of his special teams snaps go to rookie undrafted free agent Brady Russell for the second straight game.

Russell, of course, was poached off the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles after Will Dissly was injured in Week 2, and is thus only guaranteed a spot on the 53 man roster though the bye week. Whether or not Russell is kept on the active roster, or if they waive him and try to sneak him to the practice squad will be something that could be worth watching over the next week, especially as Dareke Young becomes eligible to return from injured reserve. (Author’s Note: Following his field tilting, one catch for ten yard performance Monday night, Cody Thompson now has more receiving yards on the 2023 season than fan favorite Bobo.)

In any case, it’s on to the bye week, with the Bengals lurking just over the horizon in Week 6.