EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Leonard Williams was chugging along down the sideline with the end zone slowly getting closer.
Seattle's 6-foot-5, 310-pound defensive end had just intercepted Aaron Rodgers and his 92-yard return for a momentum-turning score in the second quarter helped the Seahawks come back and defeat the New York Jets 26-21 on Sunday.
“I remember running with it and I thought I was running fast,” a smiling Williams said. “All my teammates were hyping me up, saying I was moving. Once I crossed the 50, I was actually looking to pitch it to somebody. I saw the whole cavalry running down the field.”
He ended up on his back in the end zone while the Seahawks celebrated.
“I literally just laid down,” Williams said. “I was exhausted.”
And for good reason.
According to the NFL, Williams became the first player since 1982 with multiple sacks (two), an interception-return TD and a blocked kick in a game. Williams’ interception return for a score was the longest in NFL history by a defensive lineman, according to ESPN Research.
“He’s just playing at an all-time elite level,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “He’s playing out of his mind right now.”
Zach Charbonnet ran for a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown with 5:31 remaining and the Seahawks (7-5) held on for their third straight victory. Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner for Seattle, which was sloppy early but took over sole possession of first place in the NFC West with Arizona losing to Minnesota.
Rodgers and the Jets (3-9) led most of the way and appeared energized early in their first game coming out of their bye-week break. But they were held scoreless in the second half.
“Plays at the end of the second quarter cost us this game,” Rodgers said. “Then comes the fourth quarter — it’s execution, it’s strain, it’s the little things, it’s accuracy. And we just have a lot to go around, myself included, first and foremost.”
Charbonnet's score came on a drive helped by four penalties on the Jets, who finished with 12 of them — and cornerback D.J. Reed was highly critical of the officiating after the game.
“Yall should be ashamed of yall selves.!” Reed wrote in a post on X that included an expletive.
On fourth-and-6, New York was penalized for too many men on the field when returner Xavier Gipson ran on the field anticipating a punt. But with punter Michael Dickson dealing with a stiff back, the Seahawks kept their offense on the field. On the next play, Qwan'tez Stiggers was called for pass interference.
On fourth-and-1 later in the drive, it appeared the Jets stopped Charbonnet, but Solomon Thomas was called for a horse-collar tackle. Will McDonald lined up in the neutral zone on third down, and Charbonnet ran it in on the next play to put Seattle up 26-21.
Rodgers and the Jets had a chance to go for a comeback win, but Williams — a first-round pick of the Jets in 2015 — had a sack on third down. Rodgers' desperation heave from the Seahawks 34 fell way far past Garrett Wilson to seal the loss.
All that came after a wacky first half that featured a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by New York's Kene Nwangwu, Williams' interception return and three fumbled kickoffs by the Seahawks, with two recovered by the Jets.
“What a crazy game,” Macdonald said. “I think that’s the first time it happened in the NFL, that whole series of events in the first half. Our guys were resilient and we didn’t bat an eye. We stayed the course.
"There were some crazy sequences of events that happened.”
Smith, the 39th overall pick by New York in 2013, finished 20 of 31 for 206 yards and the score in his first game as a starter against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
“I’m not going to make it about myself,” Smith said. “I really did enjoy my time in New York. We’re on a mission right now. The Jets were the next opponent.”
Rodgers was 21 of 39 for 185 yards and touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Isaiah Davis, but also had the pick-6. New York, which fired general manager Joe Douglas last week, has dropped three in a row, eight of its past nine and fell to 1-6 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
The Jets took a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter on Adams' 8-yard touchdown catch. Anders Carlson’s extra point was blocked by Williams, whose facemask penalty had kept the drive alive.
On the ensuing kickoff, Dee Williams had the ball knocked out of his hands by Nwangwu, promoted from the Jets' practice squad for the game, and Brandin Echols recovered.
Davis scored his first NFL touchdown on a 4-yard reception four plays later, and Breece Hall ran in the 2-point conversion.
Barner’s 12-yard TD catch cut Seattle’s deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter.
Nwangwu followed by taking a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown — the fourth kickoff return for a score of his career — to put the Jets up 21-7.
Laviska Shenault then fumbled the kickoff and Carlson recovered. The Jets were driving deep in Seahawks territory when Rodgers’ throw for Wilson was intercepted by Leonard Williams.
“I know we threw some great blocks, but I don’t think anybody would have caught him anyways,” safety Julian Love said. “That’s the Big Cat.”
Seahawks: Dickson's back tightened in the second half and Macdonald said the Seahawks wouldn't have punted late in the game.
Jets: RT Morgan Moses left in the opening quarter with a shoulder injury. ... CB Sauce Gardner injured a hamstring.
Seahawks: Take on the NFC West-rival Cardinals in Arizona next Sunday.
Jets: Travel to Miami to face the AFC East-rival Dolphins next Sunday.
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